Layla Soileau

Experience

Principal Experience Designer

Feb 2022 – present, projekt202

  • Collaborating across disciplines to integrate inclusive design and accessibility into projekt202’s delivery processes.
  • Coaching other designers to create accessible designs.
  • Mentoring entry-level Experience Designers.
  • Leading design for various client projects.

Design Researcher, Accessibility

Nov 2021 – Dec 2021, Figma (contract) – Remote

  • Manually tested Figma workflows and competitor workflows with VoiceOver and mapped out pain points and opportunities.
  • Recommended practical accessibility improvements to Figma and FigJam, prioritizing opportunities for future learning with assistive tech users.

Lead Inclusion and Accessibility Specialist / Senior Experience Designer

Oct 2019 – Oct 2021, H-E-B Digital – Austin, TX

  • Advocated for digital accessibility and inclusive design and research.
  • Conducted research studies on HEB.com and the MyHEB native apps with customers who use assistive technologies.
  • Coached designers about creating accessible designs during Design System office hours.
  • Ensured that accessibility is baked in to Design System components.
  • Led design and research for H-E-B’s Shopping List and Digital Coupon experiences on HEB.com and in the native mobile My HEB apps.

Senior UX Designer

Aug 2018 – Oct 2019, Ad Hoc, LLC – D.C. (remote)

  • Designed, implemented, and evaluated onboarding processes for new VA.gov contractors so that they can be productive by the second week of their contract.
  • Led UX design and research for VA.gov’s Identity product, which allows Veterans to create accounts, prove their identity, sign in, and ultimately access their benefits. 
  • Conducted a remote research study to understand the needs of Veteran users who use assistive technology to interact with VA.gov. 

Senior Product Designer

Feb 2018 – Aug 2018, Spredfast – Austin, TX

Designed and validated new features and solutions for Spredfast’s Social Care Analytics module based on the needs of Social Care Managers and Social Care Agents.


Principal User Experience Designer

Feb 2016 – Jan 2018, Guidea/Theresa Neil – Atlanta, GA (remote)

Worked with user researchers and strategists to design mobile and responsive apps for a variety of products, including a prescription claims app, multiple medicine trackers, a yearbook creation app, and a disruptive behavior coaching app.


Senior User Experience Designer

Nov 2015 – Feb 2016, Connectik Technologies – Atlanta, GA

Designed a workplace collaboration application, (optimized for web, iOS, Android), that made it easy to collaborate across large organizations. 


Senior User Experience Designer

May 2015 – Nov 2015, Oracle Social – Atlanta, GA

Designed features for an enterprise social media publishing platform that served executives, social media managers, and customer service reps.


Senior User Experience Designer

Jun 2014 – May 2015, BLiNQ Media (G/O Digital) – Atlanta, GA

Led user research, UX design, and visual design for BLiNQ Media’s new social media management application, LiFT.


User Interaction Designer

Feb 2013 – Jun 2014, Lanyon Solutions, Inc. – Broomfield, CO

Led UX design for StarCite, Marketplace, Conference, and Smart Events Cloud.


User Experience Designer

Oct 2010 – Feb 2013, projekt202 – Austin, TX

Worked collaboratively and independently to design enterprise, consumer, and mobile user experiences for clients.


Interface Designer

Mar 2009 – Oct 2010, University of Texas at Austin Continuing Legal Education (UTCLE) – Austin, TX

Worked closely with stakeholders to redesign UTCLE’s marketing website and internal event and content management application.


Design and Test Analyst

Jun 2007 – May 2008, PracticeIT – Austin, TX

Designed software features for an online Electronic Medical Records (EMR) application.

Education

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 

B.A. English, Writing and Culture, 1996 -2005

Testing Accessibility Workshop with Marcy Sutton

April – May 2022

School of Motion 

Animation Bootcamp, Summer 2019 

Character Animation Bootcamp, July 2020

Speaking

Apr 2022, Nov 2022, Graphic Design for Informatics Majors, University of Texas, Austin

Guest Lecturer about Digital Accessibility

Nov 2021, Austin Design Week, projekt202

Panelist, Driving Inclusive Design in Your Organization

Skills

Collaboration

Communication

Competitive analysis

Contextual inquiry

Design systems

Design thinking

Dovetail

Heuristic evaluation

Information architecture

Journey mapping

Motion design

Project management

Prototyping

Storyboarding

User interviews

User scenarios

Usability testing

Video editing

Wireframing

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite

Asana

Axure

Confluence

Figma

HTML

CSS

Figma

FunRetro

GitHub

Invision

Jira

Markdown

Miro

MS Office

Mural

Scrum

Sketch

Sublime Text

Trello

Whimsical

ZenHub

Zeplin