Hello!
My name is Laurel Forbes.
I’m a Senior Lead UX Designer who enjoys untangling complexity and turning int into experiences that feel clear, useful, and intuitive.
Over the past 10+ years, I’ve worked at the intersection of design, product, and engineering, helping teams solve complex enterprise challenges. I’m especially drawn to problems that involve large amounts of data, technical workflows, competing stakeholder needs, or unclear requirements. These are often the situations where thoughtful design can have the biggest impact.
My approach combines systems thinking, user research, and close collaboration with Product, Engineering, and subject matter experts. I enjoy asking questions, challenging assumptions, and helping teams find clarity when the path forward isn’t obvious. Whether I’m facilitating a workshop, mapping a workflow, designing a dashboard, or refining a component, I’m focused on creating solutions that work for both the people using the product and the teams building it.
What makes me different is my technical foundation. Before moving into UX, I spent years in front-end development, which gives me a deeper understanding of how products are built and helps me to bridge conversations between design and engineering. Today, that foundation extends to design systems, accessibility, Ai-assisted design workflows, and emerging ways of designing with prompt-based tools.
At my core, I’m a designer who enjoys solving difficult problems, mentoring others, and helping teams create products that are simpler, more usable , and more meaning for the people who depend on them.
Over the past 10+ years, I’ve worked at the intersection of design, product, and engineering, helping teams solve complex enterprise challenges. I’m especially drawn to problems that involve large amounts of data, technical workflows, competing stakeholder needs, or unclear requirements. These are often the situations where thoughtful design can have the biggest impact.
My approach combines systems thinking, user research, and close collaboration with Product, Engineering, and subject matter experts. I enjoy asking questions, challenging assumptions, and helping teams find clarity when the path forward isn’t obvious. Whether I’m facilitating a workshop, mapping a workflow, designing a dashboard, or refining a component, I’m focused on creating solutions that work for both the people using the product and the teams building it.
What makes me different is my technical foundation. Before moving into UX, I spent years in front-end development, which gives me a deeper understanding of how products are built and helps me to bridge conversations between design and engineering. Today, that foundation extends to design systems, accessibility, Ai-assisted design workflows, and emerging ways of designing with prompt-based tools.
At my core, I’m a designer who enjoys solving difficult problems, mentoring others, and helping teams create products that are simpler, more usable , and more meaning for the people who depend on them.
Let's Talk
I'm currently open to new opportunities. If you'd like to connect, I'd love to hear from you.
20+
Over 20 years experience designing and developing in corporate, higher education, and startup environments.
40+
Earned over 40 certifications from well known industry recognized organizations.
3yr
3 year Multimedia Design Diploma from Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
Work Experience
Senior Lead UX Designer
Kyndryl • 2022 - Present
- Lead UX strategy for Kyndryl’s Bridge platform initiatives, simplifying complex operational workflows and data-intensive experiences for delivery teams.
- Establish design direction across Network & Edge, vulnerability management, device onboarding, account health, and service operations initiatives.
- Led alignment discussions with Product, Engineering, Architects, and SMEs to define requirements, resolve workflow gaps, and influence product direction.
- Translate complex technical concepts and operational data into scalable user experiences, design frameworks, and reusable patterns.
- Facilitate UX discovery workshops and alignment sessions that create clarity, build stakeholder consensus, and accelerate decision-making.
- Apply research, tree testing, usability testing, benchmarking, and stakeholder feedback to validate solutions and inform product decisions.
- Advance accessibility, design consistency, and UX maturity through standards development, mentorship, and cross-functional collaboration.
- Starting to incorporate AI-assisted design workflows and prompt-driven approaches to improve design efficiency and exploration.
Senior Product Designer
Designware • 2020 - 2022
- Established the foundational design system and reusable component architecture that enabled scalable, consistent experiences across web and mobile products while improving collaboration between Design and Engineering.
- Led end-to-end research and validation activities, using usability testing and experimentation to identify opportunities, reduce risk, and influence product decisions throughout the development lifecycle.
