Meet Heather McLain
UX and Product Designer
Hi, I’m Heather, a freelance UX and Product Designer based in Sugar Land, Texas. I create innovative digital designs that enable users to navigate work and life better through technology.
Background in Physical Product Design
Prior to entering UX/UI and Digital Product Design, I worked for 8 years as a Product Designer and Owner/Entrepreneur for a hand dyed yarn company. This work helped me develop a strong understanding of color theory, and an intuitive knack for the use of color to convey moods. I was also responsible for designing and maintaining my own website and branding, designing and building proprietary equipment for specialized gradient dye processes, and representing my brand at trade shows.
Laying the Foundation for Empathy in User Research
I cut my teeth in user research by talking face to face with retail and wholesale customers about their needs at trade shows, but my approach to user research is also strongly influenced by my work with children in the foster system as a former foster (and eventually adoptive) parent. Figuring out how to help and guide children with trauma history is detective work, learning to ask the right questions and being a diligent observer. These are the skills I bring to the table when conducting user research, to understand people beyond the words they say to design for how they experience the world.
Work-Life Balance
Real life experience helps designers design for real people! Outside of work, I enjoy travel, fiber arts, kayaking, strategy board games and experimenting with fusion recipes. I moonlight as an unpaid shuttle service for gymnastics and lacrosse practice.
Want to get in touch? Drop me a line!
My shift to UX and Product Design was born of a desire to find a field that allows me to combine my gifts for creative design and analytical thinking. I love the opportunities that UX Design offers to create products that solve problems and enable learning and discovery.
