Hi! I'm Abby Trask, a user-centric and conceptual designer with specialty skills in media technology and statistical visualization. My design thinking skills are represented in various ways, with technology and interactivity at the forefront. These skills were developed throughout my experience while attending Winona State University. My I-Design major, concentrating on technology and interactivity, has taught me fundamental aptitudes to develop interdisciplinary design thinking. One of the most impactful ways I've utilized my skills while working with clients is by showcasing information about a project through data visualizations and infographics. These added visualizations allow clients to understand better the thought process and decisions made to give them a great outcome. Something unique about me is that my main goal in life is to make a difference. One way I hope to make a difference is by helping people through various design methods. With user-centered design at the forefront of great innovation, I prioritize emphasizing the user in everything I create. Discovering new ways of making a difference and highlighting my specialty skills is something I strive to do in the future.

  • Some clients are unsure of what they want. Asking questions doesn't always help but knowing how to react to their answers is essential. After listening to the client and fine-tuning future queries, you can uncover what they truly want and need.

  • Unite is all about the inclusion of the client throughout the design process. One of the worst things you can do is leave a client in the dark during this process. If this were to happen, the client could develop untrue assumptions about the designer and project. Designers can achieve more by involving the client and frequently working together.

  • Developing a well-thought-out theme is what makes stories unforgettable. Every project has a piece, but some are more hidden than others. By identifying the theme, the designer can have a creative direction that influences all design decisions. These decisions could also determine the style of each project.

  • Designers take a theme and develop concepts that support the theme to help communicate the message. Concepts are ideas that don't have any visual attributes that are visible. It is essential to use the correct concept to portray the right message.

  • Eat the Audience refers to who you're designing for. It is easy to forget who you're designing for and to forget about your target audience. Eat the Audience needs to be thought about so that the designs work effectively with the target audience to develop a user-based design.

  • As designers develop a project, we need to think about the process and the stages of a project with parts stripped away that aren't essential to the design to create the most effective design solution. These elements are removed due to the client's needs, useability, and other limitations. Filtering designs can also allow the designer to showcase the most important and influential design parts.

  • Justification is the process of actively filtering and rationalizing the elements of a design. Filtering is only one step of the design process to remove unnecessary features. This step is crucial because it allows the designer to consider vital outcomes.

This process was developed from the MTIV Movie process book.