Hayley Jenkins 👋🏻
I hold a BFA in Graphic Design from Kendall College of Art and Design. I quickly learned I couldn’t just make something pretty without that deep dive into why. I naturally gravitated toward UX Design, where the word “why” is at the forefront of the vocabulary.
I live in Grand Rapids, MI with my husband, our german shepherd Nike, and our cat Nala. Catch us playing beach volleyball, trying out the coolest new restaurants, or nerding-out over board games.
Mentoring young people has been a personal passion of mine for some time. I coach high school volleyball in various capacities, teaching young women not only the technical skills to play the sport, but the life skills of discipline, showing up for someone other than yourself, and how to face adversity. I also have returned to my alma mater as an adjunct professor to teach web design to the next generation of digital designers.
AWARDS & CERTIFICATIONS
ADDY Winner
•
IDA Winner
•
HTML + CSS + JavaScript Certified
•
ADDY Winner • IDA Winner • HTML + CSS + JavaScript Certified •
On My Bookshelf
-
![Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths]()
Algorithms to Live By
Bubble sort is not the optimal way to organize your bookshelf, but merge sort is a good start. Does the bookshelf need to be organized at all though? Does [search time] really benefit from all the effort and time to sort?
-
![User Friendly by Cliff Kuang and Robert Fabricant]()
User Friendly
The first notions of making products user friendly came from WW2 pilots confusing the landing gear control with missile launchers, which were roughly the same size and shape and right next to each other.
-
![Big Magic Elizabeth Gilbert]()
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Creativity is a fickle thing. If you stare at a blank screen, an amazing idea will not materialize in front of you (even as hard as we may wish). Rather, we must be vulnerable enough to invite creative ideas to come to us and brave enough to accept the ones worthy of our attention.
-
![Build by Tony Fadell]()
Build by Tony Fadell
The harsh lessons from a Dot Com Era pioneer who saw startups fail and Apple rise, contributing his talents to the first iPod and then Nest. What do all the successful tech giants have in common? They started with the user.
-
![Stolen Focus by Johann Hari]()
Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
Push notifications, texts, TikTok, oh my! As I design digital experiences, I'm constantly weighing the ethics of the attention economy. Can we make digital products that turn a profit and don't contribute to our ever-decreasing attention spans?
-
![Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey]()
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
How does one go from an unassuming Texas ranching family to Hollywood superstar? McConaughey talks about taking wild risks that unapologetically follow your passion and speeding up when you see a green light.
I love contributing back to the industry that has taught me so much. Browse through my recent articles published on Medium that share my insights, humor, and advice to other designers.