Carla Martinez: 1 Year Taller

1. How has your role evolved over the past year, and what new skills or responsibilities have you taken on?

Time flies when you're having fun, and belive me this is what happens with this team. It feels like I just started at Little Taller last month. One thing I'm sure of is that the Carla from a year ago wouldn't recognize this one. She'd be surprised because she's become more confident (though not as much as she'd like to) with her English, and she's learned so much from all her mentors, Remmi, Alex, Kyle, Abby and especially Sydney, who is an incredible UI/UX designer. Making a list would be complicated, but I think it all boils down to thinking about the user and how to make their journey easier or user friendly, and sometimes, why not, guessing what the client wants.

2. What project or client engagement from the past year stands out as your favorite, and why did it resonate with you?

It's hard to choose because I love all the projects and I had fun with most of them... Maybe Accruent's calculator and ACEA site refresh, the first of them I felt confident and It was the first time with that kind of project and the second one I think I did match with them, they are sooo lovely and when I was working on that site refresh I felt as part of their team and had so much fun.

3. Please share a challenge you faced this year and how you overcame it. What did you learn from that experience?

The different accents and urban slangs each one uses, maybe it wasn't a big challenge or thing but it took me a while to understand when was a urban slang. I have an amazing crew, the design team (all of them) have teached me something and each time I had the opportunity to ask or spend a little bit more in a sync they never say no. Thank you guys!

4. Little Taller places a big emphasis on ownership and orchestration. How have you seen this reflected in your daily work and how has it impacted your work output this year?

Look, LT gives us something more than other companies, they care about their coworkers or employees, customers, and even society, they have a culture based on values and ethical codes in all their actions, and all this mixed with fun, believe me idk how but they do it. So with all the employee service and trust they give us it's hard to say that my life hasnt changed at all, this trust made me a better designer and person this past year and it also makes me wake up happy to work each day bc they made work less work or stressful.

5. Looking ahead, what aspects of your professional life are you most excited about developing further in the coming year?

Maybe, create inclusive and accessible designs or at least learn more about them, I'd like to ensure that digital experiences are usable by people of all abilities and do it consciously because sometimes as designers we do it but mechanically or automatically as a robot and It shouldn be like that. I'm really eager to explore new tools and techniques that can help me achieve this goal this year. Additionally, I'm looking forward to enhancing my communication skills get a B2. Lastly, I'm excited about collaborating with our cross-functional team in LT, as the past year I did, working alongside developers, product managers, and other designers allows for a more holistic approach to problem-solving and innovation. This collaboration not only enriches the design process (and heart) but also leads to more cohesive and successful products.