My name is Mikias (mee-kee-ahs). I'm a digital product designer currently based in Alexandria, Virginia. My main area of focus today is on user experience, digital products, and interfaces.
I'm deeply fascinated by various types of design, from beautifully polished UI to carefully decorated interiors and lovely filmed shots. I take multiple attempts to refine each aspect of my work, focusing on the most contentious areas. My goal is to create meaningful and effective human experiences for screens and beyond. Every project I work on aims to be highly functional, performant, and expertly crafted.
I'm also a front-end dev by night and love learning new things with ReactJS, and Cursor AI. I enjoy the idea of crafting every pixel of my creations, both in design and code, like this portfolio. When I'm not designing I enjoy taking street photographs, being immersed in other designers' work, and playing soccer. I’m always happy to talk about design, its bridges with code, and/or exchange ideas on why and how things should be done. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:
“If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?”
— Albert Einstein
From a human-centered perspective and intrigued by the psychological behaviors that influence peoples' actions, I empathize with people to enhance their specific digital experiences through good inclusive design.
I analyze data, customer needs, and business requirements to find solutions and understand who we are helping and the why. By doing so, we gain valuable insights that we can act on and determine the scope of the solution.
I'm swiftly wireframing and prototyping an idea to validate a solution based on insights. I focus on the solution's usability, as well as its representation and messaging through color, typography, composition, and interaction.
I am passionate about implementing solutions and translating designs into functional code. The goal is to achieve a pixel-perfect translation by closely operating with developers to address any front-end and accessibility concerns.
