I love trying to answer the question, “Why is this stuff not working for people?” 

Often, products and services aren’t meeting what us humans expect or need.  Hidden signals and patterns drive consumers to be confused and frustrated.

My job is to spot these challenges and to seek out ways to solve those real-world problems.  

Much of my work centers on user-centered design, information architecture, UX strategy and Interaction Design practices even in my personal life.

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I like helping people.


Attribution: By Jeremy Bezanger posted on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/MX7AXTG8OzY

Keep in touch

Follow me on Twitter @Leonai_art


A BRIEF HISTORY

I’ve been designing graphics, logos, have assisted with social media campaigns and built W3C standards qualifying websites since 1996. (not always good ones.  I might add.)

Somewhere around late 2007 / Early 2008, a friend suggested looking into WPF and Silverlight using Expression Blend as my new tool and this changed my life for good.

Accomplishments of note:

  • Self-made woman, with the help of friends along the way.
  • Started and operated a volunteer-based internet talkshow radio station for 11 years.  Hosts from 4 different countries. Honest marketing practices combined with enthusiasm and show format-training (to help offset burnout) drove listener-ship up enough to break the servers a few times.
  • Trained with 3 schools of martial arts.  Kang Duk Won (PNW), Japan Karate Federation, and a Shotokan school now known as the  Shinzo Kaizen Dojo. 
  • Successfully launched a complete overhaul on my career with grit and determination, spending most of my free time at the library and reading books on psychology, design, heuristics, research techniques, and technology types while contributing to the open-source community.  2.5 years or more in and I was ready. I launched into my career as an Information Architect.  
  • Continually evolving musician. Music is like air to me – required to sustain life.  I play and actively seek to become better at playing a number of instruments – my voice included.
  • Co-Host of UX:This
  • Co-Founder of Construction Nerds

On a personal note, I am a mom to 5 wonderful kids, 3 of which live with me.  I am married to an incredibly patient and resilient guy who has just taken off on his first major business adventure.  

You may run into me in the music scene or chatting with the wonderful people selling their hard-work at a farmer’s market in the Triangle, North Carolina area.


Contact Information

Professional: ariel.spaulding at gmail – dot – com
Personal: a.rheannon.s at gmail – dot – com

(written above as a way to curtail the flood of spam caused by bot scans of published email contact information)

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