Hi There! 👋🏼

I'm Kiran (pronounced Keer-in). I currently work as a Mental Health Therapist and am making a career change into UX/UI design. I am originally from North Carolina but moved to Salt Lake City, Utah eight years ago. I am a first-generation American whose parents emigrated from Pakistan. Growing up I never felt American enough or Pakistani enough and I knew I wasn't alone. I became a therapist specializing in working with refugee and immigrant clients so that I could help others, like myself, feel understood and included.

More About Me

I love being a therapist and helping my clients become their own healers. As much as I would like to problem solve for my client's, it wouldn't be productive to their own journey and growth if I did so. During the pandemic, I reevaluated my goals and although helping others will always be a core part of my life's purpose, I knew there was only so much I could do through therapy. I wanted to not only understand someone's hardships but also be able to present them with solutions to help lessen their burden and so I decided to make a career change.

I first got introduced to web development through friends in the field and decided to pursue it because I thought creating beautiful websites meant you needed to know how to code. I enrolled in a Full Stack Bootcamp program but gravitated towards frontend development and CSS because it allowed me to showcase my creativity. I enjoyed working with color theory, typography, shapes, layouts, and more. After completing the Bootcamp, I decided to narrow my focus on UX/UI design and enrolled in Google's UX Design certificate program.

I practice from a person-centered approach where I value and appreciate that we are all unique human beings with different needs. I believe that creating beautiful products and services requires knowing who you are designing for and I do that through active listening and empathizing. UX/UI design allows me to combine my professional background in psychology with my love of creating products that make people smile and feel seen.