I am a Writer and a Designer (UX, Product) based in the United States. This is my work.
Designing for a better world is my life. Exploring the area of human-computer interaction through user experiences is my life’s work. It’s a personal mission I take seriously.
From my writing to my formal body of work, I love marrying a few of my interests: design, human behaviors, technology and humanities. Originally trained in traditional design, I made a career pivot to technology primarily. It was the best decision I’ve ever made and have had the strongest impact to my work since.
Over the last 5 years, I’ve helped design and build a holographic platform for an emerging technology startup in Brooklyn, contracted with a research team inside Fidelity Investments, worked on the Design Operations and Strategy side of an e-commerce company, mentored brilliant design students and career-changers at RookieUp, taught UX courses at General Assembly - East Coast, contributed directly to the growth of the Mentorship program at UXPA - New York and now, I happily run my own design-focused newsletter called Working Title.
Currently, I design internal applications full-time for a data company called Verisk Analytics, where my team and I explore the beautiful intersection of Data and UX. It is, by far, one of the most fulfilling roles I've ever had.
I am deeply convinced this career track is akin to winning the lottery of modern work. You have to fight for it every day but there's nothing quite like its rewards as a lot of creative knowledge workers would probably agree.
Living is creating, creating is living. This is the kind of work that just does not have an expiration date. It’s a way of living that goes beyond the paycheck, as anything we invest a lot of our time on should.
Aside from design, I like exploring and studying films, photography, startups, philosophy, psychology... basically anything that taps my curiosity. I document these learnings freely on my newsletter.
Connect with me further:
👩🏽💻 Interested in working with me (speaking, writing, consulting, teaching) opportunities? Send me an email: nikkiespartinez@gmail.com
✍🏽 Read my essays: Working Title on Substack
🙌🏽 🙌🏽 🙌🏽 "I’d like to recommend Nikki Espartinez as an exceptionally warm, thorough, and self-motivated co-worker. Nikki was absolutely invaluable as well as being a joy to work with. With her obvious empathy and untiring work ethic, I believe she will be a great addition to any team or company." - Mark Richman, taught UX classes with him at General Assembly-East Coast
Working Title on Substack
What is design?
On Design Literacy
Where are we headed towards?
Recent Achievements:
👩🏽💻 Designed and built a python application that makes it possible to compare a variety of commercially-available Electric Vehicles out in the market. Read the case study
✍🏽 Wrote a comprehensive study UX study guide. See progress and case study
🎤 Spoke at a UX Conference for the first time. Many thanks to Russell and co for this. Watch my talk
🚀 Did a guest lecture for a technical entrepreneurship graduate course at NYU, career talk for a school in Manila, Philippines and more. Check the rest of my work on public speaking and such
Research Interests:
1. Internal tools for various companies
2. User behaviors/ethnographies
3. Product discoveries
4. Immersive user experiences
5. Physical/digital customer journeys
6. Sustainability/long term product visions (UX Strategy)
🙌🏽 🙌🏽 🙌🏽 "Nikki has been such a phenomenal UX mentor over the past several weeks. She is always there with quick responses to any questions I have. She amazes me with the feedback she gives on my work. Nikki is kind-hearted and full of wisdom. She truly cares how you are doing and is there with whatever you need to succeed. I highly, highly recommend working with Nikki!" - Shelby Coulter, mentored her at RookieUp.com
Some #honestmotivations
Fortunate enough to have worked with them as well:
"In addition to being a creative designer with an innovative mindset, Nikki is also very well read and makes for a very interesting conversationalist and an articulate writer."
→ Damayanti Bhattacharjee, Director of Mentorship at UXPA-New York
"Designing UI and UX for a futuristic display is a real challenge, and Nikki rose to meet it. She contributed wonderful designs at Looking Glass Factory, none more important than our Library. One of our core pieces of software, this is our main gateway for bringing content to our community, and it wouldn't have to come to life without Nikki's hard work."
→ Alex Duncan, Software Team Lead at Looking Glass Factory
"Nikki has been mentoring students on RookieUp for over a year and has made a true impact on her mentees through her thoughtful, in-depth mentorship and feedback. Her students have nothing but wonderful things to say about her as a designer and teacher, and we're lucky to have her on RookieUp!"
→ Alec McGuffy, Founder at RookieUp
"Nikki is an exceptional designer. She brings a fresh and innovative approach to her work. I have been continually impressed by her design process and creative style while working together. She collaborates well within a team but can also work independently to produce great work."
→ Joni Albers, Manager (Product and UX) at NBC Universal
"Nikki also has a particular talent for designs that will work well across many devices, particularly mobile devices. I have found that mobile “minimalism” often means outright boring, but Nikki was always able to instill her designs full of color and dynamism. This prowess can be seen clearly in her designs for the CMWN newsfeed, a familiar, but crucial, feature that she was able to breathe new life into for our young users."
→ Max Rafferty, Senior Software Engineer at Bread Finance
Get in touch
As an option, you can also send me an email me here: nikkiespartinez@gmail.com
Thank you for getting in touch. Please give me 1-3 business days to respond to your message. - Nikki