“If you can fix it, you can use it.”
There are some folks out there who would take that challenge and move on, but few who would take that challenge and then turn it into an entire career.
But Creative Director Kensie E. did just that!
And now, as a Creative Director and pro UI/UX designer, Kensie specializes in bringing ideas to life, mentoring her creative teams, and turning complex projects into reality.
So, if you’re ready to hear the inspiring story of how Kensie went from a kid tinkering with an old computer to a UI/UX pro and Designity powerhouse, then here’s your chance to learn more about her and see some of her amazing work!
Get ready, because it’s time to meet Kensie!
How did you get into web design and development? What’s your origin story?
My very first introduction to computers was, my stepdad had a bank and, at the time, household computers weren’t very popular, most people didn’t have them. So, they were getting new computers at the bank and he brought one home and said “if you can fix it, you can use it.”
So, that was my first introduction, and then I started learning code through IRL chat rooms. I would ask questions and there were old guys in there, which is terribly dangerous, and I don’t recommend nowadays, but at the time it worked.
I started building things randomly. I was selected for a young coders camp with N.A.S.A. and I did that all 4 years of high school.
I came out of high school having built my high school’s first website and having a pretty good base knowledge of code. Back then software wasn’t really something they were offering in college yet, so I figured I’d major in electrical engineering at Ohio State.
And so I did engineering, but I started building websites on the side for businesses. Nobody had them, it was rare. By my third year of college, I was building enough websites that I quit school.
And I never became an electrical engineer.
So, you went into web building after that?
Yes. I was in software, and I became mostly a JavaScript developer at that point. And then WordPress became a thing and I learned it front to back and was building custom themes and selling them.
So, now I'm technically a product manager. I zero to one products. That's my specialty — I take a product and bring it to real life.
Do you do web design as well?
I generally work on applications and tech but also, from the creative side of things, I can do graphic design.
The design kind of came as a necessity. Because the websites had to look nice, and I just happened to have a pretty good eye for aesthetics, so I became a UX/ UI designer, which wasn’t really named that back then.
It was just a bunch of coders winging it, which is why things looked so ugly for a while on the internet.
I started actually caring about the design and the user experience, and asking myself “How do we design this in a way that people will actually use it?”
So, usability became a big focus for me.
Was building websites your first full-time job?
Yes, I opened my own little business doing websites. That was my very first job. I would just build websites. I think I charged $500 for each one.
Pretty cheap, by today’s standards, but at the time it was a pretty good little business I had going.
How did you get from your website business to Designity?
I worked in an agency after that. So, that was kind of the second step. I was a web development manager, and I got into management pretty quick because there weren’t a lot of people that were doing it, so I had more experience than the people around me.
So, that was kind of the next step. Then I worked at another agency after that, several startups, I consulted, and then I wanted to be more creative, so it went from there.
What is your favorite kind of project to take on?
My favorite project is actually just taking a zero to one product.
So, having somebody bring an application that is an idea and taking it all the way through product design, and then making it through development and out into the world.
That’s my favorite kind of project. Obviously UX/UI is my bread and butter too. So, I always love to get in those. I’m a huge research person. I love to do UI analysis and tear things to shreds. That’s my favorite thing. Then I can put them back together if they let me.
What has been your most challenging project and how did you overcome the challenges?
Video, for sure.
I have mad respect for video people. Video is one of those creative areas where it’s so detail-oriented, and there’s so many layers of making it good, from the copywriting to the actual animation itself to the scripting and storyboarding. I am always amazed by the people who do it because it’s something that is totally foreign to myself.
What is your favorite thing about working at Designity?
Working with the Creatives, hands down.
I really try to create collaborative environments. I believe that I really have this belief that creativity suffocates in silos and so I believe that working together as teams is the most effective way for everybody to be the best version of their creative self.
And so, I really try to foster that. It’s super important, and I’m constantly trying to think of ways to make more collaborative environments and to better the culture and just to allow Creatives to have more time with each other and with me because I think Creatives burn out when they’re siloed. So, I want to see Creatives that have long-term goals here.
How do you keep yourself up to date with UI/UX trends or tools?
I’m pretty active on social media. I’m always kind of seeing what’s coming out. I breathe tech and product is my specialty. It’s part of my job to know, “What’s coming? How do we build it?”
So, right now, I’m super heavy into AI. I build custom GPTs all the time, that’s kind of my hobby.
It’s just part of me. I’m always reading newsletters. I was also an original beta tester for Figma. So, when things like that come out, I really try to get involved earlier if it’s something I see potential in.
Because tech changes; the Facebook of today is the Instagram of tomorrow is the TikTok of the next day. I think it’s important to kind of understand that and always be on the lookout.
So, I’m constantly listening and reading and trying to learn the next new thing. I always have a stack of books too. Right now, I’m reading Blockchain and Distributed Letters, which is a very fascinating math book. I just think it’s important that I stay up with stuff.
Is there any insight you can give about current tech trends?
I’ll always talk about blockchain. And I believe in the power of blockchain, but not in the hype of blockchain.
I’m not a speculative markets gambler, so I don’t care at all about what’s happening with BitCoin, going up and down in price. That makes no difference to me.
What I do care about is the fact that blockchain has the potential to solve problems that humanity deals with. So, I’m always trying to look at what it could solve and things like access to health records. You should own that data because it’s your data; it’s your health records. But because of the way things are structured, it’s a nightmare to get those records and get them to another doctor so you can seek help.
And blockchain has the ability to solve that.
I've been involved with an app that is as simple as scanning a QR code and scanning it in at your new doctor and having it transfer all of your records confidentially. Just things like that, allowing for pain points with data privacy to be solved is a big passion of mine.
And so, I really kind of am big in the privacy and identity space with blockchain. I think that there's huge capabilities there and then, of course, everybody's talking about AI.
I think AI is interesting. We train AI and then, if we're smart, we’ll allow AI to train us in return.
I think that the potential for the synergy there is a really grand idea. So, those are the two tech trends that I'm really big on right now.
Also, I love gamification. I would probably say that anything that you can make a game, people are just generally more excited to do. I’m a big fan of that.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I’m a big outdoorsy person.
Generally, I’m hiking, paddleboarding. I skateboard, I snowboard. Pretty much anything like that will make me happy and just spending time with my wife and my family is a big plus.
<div class="c-blog_comp-cta cc-component-2"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-wrap"><img src="https://global-uploads.webflow.com/61cdf3c5e0b8155f19e0105b/63695243d096983691046ac3_Potential-Creative.png" loading="lazy" alt="" class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-img"></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-right cc-dark"><div class="c-blog_comp-content"><div class="c-text-wrapper cc-mb-32"><div class="c-title-4 cc-bold"><strong>Like to work as a freelancer with consistent income?</strong></div></div><div class="c-text-wrapper"><div class="c-text-2">Designity's collaborative model is designed to give you all of the perks of being a freelancer without the income instability.<br></div></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-wrapper"><a href="http://designity.com/creatives" target="_blank" class="c-button w-button"><strong>Join Our Creative Community</strong></a></div></div></div>
Do you have any words of inspiration for aspiring Creatives out there?
Always fail fast, learn faster.
That’s probably my biggest words of inspiration. Don’t worry about what people are gonna think or your ideas getting shot down. Just try, and the faster you can, the faster you can learn why it didn’t work.
We all fail, things don’t always work, but in the long run, you’ll learn from it, and you’ll come out better at what you do.
