User Experience is being able to put yourself in the user's shoes
Great design begins with listening – deeply, intentionally, and with an open heart. Throughout my unique career path, from pastoral ministry to professional wrestling and UX design, one thread remains constant: the ability to read people and adapt in real-time to their needs.
As a pastoral counselor, I learned to hear not just the words being spoken, but the emotions and struggles beneath them. This same empathetic listening later proved invaluable in the wrestling ring, where reading the crowd’s energy would guide the flow of a match, allowing me to improvise and adjust my performance to create the most engaging experience possible.
From the pulpit, I developed an acute sensitivity to my congregation’s level of understanding and engagement. When I noticed furrowed brows or distant gazes, I knew it was time to pivot, finding new metaphors or simpler explanations to illuminate complex spiritual concepts. This adaptability – the willingness to abandon a planned approach in favor of one that better serves the audience – is essential in user experience design.
My journey into pastoral ministry began with a deep well of empathy – a genuine desire to understand and support others through their life journeys. Today, that same empathy drives my approach to UX design. When users struggle with an interface or process, I feel their frustration. When they need a better solution, I’m driven to innovate.
Innovation isn’t just about chasing the new; it’s about recognizing when existing solutions no longer serve their purpose. Whether it’s reimagining a sermon delivery, choreographing a fresh wrestling sequence, or redesigning a user interface, I thrive on creating solutions that resonate with real human needs. This combination of empathy, adaptability, and creative problem-solving forms the foundation of my unique approach to user experience design.
My Process for UX Design
Writing the User's Happy Ending
1. Interviews and Research (the_background)
Information gathering is huge for me. I want to go into the process having a decent understanding of everything I can — potential end users, subject matter of the problem, side concerns… so that once I get into interviews and problem finding, I can understand what I’m being told..
2. Competitive Audit (the_context)
I like operating under the concept of Appreciative Inquiry – learning to leverage strengths first, and working on weaknesses in the background when time opens up. But that means looking for service gaps in competing products, and finding a way we can develop something no one else has.
3. Personas and Problems (the_characters and plot)
My research is no match for the experience of the end user. So the next step is to get personal testimony on the problem we’re trying to solve. With that information I develop some aggregate Personas, each representative of age groups, pain points, and accessibility issues I’m aiming to serve.
4. Idea Generation – How Might We? and Crazy 8s (the_narrative)
This is where I shine – innovation on existing concepts. I’m an idea guy at heart. Using the viewpoints of my developed Personas, the Stakeholders, and my own outside-the-box thinking, I look for ways to leverage the strengths and weaknesses of existing products, and work to create opportunities for my client to shine where others haven’t even brought a flashlight. All the while, I keep thinking of that happy ending where the user gets everything they ever wanted, and some things they hadn’t thought of yet.
5. Information Hierarchy, Wireframes and Prototypes (the_structure)
I prefer to do my “paper” wireframing using my digital tablet, either in Figma or Krita, depending on the needs of the project. Once I’ve found a layout that seems to work, I test with end users and iterate until everyone is comfortable with the outcome.
6. Design Research – Colors, Fonts, Logos (the_illustration)
This is when I let myself start dreaming of how everything is going to look. Don’t get me wrong – little flashes of inspiration happen throughout the whole process, but I try to put them to the side and concentrate on the concept. Color psychology is considered, but is secondary to feel. I try to follow themes.
7. Hi-Res MockUps and Prototypes, and Iteration (the_binding)
Going back and forth between end users, the client, and the drawing board, I continuously hone the product to be understandable, accessible, and powerful. I keep the story of the users in mind as I deliver what is hopefully not just a mobile app or website, but a journey that somehow soothes their suffering.