Hannah
Coley
About
Hannah Coley
Introducing Hannah Coley
Hello, my name is Hannah Coley. I'm a fun-loving, ambitious, tenacious, and creative person. Although those are some awesome adjectives to describe who I am as a person, I believe you can learn a lot more about a person by their background.
My Heritage
I am half-Korean and half-German/ Scottish/ Irish. I truly love my mixed heritage. I feel that it gives me a really unique perspective of the world and I love that I do not fit neatly into just one box or category because I find it infinitely more interesting to embrace my unique background... I am just me.
My life as a nomad
I have spent the majority of my life as a nomad because I grew up in a military family and that tradition is continuing because I am now a military spouse. Although I have lived in many places, Colorado is HOME. Colorado has my heart. I was born there and it is the place where I have spent the majority of my adolescence and 20’s. I have been lucky enough to have lived in a ton of interesting and exciting places such as Germany, Korea, Washington D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. I am grateful for the opportunities I was given to live in vastly different geographies and cultures. It has broadened my perspective of the world and has created an awareness of just how different people can be, but more importantly how similar and connected we all are despite our differences. This lifestyle has taught me the importance of adaptability and flexibility. I am grateful for the challenges, opportunities, and valuable character-building moments this lifestyle has afforded me.
My hobbies
I am truly a creative person at heart. I love solving complex problems in creative ways, but I also love snowboarding, traveling, painting, design, photography, graphic design, 3D printing, making things, and DIY projects. I love and welcome new challenges and I flourish in opportunities to broaden my skillsets.
My scientific & Engineering Background
I have been a polymer chemist/ materials engineer for over 10 years. I have a master’s degree in Material Science & Engineering and I have worked on a ton of awesome and interesting projects. I have worked on Department of Defense projects that have applications that aid our war-fighters in the field, collaborations with Boeing to increase fuel economy, forensic chemistry, and I have designed and created many amazing smart materials formulations for a variety of applications. Working in a STEM career has taught me that I can learn ANYTHING. It has taught me that when you have an insatiable curiosity, access to the internet and other resources, and the ambition to tackle a difficult problem, there isn’t anything that you can’t teach yourself.
Why I Pivoted my career
There were a few factors that led me to make a change in my career and to leave science and engineering behind:
1. Although I appreciate Science and Engineering, it’s hard to pursue a career in this field while being a military spouse. It’s hard to find new jobs in this career field every 3 years, therefore I have decided to utilize my creative and adaptable personality to pursue career choices that are both more aligned with my passions and provide a more flexible avenue to pursue a career that offers continual growth.
2. I was starting to not enjoy the direction of my career. I was not as passionate and found myself to be incompatible with the science lifestyle. When you wake up every day and dread the idea of going to work, you start to question why you feel that way. Why do you hate the idea of going to work every day? What would you rather be doing right now? What would make you happy? What changes do you need to make to get there?
Many are afraid to ask themselves these introspective questions because they are afraid of pivoting from familiarity. They believe they have invested so much into the path they are currently on, so it would be crazy to redirect now. Well, I believe all past efforts are already sunk costs and they shouldn’t inhibit an individual from chasing after their dreams and find what truly makes them happy. Those past efforts are not in vain, as they have provided a depth of knowledge that can transcend boundaries of disciplines. I have over 10 years of professional research experience. I know how to investigate complex systems objectively, interpret data, optimize processes to be more efficient, and apply creative problem-solving. These skills are valuable in almost any career field.
I have learned a lot about myself and my ability to tackle complex problems. Why can’t I apply these skills toward something else that makes me happy? I can’t think of a single reason why this would be impossible. It’s not. People fool themselves into thinking that they are trapped inside a box that everyone else tries to package them into. Sometimes I wonder if people remain stuck in their unhappy realities due to fear or if it’s because they are comfortable and they can’t or won’t make themselves uncomfortable in efforts to make a long-term positive change. I am no such fool and although the decision to change paths is a scary and risky one, I felt that it is worth the risk. Actually, to me, there was no other choice. I took a giant leap of faith and decided to try something new and more aligned with my passions.
