Erin Lentz

From an early age, I have found design fascinating. I believe in science and art—design is what bridges them together. The design needs to have a function, it needs to be purpose-driven and human-centered. A purpose can be found in its science, on the other hand art is all about aesthetics, expressions and emotions. Creative problem-solving relies on having a sensibility for both.

I’m an operations executive at ArtVersion agency. ArtVersion is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Chicago best known for its work in user interface and user experience design. Our involvement in the UX/UI goes back to the late ‘90s when we worked with notable computer appliance manufacturers on improving their graphical user interface (GUI), and overall user interactions with their products. We also worked on the first high-definition video conferencing interfaces being deployed in enterprise environments. Those early exposures to user interface design paved the way for a broader involvement in the user experience discipline for our team. We started incorporating what we learned from traditional GUI development into web design and pioneered user experience as a discipline in the adoptive web. Back then each device had its own interface and it was quite resource-intensive to keep up with all segmented design systems. In short, we have been in the industry since its inception, and our core team is quite active in the innovation that is happening around UX/UI.

The latest web design industry advancements are what’s keeping my interest. User experience design for web applications and developing interactive and highly engaging interfaces for those environments is my passion.

Good design needs to be human-centered, it must fulfill the purpose and be intuitive. Good design sells.

I’m told that my design style contains elements of approachable sophistication.

My typical design process starts with in-depth discovery, user interviews, and learning what works, what doesn't and what challenges the design needs to solve. I rely on both intuition and data to find strategic answers to lead creative problem-solving. Data can be quite useful to figure out patterns, funnels and stuck points, and intuition can contribute to informed decisions based on instincts and past knowledge from similar challenges. At ArtVersion our process is always based on Design Thinking. We utilize iterative design, conceptual design, contextual design and experiential design methodologies to accomplish objectives and set goals for each project.

I find inspiration in design usability. By focusing on accessibility and inclusion my aim is that our work fulfills usability needs for people with all abilities. Launching a digital product that receives a high adaption rate and gets used in the wide market segment is what fuels my inspiration. I also love to continue to expand on my creative, technical and strategic knowledge base to help advocate for industry best practices and standards.

The biggest trend is still in experiential commerce. The enormity of e-commerce continues to shift and mold into new and improved renditions of itself. The added engagement of experiential commerce when shopping online furthermore repeats a much more humanized approach to sales.

We are proud and honored to have won three Vega Digital Awards in 2022. As digital design continuously transcends with boundless creativity, the Vega Awards was an honorable achievement that showcases our team's commitment to building user-centric designs for innovative brands.

This time around, we worked with Evention, a SaaS accounting automation and reconciliation company from Chicago to complete brand refresh and web redesign as they were celebrating 15 years in business. The responsive website design, simplistic but intuitive brand refresh, logo redesign, and marketing collateral were celebrated across different categories for each award. Evention’s brand identity was rejuvenated with a creative design direction that offered a sleek, dynamic visual story and a fin-tech aesthetic to punctuate their services. With careful image and graphical design curation, the cutting-edge feel furthered Evention’s tonality while ensuring to comply with all usability and accessibility standards. The accolades included: • Centauri Winner Website & Mobile Sites – Best Responsive/Adaptive Design for Mobile • Arcturus Winner Website & Mobile Sites – Best Art Direction • Arcturus Winner Website & Mobile Sites – Best Visual Design – Function

I see success as not necessarily being a destination, but a journey we are taking. Across the industry, my core team is known for its ability to innovate and challenge the status quo. We love collaborating with our clients, together we create amazing user experiences and products that everybody involved is proud of. We advocate for the end-users and ultimately create products that people love to use. In those collaborations, we are able to share ideas, knowledge and wisdom. It’s a beautiful feeling to create something important for someone.