Hi, I’m Jake.
When I’m not designing, you can most likely find me in the great outdoors. I love a scenic hike, a good bike ride, and spending entire days at the beach. My favorite thing to do is play, watch, and talk basketball, especially if it’s about my beloved Brooklyn Nets or Maryland Terrapins. When I’m back indoors, I enjoy cooking up a meal with friends while jamming out to Sean Paul.
My design philosophy is to maximize inclusivity. Good design has the potential to lift up so many and I believe user experiences should be accessible, usable, and delightful for everyone. My work style involves relying heavily on research throughout the design process to ensure the products I work on genuinely solve users’ problems. If you feel our philosophies are aligned and want to talk further, let’s chat!
Peering into the crater of Mt. Liamuiga in St. Kitts, an 8-hour hike up and into a dormant volcano that nearly killed me.
My buddy Mahi and me, also in St. Kitts. He had to hitch a ride after a hot trek through the countryside.
Gearing up to embark on the final leg of the South County Trailway, a 50-mile bike path from Putnam County, NY to The Bronx.
My dad and me. He also worked in HCI as a Senior Software Engineer at IBM Research. Carrying on the family business!
Dad teaching me the ropes early! Does this mean I can put that I have 27 years of experience on my resume?
You guessed it... another hike! This one's on top of Sugarloaf Hill in NY.
A word (or 294) on the color of this site.
In the San Francisco MOMA, there is a painting that is simply monochrome blue on a canvas. When I visited the museum and saw this piece, I thought to myself, “I can do that, it’s just one color!” Then I learned that this painting was Untitled Blue Monochrome by Yves Klein. He had spent years working with different techniques, constantly iterating to find the perfect shade of blue to call his own, now known as International Klein Blue. That is the shade of blue you are looking at now.
I believe this experience serves as an analogy for UX. When a user sees a product, they only see the final interface in front of them. They might even think, “I can make that, it’s just an app!” What they don’t realize is the hours of research, thought, collaboration, and design iterations that have gone into that interface. To me, it is that effort that makes for meaningful user experiences instead of just a screen in front of a user.
This work of art is also analogous for another reason. In 1957, Yves Klein painted eleven identical works of this monochrome blue (Hex: #002FA7; you’re welcome) to be sold at an exhibition. The twist was that he placed eleven different prices on them. Sure enough, eleven different people bought the paintings. Each buyer had found different meaning and value in the work they purchased. This is a reminder that while a particular product is no different depending on whose device it’s on, users are human beings who each come with different perspectives and thought processes that will ultimately influence their experience. As a designer, I always try to keep this in mind and create products to be usable and valued by as many human beings as possible.