Most products fail because they ignore the messy reality of how people actually use them. I help you create products that work by understanding the overall system, designing for  behaviour, emotions and people’s real context. 

Most importantly, I think about risk - always.

I’ll help you see what can go wrong to users and the business, so we can mitigate it and make informed trade-offs (rather than nasty surprises)

Here’s how I help you:

🤝 If you're a potential client:
→ UX Audits: analysing your product and identifying opportunities
→ Fractional design and research support that drives business, and user impact
→ Clarity on strategic direction and vision 


📕 If you're here for my content, I write about: 
→ How to consider the *overall* experience
→ Connecting design impact <> business impact
→ Identifying different types of risk (and mitigate it)
→ Designing for how people *actually* use things by considering context, behaviour and emotions 
→ Tips to help along your design processes

I'd love to hear about how I can help you. Drop me a message on LinkedIn, or send an email to: hello@ampersandco.studio

And if you don't have a project, I'm always down for a coffee chat!

Emily Anderson

Issue #1 of Beyond the Happy Path newsletter is live!

This one is all about Churn. It’s not the sexiest thing, I know

It's easy to assume that when people stop using our products and services it's because they *wanted* to. We focus on reasons like: they didn’t see value or it’s too expensive

But that’s not always true.

Sometimes people leave because they had no choice. They leave because they *have* to:

Maybe their ability changed and they can't use it anymore. Maybe they're struggling financially and can't afford it right now. Or maybe someone passed away.

In this issue I dive into:

➡️ Why we need to think about churn in terms of “wanted to” vs “had to” reasons (i.e voluntary, involuntary, and situational churn)

➡️ Real examples that can help to reduce churn

➡️ Ideas for how you can start considering it in your process

Incase you missed it, you can read the post in the link below (and subscribe for future issues too  👀)

https://lnkd.in/ef9CMEAE
---

It's very early days of the newsletter and I'm not going to pretend to have it all figured out. So if you've got any feedback of what you want to see more / less of, I'd love it here it!

Designer | Reducing risks to users and businesses | Founder, Ampersand | Speaker

Kae Anderson, CPACC

Hi, I'm Kae! I've always been curious about people (that's why I have a degree in anthropology!) and I love the internet. I made my first website on Angelfire when I was 14 - it was an *N Sync fan site with a glittery banner and a guestbook. Now I'm using my ability to empathize with people to create positive digital experiences that everyone can use.

A few years ago I was working at a healthcare company, and part of my job was answering calls and emails on a helpdesk. I spent part of each day helping people understand a third-party software system. Training them saved us millions of dollars in potential lost revenue (it was too easy to push the wrong button and send things into the abyss), but it also meant I wasn't doing the rest of my work. 

That experience made me realize I want to create products that people don't have to contact a helpdesk to use, and I decided to learn more about building websites. In 2017 I went to The Iron Yard for front-end development. But it turns out devs don't have to make a site work well, they just have to make it work technically. So in the spring of 2018 I did a UX design program through Springboard. 

After finishing the program I looked for a UX role and ended up finding an accessibility position instead, which turned out to be the perfect fit. Now I get to focus on making digital products that are usable by whoever wants to use them.

I love working on the design side of accessibility. That can be with a creative solo entrepreneur who has their own website, or with a design team at a big company. Most accessibility issues can be fixed in the design, and it's where the ideas and opportunities are. 

I'm looking for a new role, and I'd really like to keep working in this field!

If you're curious about who I am as a person here's some info for you! 
- I love traveling (I've been to 27 countries - the Scottish Highlands, Prague, and Buenos Aires are my favorite places so far)
- I like reading (I own more than 900 books), watching cozy TV shows (I love The Repair Shop and Home Town), and the Oxford comma
- I'm an INFP, Enneagram 4w5, Adobe Thinker, and Sparketype Essentialist - I love learning about an issue, organizing the data, and getting excited about how we can make things better

You can check out my portfolio at kaeanderson.com, and feel free to reach out and say hello!

(The opinions I share on LinkedIn are my own and not affiliated with any company.)

Accessibility Specialist

Kae Anderson

Hello! You might have heard accessibility people talking about assistive tech and wondered what we were talking about. If that’s the case then this post is for you! 

Here are some links to videos of people showing what it's like to use tools that help them navigate around the internet.

Screen Readers

- This is how blind people use an iPhone! by Molly Burke (YouTube short) - https://lnkd.in/exTh7qQ4 

- How A Screen Reader User Accesses The Web from Smashing Magazine (1 hour 13 minute video) - https://lnkd.in/ga5-K9ei  

- Screen Reader Demo for Digital Accessibility from UCSF Documents & Media Photography (5 minute video on YouTube) - https://lnkd.in/eCjbSBSq   
 
- How Blind People Type + Use Phones by idkrossplay (YouTube short) - 
https://lnkd.in/efB72iRH

Switch Devices

- iOS Switch control, and how it works from Assistive Tech Stuff (6 minute video on YouTube) - https://lnkd.in/g6Spa4fU 

Braille

- Braille Computer 👨🏻‍🦯‍➡️💻 from asfvision (YouTube short) - https://lnkd.in/ghmuUiJZ 

- The Future of Braille: Touchscreen Technology for the Blind from UnsightlyOpinions (YouTube short) - https://lnkd.in/gaBFtrPc 

Speech Recognition

- How to use Voice Control on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch from Apple Support (4 minute video on YouTube) - https://lnkd.in/gy2sPq6Y 

- Web Accessibility Perspectives: Voice Recognition from W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) (1 minute video on YouTube) - https://lnkd.in/gJgHiZZH 


Accessibility people - if you have a video that you use to show people how AT works, please share it with us in the comments!

IAAP Certified Digital Accessibility Specialist | Inclusive Design | WCAG | I'll help your company get customers you didn't know you were turning away

Open video: Web Accessibility Perspectives: Voice Recognition on youtube.com

Web Accessibility Perspectives: Voice Recognition

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