I’m Laney Hughes, a UX designer, film lover, and proud owner of two chubby cats. 🐱 It’s great to meet you - thanks for being here on my portfolio site!
I discovered UX design after working as a graphic designer and small business owner for four years. Right away I fell in love with how UX managed to combine my three favorite things: creativity, people, and business. I’ve enjoyed solving problems in everything from enterprise software to the gaming industry so far in my career.
Drop me a message at laneyh@stanford.edu: I would love to talk about job opportunities, favorite design trends, or anything art or film related. You can also read more of my story below. ↘
My story: from designing t-shirts to designing software
2015 - 2018: Running a clothing brand
I fell in love with design when I was 14 and started a clothing brand called Shallocat. I'd been designing t-shirts for my friends, and they encouraged me to try my hand at selling them. Over time I learned to use an industrial embroidery machine and my shop grew to offer over 120 clothing items.
2019: A new chapter
After 4 years I'd sold over 2,500 items and enjoyed every moment pushing myself artistically and working for myself. However, with new interests developing in college I slowly closed down my shop.
2019 - 2020: Discovering UX at Stanford
After exploring everything from psychology to law at Stanford, I discovered UX design. I was amazed at how it gave me the same fulfilled, energetic feeling I got from designing clothing - both allowed me to design beautiful things for people to connect with and enjoy.
2020 - present: Delving deeper into design
During the pandemic I took on an internship at a non-profit called Keep.id designing technology products for vulnerable populations. I also became the Head of Design at a startup called Asmbl and built a beauty marketplace app. By this point I was hooked on UX - and the rest is history!
When I’m not learning obscure Figma shortcuts, you’ll find me:
Painting, sketching, and drawing
I especially like sitting on a bench and doing live-sketches, and watercolor painting. You can check out some of my art below ☺
Listening to music
Lately I’m loving French house music, new wave, and Toro Y Moi’s “Mahal”.
Watching and writing about films
At Stanford I’m majoring in Film & Media Studies, and I’ve absolutely loved the coursework so far. My favorite films are Shoplifters by Hirokazu Kore-eda and Meshes of the Afternoon by Maya Deren.
The art zone 🎨
Freising, Germany
Streets of Freising, Germany
“In Sleep”
Main Quad sunset at Stanford University
Sky over Seattle watercolor
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Austrian countryside