Miles “MJ” Blackwood is a visual communicator, UX designer, illustrator, and huge fantasy dork
offering user experience (UX) design skills to a company that solves problems for real people.
Exuberantly creative with a background in Illustration, MJ brings an energy for problem-solving to diverse teams that value cooperation and placing the user at the center.
With experience working as an illustration freelancer, MJ is not new to the brilliant intersection between art, communication, and tech. He’s worked out solutions to visual problems for clients through solid and consistent communication, and learned that the most successful projects come from centering your philosophy around the people you’re actually designing for.
Excels in creating workable solutions for clients, MJ always brings that energy, passion and knowledge to the team.
he/they
Pittsburgh Native,
Globally Available
Overly Passionate About…Tabletop RPGs (DnD)
Puzzle Games/Escape Rooms
Chocolate Lava Cake
Thoughts From MJ…
Q. How do you define UX?
What I tend to tell people is that UX Designers make websites, products, apps (or anything “experienceable”, really) make sense for the people who actually use them.
If you imagine a digital product as a building, someone has to make sure all the hallways, rooms, and entryways connect together in a way so that you, the person walking through it, can reasonably find your way around and complete whatever you need to do (be that get to coffee, a bathroom, or an interview).
For me, what that means, is that UX design is truly defined by its name.
I create designs for real people experiencing something in which they have a goal. It’s my job to make sure they can successfully and comfortably complete that goal (while making sure that we can sell them that coffee too).
Q. What part of the design process are you passionate about?
I really like paper prototyping.
One of my core beliefs about any kind of creative process is that sketching is the most important step. Taking your time to blueprint out what you’re going to do before you do it will save you tons of time down the road. (And doubles as an amazing communication tool!)
Architects don’t create buildings without blueprints, so neither should we!