Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Designer, researcher, and user experience enthusiast.
Hi, I'm Erica Boyle
Early on in my education, I decided I needed creativity in my life every day to survive.
I've now dedicated my career to designing tech-based products and crafting experiences users love. ❤️
My professional career has been spent as a Product Designer, a role that goes far beyond what gets displayed on a screen. My experience and education has given me a deep knowledge of user psychology, visual and interaction design, and front-end development, the key ingredients to an excellent product designer. Throughout this time, I've built my beliefs on what product design should and should not be.
What is product design:
- Involved early and often when setting strategy, crafting customer experiences, and brainstorming on new ideas.
- Asking what problem is this solving and not what solution we should build.
- Validating risky assumptions, and moving through many design iterations with the feedback from humans at the center of it.
- Not afraid to get dig into research or learn how to code - it only helps to communicate your ideas further.
What product design is not:
- Throwing designs over the fence to engineers to implement without your involvement.
- Pushing pixels all day long, far away from researching what the pixels are building.
- Thinking that product design begins and ends at what requirements are handed to them.
My main strength is my ability to shape product strategy and look at product from a holistic view. While I may have gotten into product design due to being a self-taught graphic designer, I have stayed in this field for all the aspects of this role that go way beyond the visuals being delivered.
Freelance work
Every designer has a side hustle, right? In the past I've helped small start ups with logo and branding creation and I have created event promotion materials for various organizations. But recently I have transitioned to a personal passion of mine: bringing a bride's ideas to life through custom printed materials for their wedding. Invitation sets, save the dates, programs and general wedding branding are where I focus most of my freelancing energies. If you're a bride (or groom!) reading this, check out my work and hit me up. I'd love to work with you.
Education
I completed my master's degree in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) in the fall of 2021 from Iowa State University. My undergraduate degree is in business with an emphasis on marketing and business intelligence and analytics from Creighton University.
Personal life
I hail from the small town of Hooper, NE, moved to the "big city" of Omaha for many years, and told my younger self that I would never return to small town life. But after the marriage to my husband, the birth of my first child, and the commitment to the remote work lifestyle post 2020, I decided to return to my roots on an acreage in rural Nebraska. Though the internet options may be limited, the views are worth it.
While a lot of my time has me staring at a computer screen, there are times you can find me without my laptop. Becoming a mother has been a real highlight in my life, and most of my time is spent with my beautiful daughter Isla. I am an avid reader, enjoy strength training and cycling classes to get my body moving, and love spending time with my family either on the water or in our camper.