John Renteria: UX Designer

My Story

Well, I don’t talk about myself very often, so I’m not sure what to say, exactly. I am a Texan, born and raised… currently residing in Pflugerville, TX. Most of my employment background/work history deals with security enforcement. As cliché as it sounds, I entered this field because I wanted to help people. After nearly 7 years of being contracted

by the Department of Homeland Security protecting local government facilities, I found myself thinking “There HAS to be more to life than this.” I have always been artistic, and I enjoy creating things, so why not find a career where I can let my creativity shine? I looked into a UX Design certificate offered by Google and truly felt like I had found my “more to life”… a way to help people while using my creativity- BINGO! 

Recently completed the Google UX Design Certificate — a rigorous, hands-on program that covers the design process from end-to-end.

impathizing with users by creating empathy maps, personas, user stories, and user journey maps

Defining user pain points

Ideating design solutions using Crazy Eights, How Might We, and competitive audits.

Creating wireframes and prototypes on paper and digitally

Developing mockups using visual design elements and principles

Designing in Figma and Adobe XD

Conducting interviews and usability studies

Considering accessibility at every point in the design process

My Design Approach

There is a very linear way to go about design for users and developing a product. But is it really linear? The design process might be, but in practice…is it? I want to attack pain points and problems in an out of the box way. Its brilliant design that changes the field. While the stages of design are the foundation of UX, changing how the industry views something is the cherry on top.

Even though I am an entry-level designer, I have a strong urge to learn and grow in something I feel very passionate about. I am extremely motivated by the endless possibilities that are at my fingertips regarding designing the digital world around me.

I keep thinking to myself, “But why?” Why must we design off of the mold of what has already been put in place? Design principles have been both established and proven, no question about it. But why? I not only want to work with someone who knows how to utilize what has already been proven, but also work within the established UI/UX Design world and add a twist to it. Why not create a new design principle of our own?