I'm Amaya Patterson
Brand Designer & UX Researcher
I ask why first. Then I design what works.
Currently: in Maryland, relocating to Abu Dhabi July 2026, open to UX research roles.
See the work
About · Life as Data
A researcher, by way of obsession.
I didn't start out wanting to be a researcher. I started out wanting to make brands that attracted people ready to spend money — which meant constantly asking "why does this work and that doesn't." Turns out that question doesn't stay contained to design.
places lived
Virginia, North Carolina (growing up), Atlanta, Alaska (4 years), now Maryland.
kids, both under 2
My most honest usability testers. If it doesn't work in 5 seconds, it's getting thrown.
years designing
For an industry I wasn't trained in — only observed, obsessively.
international move in progress
Currently in Maryland, relocating to Abu Dhabi in July 2026 for my husband's job. Next dataset: an entirely new market, observed in real time.
formal UX certifications
Zero formal certifications. Six years of asking "why did that work and that one didn't" instead — pattern recognition built the hard way.
One thing I've learned is how to adapt. After you've lived somewhere the sun never sets in summer and barely rises in winter — daylight 24 hours a day, then dark for 22 — you learn to adjust to almost anything. That's Alaska. It taught me to read a new environment fast and meet it where it is. Turns out that's most of what research is.
Why → Research
The hair stylist who was already fully booked.
When I started designing, I couldn't stand loud, overly crowded branding. I knew I wanted to make brands that attracted people ready to spend money — but I needed to know what got them there. What font. What colors. What layout.
Then I started building websites for hair stylists, and I noticed something. I'd land on one stylist's site and her booking policy would be screaming at me in bold caps — like I'd already done something wrong before I'd even booked. Then I'd find another stylist whose site answered every question before I thought to ask it. It felt like an experience. The features made sense for what she offered. She was fully booked.
Same industry. Same service. Completely different outcomes. That wasn't a design problem — that was a research problem. That's how strategy became my love language, and research became the reason behind every decision.
Featured Work
Five projects, one question repeated: why does this work?
Favour Pieri
A talented stylist was invisible to the client she actually wanted. I researched the market, found the territory no one else owned, and rebuilt her into a three-division brand with a belief system underneath it.
Brand Strategy · Information Architecture · Audience Research Read the case study → 02Revamped Group
A growing service business had the offer but not the journey — prospects fell out between interest and commitment. I mapped the path end to end and rebuilt the moments where people were quietly leaving.
Service Design · Journey Mapping · Conversion Research Read the case study → 03Beauty Mark RX
A licensed OR nurse with real medical credentials had a brand that read like a college side hustle. In a field where trust is everything, that gap was costing her. I rebuilt the brand to match her actual authority.
Trust & Credibility · Brand Identity · Audience Research Read the case study → 04Agathe Hair Beauty
A gifted braider was last in a crowded market — not for lack of skill, but because nothing online answered the questions that stop people from booking. I rebuilt the experience, and built her a tool to capture why visitors leave without booking.
Conversion Research · Drop-Off Analysis · Inclusive UX Read the case study → 05Tahjeira Anaiah
A content creator with strong work was getting passed over by the brands she wanted. Her visual identity didn't match her content, and didn't signal "this is someone worth paying." I built a personal brand that closed that gap.
Personal Brand · Perception Research · Identity Systems Read the case study →Process
How I think about every project.
Same four moves on every project — it's how this whole site is structured, too.
Observation
What do I notice before I touch anything? The pattern, the gap, the friction nobody named.
Hypothesis
What do I believe is true because of that observation — and what would change if I'm right?
Decision
What I build, and why each choice — font, color, layout, copy — ties back to the hypothesis.
What I'd test next
The next question. Iterative thinking — because a decision is a bet, not a conclusion.
Off the Clock
What I pay attention to when no one's paying me to.
- Currently watching
- Currently studying
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On repeat
Cleo Sol — "Life Will Be"
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Always the priority
my family
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Could talk for hours about
natural hair care, beauty, and learning new things
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Lately
long walks
