Hi there! I'm Ele Sevell

My journey into user experience was one with a lot of unexpected detours.

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I have come to think of my introduction to UX as the Third Act of my professional life, preceded by much foreshadowing and signposts along the way. Act One began in university; I attended the Ohio State University, where I found myself increasingly interested in psychology. I have always loved learning how the brain works and what shapes people. I was on an academic track to attend graduate school for Alzheimer's research (both of my grandmothers succumbed to the disease) but instead, as happens with any good story as it unfolds, I was met with a plot twist.

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Act Two begins with a trip to Hawaii, a graduation present I gave myself. What was initially supposed to be a two-week vacation quickly turned into three years and a new profession in tourism. I became a scuba diving instructor and spent my 20s traveling the world. I worked on boats in beautiful places, racking up magnificent experiences and doing what I love. In addition to spending a lot of my time on and underwater, I gained an informal education in cultural awareness, environmental science and creative marketing. During this time, to supplement my income during this time, I worked for my father's small, but consistently thriving, web design and advertising agency. Even while I was growing up, I was never far from the design world, and it felt completely natural to fall into step working with him on small websites and projects while I was living abroad.

Then enter 2020: the year the world stopped. My career as a diving professional had brought me to Grand Cayman. When the virus made it to the small Caribbean island, tourism completely shut down and I was faced with uprooting the life I had made there - immediately. Fortunately, with the sum of my experiences, I already knew in which direction to pivot. I relocated back to Columbus where I decided to go full force into User Experience. Specializing in web and app development as well as user experience research, I devote 100% of my time to pursuing my passion, this time keeping a little dryer in the process.