Frontend developer with 6+ years of experience including 4.5 years in enterprise React environments, a Graphic Design degree, and a background built inside UX agencies. I bring both design literacy and technical depth — I understand why a design decision is made and exactly what it takes to ship it.
I'm a frontend developer with a background in Graphic Design and hands-on experience building production React applications in a UX agency environment. My work has consistently sat at the intersection of design and engineering — translating Figma specifications into precise, accessible code, validating design systems, and collaborating daily with product designers.
I'm particularly interested in accessible and inclusive design — an area where my frontend background is a direct asset. I have implemented WCAG compliance, keyboard navigation, and cross-browser accessibility in production systems, and I approach it as a design discipline, not a checklist.
This project is a self-initiated UX exploration of how bilateral stimulation patterns — inspired by Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) — could be translated into a safe, self-guided digital experience. EMDR is an evidence-based psychotherapy method recognized by the World Health Organization and the American Psychological Association for trauma treatment. It is traditionally conducted by licensed clinicians within structured protocols.
This project does not attempt to replicate or replace EMDR therapy. Instead, it explores a narrower question: How might UX design support emotional self-regulation, drawing on bilateral stimulation principles, while staying clearly within safe, non-clinical boundaries?
The product is positioned strictly as a regulation aid — not a therapeutic intervention. The design challenge was as much about what to exclude as what to include.
Three bilateral stimulation modes (visual, audio, haptic) ensure the tool works for users with visual impairments, hearing difficulties, or those in public settings. Color contrast, large tap targets, and calm visual hierarchy were considered throughout.
While EMDR is clinically guided, many individuals seek accessible self-regulation tools between therapy sessions or during moments of emotional overwhelm. The question this project explores:
Trained EMDR therapists are scarce and expensive. Many people cannot access structured support between sessions, when emotional regulation is most needed.
Current wellness and meditation apps that touch on bilateral stimulation carry no safety architecture — no distress checks, no exits, no grounding. This can be destabilizing.
A digital tool cannot and should not attempt clinical therapy. The design challenge is defining exactly where self-regulation ends and therapy begins — then staying on the right side of that line.
With no access to clinical participants, research was desk-based and focused on building domain knowledge and understanding the ethical boundaries of the space.
EMDR literature & protocol. Reviewed Francine Shapiro's foundational work and official EMDR protocol phases to understand the clinical structure this concept draws from — and must not replicate.
Bilateral stimulation mechanics. Studied how bilateral stimulation works — visual, auditory, tactile — and which patterns are used in regulated versus unregulated contexts.
Competitive audit. Reviewed existing mental health and meditation apps (Calm, Headspace, BrainTap) for safety patterns, user controls, and how they handle emotional risk.
Trauma-informed design principles. Studied emerging trauma-informed UX frameworks — predictability, user control, emotional off-ramps, soft visual hierarchy, safety before stimulation.
Designing in a mental health context introduces high emotional and ethical risk. Before any wireframing, I mapped the constraints the design would need to respect.
The original EMDR protocol asks users to hold a distressing memory in mind during stimulation. This tool deliberately removes all memory prompts — it targets regulation, not processing.
All copy was written to avoid implying therapeutic benefit. The product is a regulation aid. Disclaimers are surfaced at onboarding and are not hideable.
A persistent "Stop & Ground" button appears at every stage of stimulation. It cannot be hidden or removed. This was a non-negotiable design constraint.
Every session ends with a grounding exercise that cannot be skipped. A session that ends abruptly without closure could leave a user in an activated state — this is not acceptable.
Inspired by my wireframe sketches and the EMDR protocol structure, the final flow is deliberately simpler than clinical EMDR — removing everything that requires clinical supervision while preserving the safety architecture.
Every path through the tool has a safe exit. The distress check gates entry; the Pause State allows exit at any point during stimulation.
Hand-drawn wireframes translated into structured lo-fi screens, covering the full session flow from check-in to grounding closure.
How are you feeling right now?
If you feel overwhelmed,
you can exit the session anytime.
Briefly describe what's bothering you
Session Paused
Let's check in again
Choose your distress level
Let's take a moment to ground
Lo-fi wireframes based on hand-drawn sketches. Focus is on layout, content hierarchy, and interaction patterns — not visual design. Grayscale palette intentional to defer aesthetic decisions.
The most valuable part of this project wasn't the wireframes — it was learning to reason about what a product should not do. Designing within high-stakes ethical constraints is a different discipline than designing for usability or aesthetics.
I'm looking for frontend engineering roles with UX involvement, or structured UX programs. Available for full-time roles starting May 2026.