Hi there,
I'm Aayat (Ah-yat)
a ux &
service designer

About

I'm a human-centered researcher, designer, and strategist working at the intersections of healthcare, social work, policy, and technology. I strive to drive real change, make good trouble, put people first and stay inquisitive in everything I do. I started my career in criminal justice reentry and homeless services.

Over the years, I gravitated towards big data, design, and user experience methods to improve service delivery, deepen stakeholder engagement, and achieve better outcomes. I hold Masters' in Social Work and Urban Planning degrees from the University of Michigan and a UX certificate from UCLA Extension.

Skills

Professional Skills

Coming from a social services background, I have a knack for big systems thinking and process development. I work with my team to understand the components of a project before iterating.

HTML, CSS, JS
75%
GITHUB
80%
FIGMA
85%
STRATEGY
95%

Work

By request

Reading & Listening

I'm always hungry to learn and do better. These are some books/podcasts that continue to make me a better critical thinker.

books

  • Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond
  • Automating Inequality by Virginia Eubanks
  • Design for Safety by Eva PenzeyMoog
  • Mapping Experiences: A Complete Guide to Creating Value through Journeys, Blueprints, and Diagrams by James Kalbach
  • Design Justice: Community-Led Practices to Build the Worlds we Need by Sasha Costanza-Chock
  • Recoding America by Jennifer Pahlka
  • Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado
  • Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

podcasts

  • Good on Paper
  • The Ezra Klein Show
  • Throughline
  • The Other 80
  • Tradeoffs
  • Conan Needs a Friend