Erica Efstratoudakis

I think just being really empathetic and understanding and being able to kind of jump into different people's shoes and understand their situation, even if it's not a situation that's familiar to me, and use that to really drive the work. And just kind of trusting that process. I believe that deeply understanding what users need and using that empathy to guide my design decisions has been key to my success.

I think it was probably from my father when he pushed me to just get into design. It wasn't really like a statement, it was more just like, you know, you have your thing, like, this is your talent, and so if you work at it, it will become something bigger. That encouragement to pursue what I was naturally good at and trust that dedication would lead to growth has stayed with me throughout my career.

I think I would say that the storytelling aspect and presenting your work is almost just as important as the work itself. Being able to articulate what you're working on and why is crucial for overall visibility and the strategy behind things. The articulation and presentation of your work, and the storytelling around your work, is just as important as the work itself. It's something that can really make a difference in how your work is received and understood.

Challenges sometimes are just kind of getting everybody aligned on the same larger vision, like keeping alignment. I think when working for larger organizations, sometimes politics can get in the way, so just kind of making sure that when we are making something, the story and the storytelling is very, very clear as to why our solutions have this really strong rationale behind them. That can also be the greatest challenge, but also the greatest opportunity, because when there is a strong story, then the work becomes more meaningful.

In my work, I think it's making things that are intuitive, helpful, but also delightful. When I say intuitive, that means deeply understanding what the user needs are and using that to drive it, and delightful is just kind of providing moments of delight throughout experiences. In my personal life, I think just being really open-minded and being able to kind of listen before reacting is really important. These values of empathy, understanding, and thoughtful response guide both my professional and personal interactions.