Amy Jiménez Márquez
Amy Jiménez Márquez is the owner and Publisher of Boxes and Arrows, devoted to the practice, innovation, and discussion of design—including graphic design, interaction design, information architecture, and the design of business.
She is also the VP of Experience Design at Zillow. Previously, she was the UX Design Manager for Alexa Adaptive Personality Experience at Amazon. With a Master’s degree in Directing, Amy has been performing improvisational comedy for over 20 years, and enjoys applying improv collaboration techniques to her daily work. She has been leading cross-disciplinary design teams for the past 5+ years, including information architects, conversational designers, UX designers, UX researchers, and VUI designers.
For more, keep up with Amy at amymarquez.com or on Twitter as @amymarquez.
Presentations
Leadership By Design 2023
Picking up the pieces of a toxic work environment
Toxicity in the workplace didn’t start with any of the crises that have happened since early 2020. People have been dealing with work-induced trauma for a long time. To repair it, we need to consider where it comes from, how to heal it, and how to prevent it.
At a time when some companies are forcing in-office or hybrid work on a population who became comfortable with the psychological and physical safety that comes with working from home, learning how to help our team members heal from past trauma and move forward is even more important.
Learn how to recognize signs of trauma, and identify toxicity in your company, in others, and most importantly, in yourselves. And then identify how to recognize it, reverse it, and work to heal the teams affected by it.
UX Camp Summer 2021
How to Make the Right Design Portfolio to Land Your Next Job
As a hiring manager at Amazon, I’ve seen a gazillion resumes and portfolios. I&8217;ve also been part of review panels for portfolio presentations from intern level to management roles. I’ve seen the patterns in what works, what doesn’t work, and what sets a candidate apart from the rest. In this talk, I’ll walk you through what you need to make a solid portfolio, no matter how much of your design work you’re allowed to show.
If you’ve ever applied for a design job, you’ve probably had to make a portfolio. From all levels—entry to senior leadership—hiring managers are asking to see portfolios. What if you have nothing you’re allowed to show because of IP restrictions? What if you’re a voice designer or information architect? Or, heaven forbid, a design manager being asked to present a portfolio? Relax, I can tell you exactly what you need to do.
Leadership By Design 2020
Betazoid Leadership in a Locked Down Federation
“To admit that you’re afraid gives you strength.” — Counselor Troi to Lieutenant Worf (Star Trek: TNG)
As a leader, being/feeling/appearing vulnerable can be uncomfortable and make us doubt ourselves. Strong emotions aren’t typically on display in work environments. That hasn’t necessarily been the case since the world has flipped upside down. Many of us are working from home full time, for the first time. Seeing your coworkers in their homes on video conferences is surprisingly humanizing. More so than when they are working from home and calling into a conference at work. Seeing every person you work with, their homes, pets, kids, hobbies (i.e. guitars on the wall, knitting projects in the background), makes everyone a little more human. A little more vulnerable.
How can we, as leaders, provide our teams with the compassionate, empathetic support they need in times of difficulty, while also taking care of ourselves? In this talk, I’ll focus on strategies to ensure you’re providing thoughtful leadership to your team, and help your own leadership understand you and your team’s needs.
