About Me (Mini Novel)
Nice to meet you! My name is Jessica Hurtt and I graduated from Howard University in 2010 with a B.A. in Legal Communications & Spanish. Shortly after taking my LSAT, and hearing one too many horror stories, I realized law school (with a slim job market at the time) was not for me. Since I was simultaneously applying to law schools and jobs, I accepted a role as an advertising account executive working for the Washington Post Apartment Showcase. Looking back, it was my first introduction to user experience and design working with their print & digital products.
In 2012, I transitioned into high-end luxury advertising and sales while enrolling in school to pursue an MBA in marketing. In 2013, I moved back home (Delaware) to pursue my degree full time but quickly missed the networking, relationship building and interaction that came with being in the working world. I started looking for roles complimentary to my background and ultimately secured a part time, quickly turned full time role, as a marketing & account executive in radio at Kiss 101.7 FM.
I absolutely loved it! The concerts, meeting celebrities, and super cool programming! In addition, I learned the production side of radio, voiced voiceovers, created copy and designed digital products for advertisers. By this time, my love for all things marketing, creative and design had exponentially grown. Only to learn the radio station was on the verge of being sold. Many of my radio clients, extremely grateful for the marketing and brand building work we had done, requested I serve as their marketing strategist. Knowing I had spent the last two years in my graduate program becoming proficient in solid market research, qualitative/quantitative data, empathy mapping, persona building and storytelling I decided to take a chance on myself. With the encouragement from my clients, confidence in my background, I founded a full service tailor made agency. CRÉME, a creative marketing agency providing everything from logo design, web development, business, marketing and branding strategy.
My passion for helping people reach their full potential has always been a driving force which constantly keeps me looking for ways to grow. In 2019, I began taking graphic design courses but knew there was something missing. Considering the every growing world of tech, I knew I wanted a piece but wasn’t quite sure how and where my current qualifications would fit in. That’s when a friend introduced me to UX/UI. As I began doing more research, I realized I had been operating in this space for years without knowing there was an official classification in the tech industry for this. User experience gives me the ability to incorporate my love for creative design, critical thinking and solution based problem solving to help others in their everyday lives.
Completing Design Lab has given me the confidence to move forward in the world of User experience and design through the exploration of different design tools, wire framing and prototyping. I feel secure in knowing this has been the perfect fit to to complete the existing puzzle and look forward to advancing my career.
In my spare time I love raising my 12 year old son (greatest kid in the whole wide world), traveling the world giving me cultural perspective, trying new restaurants and mentoring high school girls in the Jeanne L. Noble Delta GEMS Academy as a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. In the next year, my plan is to continue bringing value to those around me through the creation of super cool products and continue making a positive difference in others.
“The lives that I touch, will be proof that I lived”
Signed,
Jessica E.