Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tytianna Horn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Tytianna, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Before I found UX design, I thought I wanted to be a software engineer. I had been accepted into college as a Computer Science major, and all I knew was the development-heavy coding part of the field. However, after being a part of Google’s Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) program the summer before college, I discovered web design and the more creative parts of computer science. Having always loved writing, drawing, and digital design, everything fell into place when I discovered that my university offered a concentration program in Computer Science called Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). I learned a lot in school, but it was in my free time that I created my own projects to build a portfolio and advertise myself as a UX and web designer. The work I put in helped me land a few internships (including one at NASA!) before my first full-time UX role a few months after graduation in 2021. For the past four years, I have been in different full-time UX roles and have freelanced as a UX, web, and graphic designer. I make my living improving websites and software, balancing digital accessibility with aesthetics, and making sure people have positive digital experiences.

Although I didn’t start my higher education with the intention of being a UX Designer (or even knowing it existed), every choice I made throughout my years of schooling led me to where I am today. If I could go back in time, I could speed up the process of finding my career and “do it right” the first time, but where’s the fun in that?

Tytianna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Throughout my career, I’ve worked in government, technology, nonprofits, and several other industries that have shaped me as both a designer and a person. While I love my full-time job and everything that comes with it, I also provide digital design services under my business, Middle Kid Creative. I’ve done web and graphic design projects and UX contracting with companies and organizations with missions and visions I am proud to support. Middle Kid Creative is my space to really do meaningful work and help people with a cause get noticed and grow their platforms. Higher education can teach you a lot about what it means to be a designer, the work you’ll have to complete, and the software you should know, but it can’t teach you how to care. I’m in this field because I care, and working with care at my core keeps me motivated.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had known about Dribbble earlier in my career! It’s one of my favorite ways to get design inspiration and keep up with ever-changing design trends. I think it’s a great way for designers of all skill levels to connect with and learn from the broader design community.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the biggest lessons I’ve had to unlearn was my self-imposed view that asking for help makes me weak. I’ve always been very independent and able to do things by myself for the most part, so asking for help, even when I needed it the most, never came easy to me. But, after working many jobs where I needed certain skills and knowledge I didn’t have yet, I learned that not asking for help actively made my job more difficult. Not utilizing the knowledge from designers with decades of experience in the field held me back because I didn’t want to seem like there were things I didn’t know, when there were. Everybody I worked with had to start at the bottom of the career ladder, and I’ve learned that if I can ask for help from the person above me, I can make it easier for myself to climb up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tytiannahorn.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tytiannahorn
• Other: https://www.middlekidcreative.com

Image Credits

Personal photo credit: Todd Turner