Hello, I'm Jake Kidd.

User experience researcher and designer
MSI - Human Computer Interaction
Jake's lovely face
Plain, simple Jake
I'm just plain, simple Jake

Some of my accomplishments

$26M+ in sales optimization revenue
1K+ hours of nurse stress prevented annually
414+ user research activities
2.7K+ cultural artifacts digitally preserved

What do colleagues say about me?

@Lissy
"Jake tells it like it is without being offensive, with compassion and true understanding of his craft."
@Jim
"Jake cares about his work and is a great team player. He makes my job even more enjoyable."
@Danni
"Awesome job on the Microcopy Guide, Jake!! Very well-done and much appreciated by the UX team!"
@Lucy
"Thanks for jumping in on projects so willingly, and making them a thousand times better!"
@Nelson
"I appreciate your input and feel lucky that I get to work with you."
@Scott
"Your team's presentation kept gears spinning after you guys left."
@Paula
"You're doing great work, Jake. And you bring a lot to the table."
@Andrea
Your visuals helped [me] understand the member experience and identified specific areas to fine tune.
@Jason
"You are a precious treasure."
@Willy
"I respect the hell out of you. Always have."

My core UX beliefs

  • 01

    What users do is more important than what they say they do.

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    If we aren't directly engaging with our users, we aren't solving their problems. There's a big difference between what users do and what they say they do. Same thing with what they need and what they say they need. Don't simply rely on self-reported data. Memory is fickle, people lie (intentionally or not), and users can easily be primed or triggered to give false feedback. Go watch users do things to understand their needs. Obviousness about user needs emerges through rigor.
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  • 02

    Not all data is created equal.

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    Different research questions map better to different kinds of studies. Research questions differ depending on the problem, project, and designs. Use the right studies to gather the right data for the research questions at hand, instead of following a blanket research process.
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  • 03

    Data-driven design doesn't necessitate good UX.

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    Many metrics don't inform sound strategy. Nor can metrics alone tell us what we should or shouldn't do. So, carefully consider normative values and the right metrics in your definition of success. E.g., defining UX success merely as reduced calls to a call center would be foolish. Those calls could be reduced by e.g., losing customers.
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  • 04

    UX is more than digital.

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    UX at its core is about problem solving. Digital is banal. UX involves both digital and physical spaces and artifacts. And, all experiences are contextualized by societal structures, relationships, and cultural norms. To solve users' real problems, be platform agnostic. Presupposing e.g., an app or a website as a solution, leads to technology-centered design instead of human-centered design.
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  • 05

    Designers and researchers have ethical obligations.

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    Design to bring about good in the world. Technology is not value neutral. Designs contain embedded values. E.g., when a company providing an essential service smuggles up-sells in their online purchase flows, certain conceptions of honesty, trade, and respect come into existence.
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  • 06

    Experiences are not designed.

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    Experiences are mental interpretations of things and events over time in contextualized surroundings. To experience something is to be a body in a situated space. Products, services, interfaces, etc., are not experiences; they are objects of experience. Users and their contexts are not designed, so we do not design experiences. We influence experiences via design.
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  • 07

    There is no such thing as user error.

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    So-called user errors occur because we design them into our systems. If a user encounters an error this is our fault. Reduce use errors by preventing them in the first place. Design for humans and not tech-stacks.
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