AS principal of Kats Vision, I launched my company in 2002 after an 18-year stint as a human factors engineer and user interface/interaction designer in the San Francisco Bay Area high-tech industry. After leaving the corporate world in 2002, I began freelancing for various companies and design firms focusing mainly on web interaction design, and continue doing so to present.
I’m also a faculty member in the Computer Arts New Media program at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I teach usability, user experience and interaction design in the graduate program, both on campus and online. I also serve as advisor in direct study with students who are working on their thesis projects. I’m a member of the review board which reviews/approves student midpoint and final projects. My teaching position at the university has been my most satisfying professional experiences of all the positions I’ve held over the years. I learn as much from my students as they do from me.
In total, I have designed user interfaces over the past 20 years of evolving user interface technology, from command line interfaces, form-fill and GUI interfaces, to the ubiquitous web browser interfaces. My focus has always been on the end-user/consumer/customer. I live by the philosophy that form follows function. Nothing useful can be built that doesn't put people’s needs first. I implement the fundamentals of user-centered design process. I’ve practiced the user-centered design process over the course of my career and continue to bring to bear this process on all my client’s design solutions, whether they involve graphic design or web application design.
Where does Kats Vision come from? Well, I've been called by the nickname Kat for years, by family and friends. I'd been contemplating
I’m also a faculty member in the Computer Arts New Media program at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I teach usability, user experience and interaction design in the graduate program, both on campus and online. I also serve as advisor in direct study with students who are working on their thesis projects. I’m a member of the review board which reviews/approves student midpoint and final projects. My teaching position at the university has been my most satisfying professional experiences of all the positions I’ve held over the years. I learn as much from my students as they do from me.
In total, I have designed user interfaces over the past 20 years of evolving user interface technology, from command line interfaces, form-fill and GUI interfaces, to the ubiquitous web browser interfaces. My focus has always been on the end-user/consumer/customer. I live by the philosophy that form follows function. Nothing useful can be built that doesn't put people’s needs first. I implement the fundamentals of user-centered design process. I’ve practiced the user-centered design process over the course of my career and continue to bring to bear this process on all my client’s design solutions, whether they involve graphic design or web application design.
Where does Kats Vision come from? Well, I've been called by the nickname Kat for years, by family and friends. I'd been contemplating
independent contract work many years
before quitting my last corporate job -- this had been a vision of mine. In 2002 I decided to pursue my vision to work as an independent contractor, hence the company name, Kats Vision.
Since I have worked many years in the industry, teach at Academy of Art University and recently completed 3 years graphic design and fine art certificate programs at UCSC Extension, I’ve developed a broad collaborative network of design and development professionals that I can draw on to meet any scope of business or product design project.