Guten Tag!

I'm Isabelle

I'm a motivated, adventurous and empathetic design lead
who encourages personal and professional growth, 
a balanced life and learning from creative challenges.

My Story

picture of woman of woman with protective covid mask

Design lead from Brooklyn, NY; Berlin, Germany and now also found in Austin, Texas.

I'm a design lead who believes in creating helpful experiences not just for my product user but also for my design teams. I have a deep respect for process and organization, and enjoy digging deeper to find the true problem in order to develop responsible solutions.

I'm a first-generation Filipina-American, who loves to share her culture through food, and you can either find me climbing at Crux, digging around in my community garden or staring at my dogs Lake and Stevie.
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My favorite book, The Little Prince, is originally written in French, though I first read it in German.

My Experience

Studios

Design Lead, IBM
March 2021 - present

User Experience Designer, IBM
February 2019 - March 2021

Experience Designer, T3
June 2017- January 2019

Interaction Designer, FJORD/Accenture
February 2017-June 2017

Experience Designer, CabForward
October 2016 - February 2017

Marketing Manager, Design Workshop
July 2014 - June 2016

Design Experience


Like most designers, unfortunately I am bound to an NDA to publish work that I have worked on for my current and previous employers, however if you would give me a ring, I would happily present to you my work and my thought process throughout. If you're interested in data, data visualizations and video games check out two final projects I did for my masters in 2019: Video Game Sales Data Visualized and Pokemon Analysis.

My Design Technique

My experience taught me that design does not come from a moment of unexpected inspiration, but that it requires a well-balanced team, a passion to uncover problems and a drive to find inclusive solutions.

COMMUNICATION
Talk more.

Creating a project plan is essential to keep all stakeholders focused on the same vision and goals and provides a strong foundation for transparency. I believe in a team that trusts each other: a healthy balance of responsibility and communication keeps teams in sync without the feeling of micromanagement.

RESEARCH
Understanding the user is key.

It's not just about asking a few questions, it's about non-creepily watching their habits, learning the way they think, discovering their emotions, understanding the needs they don't even know about. I take a look at the entire service and how it interacts with the user. A deep and holistic understanding of the ecosystem identifies gaps and needs and how products can be solutions to those deeper problems.

IDEATION
Formulate data supported ideas.

I use research discoveries to guide product development. I look at the service as a whole to visualize a user journey to map out habits that were uncovered in the research phase. I work with my team to establish content strategies and to create an information architecture. Wires are designed, comps are collaborated on and interactive prototypes are developed.

VALIDATION
Keep asking questions.

Learn from mistakes. User testing is crucial and iteration is, too. Repeating the design and validation process is important for the evolution of a product.

Let's Get in Touch!


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I'm always interested in collaborations, coffee or new jokes you may have heard.

Please email me at i.encela@gmail.com or message me on LinkedIn- I'd love to hear what you've got happening.