About

My Journey in Design

Hi! I’m Nate Schloesser. I came from a family made up of craftsmen, engineers, and artists. I grew up around oil canvases, drafting tables, wooden sculptures, soldering irons, and scrap material—material that on its own was next to worthless, but in the hands of a designer, became something else entirely. That shaped my understanding of Design. It emphasized purpose and discipline and highlighted balance. It showed that design starts from nothing, and is molded into something good, all the while aiming to strike a balance between aesthetics and usefulness. Design fills a void and has a purpose.

My own personal journey as a designer started in 2005 with a Photoshop class, I took my senior year of High School. Within a year of that class, a local business owner saw some of my work and offered me a job as an entry-level graphic designer. At that company, I worked under an incredible designer who began to show me the ropes by teaching me the fundamentals of design.

I did not come up through traditional means. I studied under people rather than in a school. I have had incredible mentors that have poured into me over the years. Ryan Murphy, Jason Hamrock, and Davin Granroth are the 3 people who have had the biggest impact on my growth and career.

Ryan taught me principles and set the foundation in which I built my career upon. Jason showed me that design skills are universally applicable and can translate to multiple areas. He pushed me—sometimes in ways that were uncomfortable. He had me overseeing graphic design, video production, creative direction, photography, web design, branding and trusted me to help him start a design firm. Davin then took the foundation I had along with the wide breadth of experience and molded something tangible and good out of it. He challenged me to understand the meaning behind design, how to truly find balance in it and how to help others grow in it. More than that, Davin turned me into a leader. He showed me how to care for others, to teach and guide others and to care about the discipline of Design as a whole.

Over the years I have worn many different hats at a hand full of places: Graphic Designer, Web Designer, Product Designer, Founder, Creative Director, Design Manager, UX Practitioner, Strategist, UX Strategy Manager and UX Manager just to name a few.

Today I oversee User Experience at Covenant Eyes. I manage a team made up of Design Researchers, Product Designers, UX Designers and a Product Strategist. After starting here nearly a decade ago, I am excited to be taking User Experience into its next season.

Capabilities

A professional’s capabilities can be measured by the level of competency. Competency is defined on a continuum marked by novice, then capable, then strong, and ending with mastery. Though a person can never truly master any capability, I found that years devoted towards a specific item such as a discipline or tool will generally move a person through the continuum at a consistent pace.

The progress bars below follow a pattern where every year spent consistently in that area is equal to 10%. If an item is at 100%, it means I have at least a decade devoted to that area. That doesn’t mean I have stopped growing or learning in that area. However, it does mean by capabilities are closer to mastery and my growth is nearly negligible at this point. Areas of Strategy and Behavior Change are relatively recent as a focus for me, so though I am active in those areas these days, none of them are over 60% (6 years).

In short; 10% is equal to 1 year of experience. 100% is equal to 10+ years. 

History