By now, you’re probably familiar with our “Day in the life” series. But in case you haven’t had a chance to check it out, here’s a quick overview: members of the PatientsLikeMe community share a lot about their health journey and experiences on the site. In turn, we like to share stories from the PatientsLikeMe team every now and then to help everyone get to know us, what we do and why we’re happy to be a part of PatientsLikeMe.
Today, we’d like to introduce you to Flavia Gnecco, a User Experience Designer on our UX and design team. Flavia, a world traveler, joined us last October (happy 1 year anniversary, Flavia!). Read her interview below, and don’t forget to take a look at the other posts in the “Day in the life” series if you haven’t already.
1. How did you first hear about PatientsLikeMe? What brought you to the organization?
I first heard about PatientsLikeMe while I was working at NIBR (Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research) back in 2012. The name came up while brainstorming around how researchers could find out about actual patient experiences. Fast forward a two years later and I came across a job posting for user experience designer at PatientsLikeMe. The name had stuck in my mind. When I learned how PatientsLikeMe was founded, I was sold – it is so authentic and the mission is one that I knew I could stand behind. I got into design specifically so I could work on projects that were having a positive impact on the daily lives of others. I studied Industrial Design in grad school and never thought I’d end up working for a website but when I realized that the process was the same and the outcome was exactly what I was hoping to achieve, it made a lot of sense.
2. Tell us a little about your role as a user experience designer. What kind of projects are you working on right now?
Right now I’m working on a few things. My biggest project so far has been to figure out the first steps towards improving how members can record their experiences, with different conditions. It’ll make things more engaging and the result will be more meaningful to our users. For now that means I’m doing a lot of sketching for how different interactions might work on the site (i.e. if you click a button, what should happen next?).
I collaborate a lot with the engineers who make sure things actually work on the site, and the UX team also works very closely with the health data integrity (HDI) team to design questions and make sure they are accurate but also sound like a human wrote it. Admittedly, it’s a work in progress! While I was in design school I specifically remember saying, “You can apply the design process to anything – you can even design how you ask a question!” Who knew I was predicting my own future? 😉
I’m also working on an ethnography project and get to talk directly to people who are figuring out how to live with a chronic condition. This is really inspiring and I know will influence how I think about the rest of my work – and my life!
3. What’s your favorite part about working at PatientsLikeMe?
Just one?! The people – definitely. There is always an interesting conversation happening and I’m constantly learning something new. I’ve been here a year now but I have yet to be bored. I take that as a good thing. I also really like the fact that PatientsLikeMe is an organization that’s trying to do right in the world. I’ve learned from experience that it’s very important to me. Oh – and bonus – I get to be mentored directly by Kim Goodwin and Robert Reinman.
4. You’ve traveled all over the world and are fluent in 4 languages. What’s your favorite destination outside of the U.S. and why?
Tough question! I’m lucky that I have multiple places that I can call home that are also incredible destinations (Florence, Italy; Lima, Peru; and in the US, Boston; New York; San Francisco) I get to go to those places almost every year. My two-year-old son has already been to all those locations except NYC…but that’s already in the works. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t travel! But honestly, my favorite destinations are all those places I still haven’t been to. I’m definitely a fan of the journey and discovering new places but I’m a quiet adventurer – more on the foods, museums, dramatic landscapes and hikes. High on my list of things to do soon is to buy a round-the-world ticket.
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