Morgan Phillips

After switching career fields, Morgan Phillips is ready to take on the challenges and rewards she faces as a user experience design researcher.

Morgan Phillips may be new to the Columbus area, but she’s no stranger to “good” design. She recently accepted a position at Lextant as a user experience design research apprentice. In this role, Phillips acts primarily as “the bridge between user and client” for the Ohio-based design research and user experience design consultancy.

“Recently, I’ve been working on concept evaluations for new ATMs,” Phillips explained. “From the Lextant side, we’ve worked with the client to establish research objectives and developed a methodology to make sure objectives are met. Then, we moved into fielding, where we recruited participants for our studies. As part of this particular project, we traveled to Shanghai and Paris to get more of a global perspective.

“While I’ve certainly enjoyed the opportunity to travel, methodology development and fielding are what I find most interesting about my career. Of course, meeting lots of new people is great too! I really love the work culture at Lextant. I feel lucky to be at a place where hard work is valued.”

Before graduating with an MFA from CCS’s Interdisciplinary Design program, Phillips earned her undergraduate degree in Visual Journalism from Kent State University. After college, she accepted an internship at the Detroit Free Press where she was eventually hired as a full-time designer for the news and business sections. Phillips covered topics ranging from the auto show to the UAW strike and the Kwame Kilpatrick mayoral scandal. She also took part in an internship with the marketing team at Dodge.

“Switching careers has been my greatest accomplishment,” said Phillips. “Having previously worked in journalism and newspaper design, the transition to interdisciplinary design and marketing has been a welcomed challenge.”