Great to meet you, I'm Marika!
I am passionate about creating visual stories to positively impact the lives of others through personal and visual expression. With over two years design experience and a certificate in UX/UI Design from Columbia University, I create compelling user-centric visual solutions that help businesses communicate effectively.
Combining empathy and creative problem solving, I design intuitive interfaces that connect with the users’ needs and provide meaningful solutions. By diving into user research and analysis, I identify insights that shape my designs to cater to the unique expectations of users.
I began my career as a dancer studying Commercial Dance and Arts & Entertainment Management from Pace University. Spanning a decade, my diverse background in the dance industry as an event manager, teacher, choreographer, marketing & administrative associate, and performer, has honed my ability to understand and communicate effectively with various audiences.
Proficient Tools:
Figma, Miro, Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Canva, iMovie, InVision, Trello,
Google Workspace, VS Code
Hard Skills Highlights:
Visual Design, Typography & Color Theory, Wire framing & Prototyping, Responsive Visual Interface Design, User Research, Usability Testing, Information Architecture, User Flow, Competitive Analysis, HTML & CSS Literate
About My Work Style
User Empathy
I like to walk a mile in the users shoes to learn their preferences, hang ups, and reasonings to personally learn who they are. I believe that empathy is the foundation for building products that truly resonate with users, empowering them to achieve their goals effortlessly.
Visual Principles
Naturally, I am drawn to clean, clear, and simply effective designs. I love a challenge to go outside of my natural ways to reflect the user and client's needs. I focus heavily on the feel of the design and the emotions that it creates.
User Research & Qualitative Interviews
My three rules:
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Don’t assume! You do not represent every user, even if you are a user.
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If you want good results, listen, and allow the interviewee to feel free to share their thoughts even if they are not part of the interview. The free thinking is often where some of the most unique results surface.
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Synthesize!! Take the time to find the commonalities. (I’m a big fan of affinity maps!)
Prototyping
Quick paper sketch --> Detail low-fi frames --> Usability testing --> Hi-fi color and detail the frames --> Usability Testing --> Polish it up!
Best practices that I follow:
Always duplicate to keep previous versions/ideas
Organized pages = clearer thoughts
Components & style guides are essential
Collaboration
We’re stronger together, right? I’m big on team playing, listening, and bouncing ideas off of each other. Collaboration is key to my process as I work closely with teams and stakeholders to ensure that the designs not only meet user needs, but also align with technical feasibility.
Creative Problem Solving
My years of working in the entertainment industry have loaded me up with experiences in unique thinking to achieve successful results regardless of the scenario. It is a main practice to never let the audience know that there was a deviation in the plan. I have translated this into UX/UI design by connecting with my projects in multiple angles, expanding the outcome possibilities, feeling comfortable with a plan B (or C), and emphasizing thoughtful presentation. In other words - the show must go on.