Who’s Riley?
Designer.
I'm a LA-based product designer using my passion in visual design and problem solving to create digital experiences that aim to enhance our lives.
I strongly believe that design is a critical aspect of humanity, impacting our productivity and happiness in everything from small everyday tasks to large-scale global concerns. Great design should simplify our lives, not complicate them. This is the essential role of a designer – to ensure that users experience ease and enjoyment.
My mission as a designer aligns with these principles. I strive to ensure that every digital product I work on makes the user's life easier. I achieve this by basing decisions on user research and desires, focusing on functionality through testing and iteration, and enhancing the UI and visual design for an enjoyable and user-friendly experience.
More About Me.
Background
Originally from Honolulu, HI, I spent most of my childhood in the ocean, surfing, hiking, and playing music. I currently live and work as a freelance designer in Los Angeles, CA where I’ve been living for about 10 years.
In 2022, I decided to put my experience in graphic design, music, and hospitality towards UX design, where I quickly became a passionate, devoted, and adaptable designer.
Musician.
I turned to music in my early teens and became consumed with it. Eventually playing in several bands, touring, collaborating and writing with many other artists. Today I mainly write, produce, and release music under a solo project I started in 2022 under the moniker Rilo Wye.
Throughout learning UX design, I couldn’t help but to notice many similarities between the music writing process and the design process. I believe what I’ve learned in the song writing process such as understanding human experiences, ideating, feedback, and iteration, has made me into a better designer and vice versa.
Hospitality.
I’ve pretty much worked every position in the restaurant industry. My parents are entrepreneur, restaurant/bar owners so I’ve had all the ins and outs from a young age.
As of the past 6 years or so most of my income has come from bartending. It’s been a pleasant journey and I’ve had the chance to meet and talk with many incredible people. I believe these years have allowed me to have a deeper understanding of humans and how they think and live their lives. This has helped me enormously in UX design when it comes to empathizing with users.