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Abby Phillips

Interaction Designer (IxD)

 

I believe the world is an intricate web of user adventures, each unique encounter a treasure map for me as a designer. As travelers embark on a product or experience, my job is to chart a path that guides and enhances their way. I aim to make these moments of connection simple, easy to understand, and enjoyable by connecting the dots through storytelling.

I am passionately working to make these digital and physical journeys beautiful, eye-catching, valuable and notable, visual and interactive, no matter the medium. My philosophy is to unify, grow, convey ideas, and showcase their narrative artfully. My mission is to craft and expertly define for people a one-of-a-kind experience full of curiosity and wonderment that captivates and engrosses its adventurers.

Host of Inaugural Annual Egg Retreat Fall 2023. Photos by Kirk Smith.

About Me

A few things you might like to know. I love writing, but I prefer to communicate visually (as a designer, I know this often takes more time). I enjoy research and data and work hard to be thoughtful about everything I do. I love to learn and create and believe wholeheartedly in continuous improvement. I’m a systematic thinker somewhere between a synthesist and an idealist. With creativity and curiosity as my driving forces, I consider different ideas, views, and possibilities. I enjoy setting and working toward big goals and breaking them into small steps, but I am also a realist and have gained real experience working through roadblocks.

Growing up on a farm taught me gritty determination and the know-how to make extraordinary things with less. I’m also a builder-type who enjoys getting my hands dirty and seeing my projects through. I especially value professional growth and development, which is my favorite part of working with college students. This value also drives my appreciation for design thinking and transformational leadership, the backbone of my student marketing agency and creative incubator program, The Egg. Working with an “eggceptionally” creative team empowers and inspires me most of all.

I relish pushing the boundaries, exploring what’s possible, iterating, and then, as an aspiring futurist and lover of all things technology, uncovering what’s next and continuously striving to be a national leader in my industry.

My heritage is Swedish, and it inspires many of my passion projects. I use my creativity to learn more about the culture and work to intertwine the best parts of it into my family’s everyday life. Although I’ve never lived in Sweden, my Grandmother Iva, a Swede who lived to be a centenarian, was my inspiration. Also, yes! I do love everything about Ikea and sitting down to build Lego sets with my husband and two boys.

Another fun fact: I live in Delaware, once part of colonial New Sweden. I enjoy exploring the history of the “Small Wonder” also known as Delaware and its indigenous people, the Lenni Lenape and Nanticoke, and the native plants, all newer interests of mine as I uncover what it truly means to be a Delawarean.

Myer-Briggs Type

(INFJ) Advocate, Role: Diplomat, Strategy: Constant Improvement

Top 5 Clifton Strengths

Strategic | Learner | Achiever | Relator | Futuristic

Zodiac

Also, a Gemini, in case you prefer that kind of thing : )

Experience

See All Work & Education Experience
Creator and Program Director of The Egg, Student Creative Agency
June 2018 to Present

University of Delaware

At The Egg, student marketing agency and creative incubator program, we offer professional development opportunities to students in five core marketing and communications areas: art and design, multimedia, web/UX, content marketing and project management. We also practice many types of design for exhibition spaces, environmental/experiential design and wayfinding using Student Life facilities.
More About The Egg
Communications Manager, Creative & Operations
August 2016 to Present (various roles)

University of Delaware, Division of Student Life

Harnessing my powers as an Interaction Designer (IxD) I underwent a career evolution from graphic designer and multimedia artist to a Communications Manager overseeing creative and operations for the Division of Student Life. I am also the founder of an experiential professional development program, creative incubator, and student marketing agency called The Egg, serving Student Life at the University of Delaware. I also regularly moonlight as a product designer for my inventions, graphic designer, illustrator and author, where I keep cracking on my creations. 
More About Student Life Communications & Marketing
M.A. Interaction Design (IxD)
August 2017 to May 2018

University of Delaware

During the late nights, programming robotic arms and learning new technologies, I found my passion for product design and making while 3D printing and laser cutting parts to make my ideas possible. I earned an MA in Interaction Design (IxD) from the University of Delaware, where I learned the skills necessary to turn my two-dimensional concepts into actual three-dimensional prototypes and, eventually, products and experiences.
B.A. Media Arts
August 2009 to May 2012

Wesley College

My undergraduate education was from Wesley College, where I received a liberal arts degree in Media Arts, the Swiss Army knife of art, communications, marketing, and journalism. My relevant coursework ranges from graphic design to radio and TV broadcasting, motion graphics, screenwriting, journalism, photography, videography, fine arts, web design, art history, and even art curation and exhibition design.