I am a burgeoning interface and interaction designer with a background in psychology. I am fascinated by how and why people do things the way they do. After starting my professional journey in clinical neuropsychology, I realized what I really wanted out of my career was to build and create things. I enjoy working with computers, and I am perhaps more passionately infuriated than most by bad and unintuitive interface design. I have spent the last few years growing my skills in technology focused research both academically and professionally. Now, I am looking to combine these two aspects of my background in the applied spaces of software, system, and product design. I am an independent, self-driven worker, based in Graz, and I am ready to bring my skills to your company and projects.
...As a professional?
This past year I have been focused on building my skills via internships, first at Virtual Vehicle (also known as ViF), a research organization focused on the future of transportation and mobility, and then at Know Center a research organization dedicated to safe, ethical, and forward-thinking applications of Artificial Intelligence.
At Know Center, I interned with the Digital Design Transformation Team, and had the opportunity to spearhead an exploration into potential AI-enabled features for hiking and outdoors apps like Komoot and AllTrails. Independently, I planned, conducted, and compiled the results of contextual user inquiries, where real users of these apps demonstrated how, when, and for what they use them. I then used this data to create user journeys and identify redundancies in the workflow. The internship capstone was a presentation of several AI-enabled feature concepts to stakeholders, where I pitched the concepts and explained the rationale behind them.
At ViF, I worked with the Human Factors Team on projects dedicated to how drivers interact with the various experimental mobility technologies being worked on at ViF. The EFFEREST project is an EU funded effort to design features for electric vehicles which improve safety and ease of operation. I worked on the design of a user interface for a completely unique smart climate control system which used AI-enabled digital twins to model the comfort of the driver in the vehicle. I facilitated design ideation workshops where the team brainstormed and sketched ideas. Afterwards, I compiled the output of those sessions into cohesive wireframes in Figma, augmented by research on EU automotive safety rules, ISO standards, and competitive market research. We created an intuitive concept that allows drivers to easily articulate their level of comfort or discomfort to the smart climate system.
...As a student?
I am a Masters Candidate in Computational Social Systems with a specialization in Human Factors, held jointly at the University of Graz and the Technical University of Graz. I expect to complete my final Masters examination before the end of 2026. Over the past few years of study, I have had the pleasure of being able to improve my skills as a programmer and designer, and I have dedicated much of my study to developing a rich understanding of interactive systems.
My thesis is built on the foundation of design work done as an intern at ViF. I took the smart climate control wireframes, and developed them into a high-fidelity prototype. I illustrated the visual assets and honed in the final screen design which, we implemented the prototype into a VW ID4 electric car. Study participants drove the car and performed tasks with the new climate control system, while we recorded data about driver performance, cognitive load, usability, and user acceptance. The goal of the study is to determine the safety of the system relative to a typical climate control system, and judge whether users would like using a system like I designed. In short, does the new system create a positive user experience? Currently I am in the process of completing data analysis and writing the final paper.
My coursework focused on many kinds of interactive systems. In the foundational modules, I built skills in Python and SQL. Then I was able to branch into my specialization with courses like Human-Computer Interaction and Human Centered Design. These provided a background in the design of user interfaces, especially with regard to AI. I complemented these with more niche studies in game design, gamified learning systems, and a seminar analyzing data about professional AI usage in Austrian small businesses.
...As a person?
Since moving to Austria from the USA, I’ve fallen in love with being here. I firmly believe some of the best food on Earth can be found in Styrian Buschenshanken. Much of my free time is spent crocheting, playing video games and table-top RPGs, and attempting to train my two cats with mixed results.