Kaleigh Simmons

Designers rarely have a linear path. Here’s mine. I started first in journalism. I loved researching and asking questions and leaning into my deep rooted nosy tendencies to tell stories that mattered to my community. I really do think it’s exactly what I was meant to do, and if I had the luxury of coming of age in the 80s or 90s, I might still be doing it. Unfortunately, trying to break into journalism in 2008-2009 was a different story. So, after a weird stint in supply chain operations (which I’m grateful for), I stumbled into marketing. I figured out I could use storytelling in a different way, to help sell things. And I was pretty good at it, but it felt empty. I decided to try my hand at marketing in a different environment — tech startups. A small company getting something fresh and new off the ground to solve a real problem? I. Was. In. I learned so much, I worked on things far outside my role, I got my first taste of user experience design, I worked insane hours to get it all done, and I burned out. Like, to a crisp. So, I went back to the drawing board to try and figure out what I really cared about, what I could do well, and the places and roles where those two things matched up. Which brought me to current day, where I’m part of a research and design team working on government digital services. And I feel like I’ve finally found my place.