Going into this semester I already had a great appreciation for human-centered design. As a member of a marginalized group, wanting to design things to improve people’s lives came naturally. Through this course, I have gained experiences that I will be able to carry with me throughout my career as a designer.

Takeaways from this semester include but are not limited to:

• Building relationships with those you are designing for is one of the most important steps of the process.
• Go into conversations with an open mind. Listen to your participants.
• Researching to fill in gaps in knowledge not only answers questions but helps to ask more.
• Even when designing for a marginalized group, it’s important to get diverse perspectives within that smaller group, too.

This field of design has become my favorite, hands down. Our professor, Marty Maxwell Lane, holds a wealth of knowledge in terms of best practices regarding human-centered design. Getting to learn from her was extraordinary, and I’m quite grateful for the opportunity. Her passion to better the world through design shines through her teachings. She sees our potential and helps pull that out of us.

I hope that this is just the beginning of a very long journey in the realm of human-centered design for me. While some may catch themselves dreaming about designing for Apple or something of the like, I find myself wishing for a position with IDEO, verynice, Big Tomorrow, hyperakt, etc. Wherever I end up, I will be a better designer thanks to Human-Centered Design at the University of Arkansas!