New Year, New Start
Looking ahead to new horizons in design and life on the road.
January 20th, 2022 • Krista Volenski Wilcox
It's January 2022 and I'm starting fresh!
I don't know about you, but I'm ready to start being excited about living and designing again. The pandemic was weird, it forced us all to refocus. My husband, James Wilcox, and I spent from March 2019 till July 2021 in our home in Las Vegas NV. It was the first time we stopped moving since 2013.
The break from constantly changing cities was good for our sanity and gave me the opportunity to refocus on my health, personal life, and career goals. I built myself an office space I love with lots of light and space to be creative in our great room. I even got a standing desk by Uplift, which I love and wish I could take with me on tour!
Krista Volenski Wilcox at home in Las Vegas, NV.
I used the time to tackle
two long-time aspirations.
two long-time aspirations.
Done with Design for User Experience Degree.
GridNomad Design Studio Branding.
First, I returned to school and finished a BS in Design for User Experience at Lesley University. I was able to combine my units in graphic design from Art Center College of Design with new classes in UX design for a well-rounded design degree. The education I received was top-notch. It provided me with a good look at the UX industry and the needed skillset from working professional designers.
Second, I opened GridNomad LLC, my own design studio, to provide branding and UX design services to businesses as a one-on-one relationship with the client or as a consultant.
A new degree, a new career?
I'm excited to bring everything I have learned about research and the UX design process to new clients and projects. UX and digital product design have evolved since the first time I attended design school, so I found the in-depth training I received highly valuable. I'm looking forward to merging my new skills with my existing brand and visual design experience to design and build amazing useful products.
Check out my about page for a more in-depth look at my experience and education.
Back on the road, again.
One of the Semi Trucks being loaded to move the show to the next city.
HighSkyline Downtown Dallas, TX
Charlotte, NC has beautiful trees.
Art on the charming Main Street in Downtown Greensboro, NC.
James at the Contemporary Art Museum in Cincinnati, OH.
View from our apartment in Cleveland, OH.
In July, Wicked, the broadway musical reopened and restarted tour in Dallas TX. James is a sound engineer on the national tour. In 2021, I was in Nevada, Texas, North Carolina, California, and Ohio. I'm home for a few weeks after spending December in Cleveland, OH. Las Vegas is beautiful, like always.
The next cities we will be in are Tucson, Costa Mesa, Spokane, and Sacramento. Which is great, I'm thrilled to be out of the cold weather and back on the West Coast through April.
A new personal brand and website
I created a personal brand design and published kristavw.com to showcase my new UX and UI work. You can also get a peek at my past visual design experience and portfolio.
I will be adding, tweaking, and removing projects and content as the site evolves. This is the first draft, I welcome feedback.
I'm working on a new companion website for GridNomad, it will be live in February.
New personal design website homepage, shown on a Macbook Pro.
Betty Wilcox, 10 weeks old.
A new tour dog
This weekend Betty joined our family! Betty is a 10 week old, 3 pound Yorkie. She is the perfect size and temperament to join the touring lifestyle. We are so excited to show her the road.
You can follow her tour journey on Instagram @shes_so_betty
Betty is our 3rd tour dog. Our last tour dog, Conner, passed on a year ago at the age of 17, during Covid,
Next up
I'm actively looking for new remote UX, UI, and brand design opportunities. I am open to direct-hire, agencies, and recruiters. I'm interested in working with brands that are focused on the environmental, social, political, beauty, fashion, retail, or health markets.
Please reach out if you have a project that you think would be a good fit for my skills.
Let's do this!
Krista
Keywords: 2022, UX design, Wicked, Tour, Brand Design, Yorkie, Betty, Las Vegas, GridNomad, Lesley University.