A new blog series that helps elevate creative voices
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
I have been asking myself over and over again as of recent times—how can I help others more? I love being a manager, an inspiration, and mentor to others. Although there’s something I enjoy even more, and that is helping others find success.
I know firsthand how easy it can be to feel lost in this crazy career we call design. There are so many varying points-of-view, and that can sometimes be daunting to sift through. …
An interview with Marie Pitcherella about User Research
“Be clear, be helpful, and don’t settle for good enough.” ~Marie Pitcherella
About Marie Pitcherella
Marie is a Senior User Researcher and Strategist, working in UX for more than 15 years.
Marie has worked for financial companies such as Vanguard, Capital One, ING Direct, and Trellist, where she helped to transform a large, local bridal retailer to their first eCommerce platform. She is currently with Frontline Education, serving the business side of K12 Education since 2017.
She lives in the western Suburbs of Philadelphia with her witty, triathlete husband, Jon, and delightfully derpy rescue dog, Legend.
She is a supporter and advocate for women’s issues, disability rights, and reducing the stigma of mental illness. For more information, check out The ARC, an organization that promotes and protects rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and NAMI, The National Alliance on Mental Illness. …
An interview with Mikaela Klimovitz about copywriting and content creation
“Old ways won’t open new doors.” ~Anonymous
About Mikaela Klimovitz
Mikaela Klimovitz is a cool-ish girl with a camera and passion for writing. In all seriousness, she is a professional copywriter and content creator who thrives on pushing her skills, loves the internet (for all its good and bad), and has a passion for creating engaging content. Mikaela is originally from Baltimore, MD, attended Susquehanna University for college as well as studied at Regent’s University of London and the European Business School. Currently living in NYC with her long time partner and sassy pet chinchilla.
💡 Philosophy
Joe Pascavage ✍🏼
What is unique about your personal philosophy as a copywriter and content creator? …
An interview with Jenn Palandro about copywriting
“I believe myself that a good writer doesn’t really need to be told anything except to keep at it.” ~Chinua Achebe
About Jenn Palandro
Jenn Palandro is a copywriting unicorn and entrepreneur. She has 10+ years of UX design and online business experience, which gives her a unique perspective when it comes to marketing and copy. Jenn loves working with socially- and environmentally-conscious businesses.
Jenn became a copywriter in early 2020, because she wanted to translate her passion for writing into a career that can help others.
In her personal life, Jenn is married and a mom to two young boys. They live near Philadelphia. She also loves yoga, burritos, hiking, and reading. …
An interview with Dan Hoffman about creative direction
“Creativity is nothing but a mind set free.” ~T. Asai
About Dan Hoffman
Dan Hoffman’s biggest and most important job is as a Dad. His kids are always teaching him to see things in new ways. Like them he is perpetually curious, which is a blessing and a burden since Dan can’t seem to give up hobbies. He loves peaking under the hood and learning how things work. Lately Dan has been doing woodworking, drumming, learning the ukulele, running, and raising kids. Each of his hobbies comes along with stuff unfortunately. Dan failed Marie Kondo because everything brings him joy.
💡 Philosophy
Joe Pascavage ✍🏼
What is unique about your personal philosophy towards creative direction? …
A design interview with Ben Kennerly
“The alternative to good design is always bad design. There is no such thing as no design.” ~Adam Judge
About Ben Kennerly
Ben Kennerly was born outside Philadelphia. …
A user experience design interview with Lorenzo Iuculano
“Every great design begins with an even better story.” ~Lorinda Mamo
About Lorenzo Iuculano
Lorenzo Iuculano is a user experience designer that comes from a branding background. His interest in UX started during his senior thesis where he designed an application for people with severe motor disabilities, like his grandmother. Lorenzo loves the process of figuring stuff out, and listening to people. On the side he’s a video game enthusiast who fusses about UI and game systems.
💡 Philosophy
Joe Pascavage ✍🏼
What is unique about your personal philosophy towards UX design?
Lorenzo
I don’t know if it is necessarily unique, but I’m generally in the camp of “good UX is frictionless.” I don’t really want users stopping to think “oh that was terrible” but I also don’t want them stopping to think “oh that was good” all the time. As people we have so much to think about in our day to day, the last thing we need is unnecessary cognitive load. If more of our day to day products and services could be seamless, it would truly improve the average person’s quality of life. As we introduce more and more stimuli to our lives, I think this philosophy will become more and more important. …
A user experience design interview with Taylor Mitnick
“Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.” ~Robert Peters
About Taylor Mitnick
Taylor Mitnick is an up-and-coming UX designer, hoping to start her career in the Philadelphia area. She graduated from Florida State University in 2019 with a double degree in Editing, Writing, & Media; and Philosophy and is currently a student in Springboard’s UI/UX Design Career Track course.
💡 Philosophy
Joe Pascavage ✍🏼
What is unique about your personal philosophy towards UX design?
Taylor
I don’t have a traditional design background and I strongly believe that this actually works in my favor. UX design is all about being innovative and thinking of the newest, best solutions for users. Because I did not study design in college, I am able to initially approach projects outside of the design process. Much of my university education focused on logic and creative thinking, which I am now able to apply when solving problems on an app or website. This allows me to stay focused on the true goal of any project which is not simply to make a well-designed feature, but to identify and solve a problem that the user encounters in their everyday life. …
A brief guide on working from home during quarantine
Taking a step back to look at things differently has taken on a whole new world of meaning these days. For myself I’ve found it refreshing to a degree. It’s given me more than enough time to do one of the things I enjoy most, and that is to reflect on my accomplishments and look ahead for new opportunity. But for many others, this challenge of remote life has taken on many different forms. The status quo may seem far from sight, and that can leave many of us unsettled.
The reality of our situation starts to really sink in when you hear that half of the world’s population is in lockdown. Think about that—almost 4 billion individuals are being asked to stay home indefinitely so we can better contain the COVID-19 pandemic. …
Don’t hate—designers just think differently than you.
Yeah. We’re pretty much a mixed basket.
You never know what you’re going to get with any given clique of design gurus you come across. Sure everyone has their own unique interests and hobbies, but I’m pretty confident when I say designers are potentially the strangest collection of people I’ve ever interacted with—and I personally love it.
Maybe we’re just born to be different, and that’s then amplified by any given means of formal or informal training. We see the world in a different light, and we sweat the details that others find insignificant. We’re potentially seen as the annoying or immature ones in an office setting for any given reason such as A) We dress more relaxed because it’s important to ensure the incredible brainpower that goes into creativity isn’t sacrificed by wearing pleated khakis (or maybe we just have better taste), and B) we laugh a bit too frequently with each other to keep our kindred spirits uplifted rather than sitting in dead silence while typing monotonous emails all day. …
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