We were lucky to catch up with Angela Martin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Angela, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was one of the most important lessons you learned in school? Why did that lesson stick with you?
In 5th grade I was handed my first ThinkPad laptop. I had always been doodling in notebooks but now I was drawing in Adobe Photoshop. As my troubles with dyslexia had been greatly alleviated by the PC and the ability to change fonts, zoom in and scroll, my love for technology developed. I quickly fell thoroughly in love with innovation— the ThinkPad’s swivel hinge, the touch screen, the pen! Standing at the intersection of art and technology, I won my first graphic design competition in 6th grade.
In 2014, I attended the Rhode Island School of Design’s (RISD) pre-college intensive graphic design program as a rising junior in high school. I arrived in the heat and humidity of an east coast summer excited to experience dorm life and college independence 3,000 miles away from my parents. I came prepared with my own art supplies and an attitude; I had always had an A+ in art class and was voted “most likely to have their notebook sketches end up in a museum.” It didn’t take long in my first RISD class to realize what made me unique back home, made me average in those classrooms; in fact, below average.
One day my professor, Triton Mobley, said something I will never forget: “You’re all here because you have a dream of a creative profession. Well, I’m here to tell you that this IS a test, and some of you aren’t going to pass it. What you do on your worst days to make deadlines, to make the best deliverable possible, to be the best you have ever personally been, that’s what will determine if you’re going to sink or swim.” I wanted to swim. Some of my classmates could phone-in grade-A work the night before. I couldn’t. Seeing my drafts for that day, Triton challenged me: “Find what you’re good at, be honest with yourself about it, and then go all-in.”
I loved art and was excited by technology but didn’t have the skills, yet. I was pretty good at ideation, was empathetic, and had a clear vision for how people would interact with my work. I leaned into it. My final project was a dynamic and interactive foam display of over a dozen small gouache paintings based on biomimicry research. It practically buzzed from my own caffeine intake, but it ended up displayed in one of the RISD buildings for top student work.
I am lucky that the Venn diagram for my Ikiagi, or my “reason for being,” has a center where what you love, what the world needs, what you are good at, and what you can be paid for has a name: User Experience (UX) Design. While at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), I found myself in the middle of the pack again. And so, once more, I looked around the room and asked myself “what am I good at?” While working in a SCADpro collaboration project with Google, I found my user empathy to be a drive for curiosity and got good at user research. While I handled that, I needed to lean on my classmates for other things, finding the magic in good teamwork. Two years later, my final capstone team project was an educational resource for deaf and hard of hearing children with cochlear implants. Being dyslexic myself, the disability and inclusion community’s calling for accessibility fueled my career passion. I went all-in to advocate for and fiercely protect diversity, equity, and meaningful inclusion.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I’m Angela, a UX designer and ice cream enthusiast. Originally from Seattle, I am a firm believer there’s a magic that happens when gathered around good coffee and great food that inspires the best conversation. My love for design all started in a graphic design class at Forest Ridge middle school, learning to make posters in Adobe Photoshop on a ThinkPad— my love for Lenovo products runs deep. My passions grew into a profession, and I graduated from SCAD with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in UX design in 2020. I have worked for Lenovo, interned with Microsoft, and participated in collaborations with Google, Volvo and AirBnB. My work has been recognized by the European Product Design Awards, Core77 Design Awards, and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s R20 climate campaign. In addition to my professional skills as a designer, researcher, and usability tester, I am an avid cook, and a tech-savvy Gen-Zer.
As a UX Designer at Lenovo, my passions for accessibility, diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability are constant drivers and guides for my work. It’s my job to consider people from all cultural backgrounds and abilities. My customer centric and data driven work at Lenovo reaches customers around the world and in 2022 I received the UXD Software team award, acknowledging my accomplishments since joining the company in 2020. The work I am most proud of, however, is with ABLE, Lenovo’s disability advocacy employee resource group, A Better Lenovo for Everyone. As a co-lead of ABLE, I have helped to bring inclusive language coursework to Lenovo’s internal training program and improve accessibility during presentations and onboarding. I have also organized and hosted several exciting events such as XR Accessibility and project showcases with Lenovo’s Product Diversity Office. I have written and published several articles on topics such as invisible disabilities and how to make virtual meetings more accessible.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
Simon Sinek’s TED Talk How Great Leaders Inspire Action and later, his book Start With Why are my communication and concepting cornerstones. The main idea of Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle of What?, How? and Why? is that every organization and person knows what it is that they do, many know the details of how, but only the best know why. Since first being introduced to Simon Sinek’s work by my Speaking of Ideas professor at SCAD, Jeffrey DeVincent, I have used this powerful communication tool for all aspects of my creative process. Including explaining the complex people-centered needs of a design, project proposals, interviews, user research reports, and deciding major career decisions. Whenever I am stuck, I always come back to it.
If you can align with others on the “why” of anything, the “how” will follow and the “what” becomes unlimited.
Is there a mission driving your creative journey?
In the words of my mentor and incredible manager, Diana Gerli, the core mission of my journey is to “advocate for the definition of the “everyday” user to include “EVERY” user.” Microsoft’s mission statement “to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more” and Lenovo’s core “smarter technology for ALL” mantra have been impactful as well.
My personal goals are also heavily influenced by the wisdom of my former Microsoft mentor, Emily Tohir, “to not purposely design for everyone is to accidentally exclude someone”. The best innovations come from diverse teams working together in a culture where we celebrate and honor what others are good at.
I wouldn’t be where I am today in my creative journey without my mentors, inspiring peers, and incredibly supportive parents. It’s important to me to give back and stay involved with new talent, so I am a mentor and tutor to university and high school students pursuing creative careers. When my mentees are stuck, I challenge them with the same question Triton asked me, “What are you good at?” and I follow it up with “and, who do you need on your team?” I help my mentees not only to 1) figure out what they are good at compared to what they want to be good at (and address any gaps between the two) but also 2) how to tell others about their passions and in a teamwork setting.
When people find what they love, what the world needs, and what they are good at, their Ikiagi, that’s where the magic happens.
Contact Info:
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Website: https://angelamartin.design/