How I got into design

I share my story to illuminate the entropy of life. You never know what is going to happen, and for me I happened into design.

In high school I was extremely excited to be involved. I think that lots of people feel that way, but I wasn’t the most athletic, I didn’t find a lot of joy in studying, I found my home in the theatre. I loved being able to walk up on stage and pretend to be something that I wasn’t, I loved the people, I loved the collaboration of playing off of someone’s energy and getting that energy sent back to you, and it was a place where I could by myself artistically. Theatre is also a place where you can go fast and learn things quickly. I learned painting, I hung lights, I programed lighting board, I got to do a lot of really cool and interesting things.

For college, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the rest of my life - just a quick side thought I’m not sure how great of an idea that it is to ask eighteen year olds to make decisions like this about their future, but I digress. So! Eighteen year old Alec decided that he would study theatrical design and production at Oklahoma City University. College was a tough transition for me, but this is where I started to learn more about design fundamentals. Before my education with design was just play, play with lights, play with paint, play with scenery. Not anything serious thoughtful or particularly intentional.

This is where things got a bit complicated

I learned about halfway through my Junior year in college that I was going to be a dad. It was a mix of different feelings, but mostly panic, mixed with excitement, and a little bit of terror. My college girlfriend for about 9 months, and my current wife. I had to quickly transition myself from aloof college kid to a responsible family man.

So, I did what any reasonable 22 year old would do - I talked to my friend and roommate, who was working at a small tech agency doing some light photoshop work, to see if I could intern there, start to learn something. Just as I started learning theatre I started learning app design. I watched youtube videos, I read online blogs, I studied the pen tool, and I mastered photoshop exports to maximize efficiency in the art of asset management.

I didn’t know what I was getting into. I just knew that tech was an exciting space, I already understood design - how hard could learning the other stuff be?

I graduated and to my surprise the company I worked for asked me to go full time, they even offered me money! I was getting paid to professionally design software, that was pretty cool. Maybe 2 years into designing I learned the term UX.

I still use the storytelling and collaboration techniques that I learned in the theatre. I still think a perfectly timed light cue and try to bring that energy to the software that I’m crafting. The collaboration between director and designer on the stage mirrors the collaboration between Product Manager and designer online.

I’ve now worked at five different companies doing design. I’ve worked in lots of different industries bringing a different perspective to the room.

Hopefully that story can help someone, I’m still growing, I’m still getting my feet under me, but I’m grateful for the journey that led me here and I’m happy to share it. 🖖