Why I feel Design is perfect for me
To my parent’s dismay, I was the kid that was always looking to create a new artistic masterpiece on every surface I could get my hands on, MacGyver innovative solutions from any resource available to me, and would take apart all of my toys to figure out how they worked! From a very early age, it was evident that I was not only very artistically and visually inclined, but also a resourceful creative problem-solver. This type of creativity is something that transcends disciplines and is helpful in any career field. It has served me in my scientific and engineering career and continues to aid me in my design career.
Art and technology bridge the two worlds that have been tugging at my heartstrings for my entire life. Finding a career that utilizes both my artistic/creative side with my logical/technical side is what I picture as the best of both worlds. I love optimizing processes, creating beautiful designs in both the aesthetics and the utility of a product, and I thoroughly deploying these design skills while tackling complex problems. I believe that a career in design marries all of my interests. I really enjoy product design, the visual design of user interfaces (UI), and user experience (UX).
How I Transitioned into design
I was able to transition seamlessly into the tech industry as a UI/UX designer by prioritizing my efforts to immerse myself in the world of design via practical experience, educational opportunities, and lots and lots of reading. In college, I freelanced in graphic and webpage design, but I believe that my ambition, logic-driven mindset, creative passion, and attention to detail allow me to exceed expectations as a designer.
I have dedicated a ton of time and have worked tirelessly to prepare myself to ensure that I have the necessary skills to be successful as a UX designer. My transition started when I received a Grow with Google scholarship. The scholarship propelled me into an immersive learning experience about front-end web development and design. I have also taken other courses and obtained other certifications to further my knowledge of design.
My first few real design opportunities
My first real design opportunity was when I was offered a UX Designer position with a U.S. Air Force to work on an impactful effort to revolutionize how the Air Force conducts Tanker Planning and fulfilling aerial fuel requests. We were able to get into production in less than 6 months and changed the way the Air Force approached tanker planning forever. That project continues to save the government millions of dollars in fuel every week in fuel costs alone. The successes of that project birthed an Air Force organization called Kessel Run. Kessel Run is the revolutionary software development factory that focuses on implementing agile software development best practices to develop military applications for war-fighters at lightning speed (~6-12 months). I have learned a ton about UX Design through this experience. I was closely mentored by seasoned designers as I gained valuable work experience as a designer. I was a designer for their Tanker Planning Tool and Master Air Attack Planning tool, which supports Air Force Air Operations Command.
After my tenure at Kessel Run, I joined a design firm called Rocket Communications as a Sr. UX Designer. Rocket Communications is a Silicon Valley-based design firm that supports both government and commercial clients. A lot of our projects that support the government focus on space command and their partners. During my time at Rocket, I learned a lot about what it means to be a consultant, how to educate others about design, and how to solidify my design process. Working at a design agency allowed for the unique opportunity to work on a large range of interesting projects with a lot of other talented designers. I learned a lot from my peers and what it meant to be a design leader on projects.
From there, I was lured away from Rocket by my current company where I work as a Lead Designer on a rewarding project. I work on a product team developing a product that has a very large impact on the military community. This product will support the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA). This agency is responsible for saving government persons that have been captured behind enemy lines. Their mission is to return these U.S. citizens home with honor.
I am also responsible for standing up the User-Centered Design Practice for INCATech. It has always been my dream to start a design practice and to inspire others. I am thrilled that I have been presented with this unique, challenging, and rewarding opportunity.
WhaT I Have Learned about myself through my journey so far
I am an adaptable woman that can learn anything. My experience has taught me this first-hand. I am an individual that has maneuvered through many obstacles to accomplish the difficult. I am a tenacious woman that has an insatiable curiosity and possesses a work ethic that will not allow them to fail.
I am a professional researcher. I have done professional research for over 10 years and have successfully published my research in peer-reviewed journals. My research background has served me in my UX design career because the fundamentals are the same. I have just decided to apply my research experience to UX design instead of science and engineering. Research is paramount when it comes to user-centered design. My research background, innate creative nature, and insatiable curiosity make me a UX Designer that will excel beyond expectations.
My Dream
My dream is to continue to wake up every day and do the things I love. I want to continue to grow my design skills while inspiring others. I want to mentor others that are brave enough to take a leap of faith to choose a different path that leads them to happiness. I want to push people to be the best they can be. I want to make a difference in this world.