- Partnered with technical and business stakeholders to define product requirements, user workflows, and brand experiences, ensuring consistent execution across digital touchpoints.
- Mentored junior designers and championed accessibility best practices, helping establish quality standards that improved both user outcomes and team delivery capabilities.
Web Specialist
WUSA / Feds • 2015 - 2020
- Engineered a custom, highly scalable Drupal 7 CMS theme and responsive web experience, increasing user engagement through a rigorous process of iterative wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing.
- Pioneered the organization's digital accessibility compliance initiative, improving inclusivity and standardizing practices by advocating for and strictly enforcing WCAG standards across all regional web projects.
- Empowered a team of part-time student staff through targeted coaching and process documentation, maintaining exceptionally high quality standards while enabling independent, efficient content management.
- Bridged operational silos between marketing creatives and IT developers, securing Executive Team approval and funding for new design initiatives by presenting highly researched, data-driven analytics.
Senior Interactive Developer
BlackBerry • 2007 - 2015
- Developed and maintained scalable, multilingual web experiences used by global customers, building expertise in responsive design, accessibility, performance optimization, and component-based front-end development that continues to inform my product design approach today.
- Directed end-to-end interactive projects: Translated instructional design storyboards into engaging learning modules, managing creative workflows from concept to completion while strictly enforcing corporate brand guidelines and consistently meeting deadlines.
- Mentored teams and optimized legacy systems: Trained junior multimedia team members on brand standards and troubleshooting protocols, while concurrently resolving complex bugs and optimizing existing web-based training materials.
Education
Multimedia Design Diploma
Durham College
Graduated from Durham College in 2003 with a three year Mulitmedia Design diploma.
Certifications
2025
Journey Mapping
IxDF | Mar 2025 | ID: 95764-2025-812268
Affordances: Designing Intuitive User Interfaces
IxDF | Feb 2025 | ID: 95764-2025-1134447
UX Design for Augmented Reality
IxDF | Feb 2025 | ID: 95764-2025-1134448
Interaction Design for Usability
IxDF | Jan 2025 | ID: 95764-2025-1091208
2024
Agile Methods for UX Design
IxDF | Nov 2024 | ID: 95764-2024-1085115
Mobile UI Design
IxDF | Aug 2024 | ID: 95764-2024-1080315
Accessibility: How to Design for All
IxDF | Aug 2024 | ID: 95764-2025-620817
Mobile UX Design: The Beginner's Guide
IxDF | Jul 2024 | ID: 95764-2024-1066662
Design for Thought and Emotion
IxDF | Jul 2024 | ID: 95764-2024-1066674
Visual Design: The Ultimate Guide
IxDF | Jul 2024 | ID: 95764-2024-1001246
AI for Designers
IxDF | Jun 2024 | ID: 95764-2025-1004207
Design Thinking: The Ultimate Guide
IxDF | Apr 2024 | ID: 95764-2024-1001247
User Experience: The Beginner’s Guide
IxDF | Mar 2024 | ID: 95764-2025-1002154
2023
Foundations of Humane Technology
Center for Humane Technology | Dec 2023
Perception and Memory in HCI and UX
IxDF | Dec 2023 | ID: 95764-2023-964692
Design Thinking: The Beginner’s Guide
IxDF | Nov 2023 | ID: 95764-2023-527075
UI Design Patterns for Successful Software
IxDF | Jul 2023 | ID: 95764-2023-549965
Analyzing Complex Problems
IMD | Oct 2023 | ID: 1-107081-418965-1697569013
Building a Foundation of Equity
University of Virginia Dardan School of Business
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-106831-422109-1698327392
Communicating Inclusively
The Ivey Academy at Ivey Business School
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-92094-421685-1698263778
Communicating Persuasively & Building Trust
Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-72004-420038-1697762704
Cultivating Collaborative Leadership Experience
UC Berkeley Executive Education
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-74834-416562-1697042719
Developing Equity Fluent Teams Experience
UC Berkeley Executive Education
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-74861-422352-1698338835
Embracing a Growth Mindset Experience
UC Berkeley Executive Education Oct 2023 | ID: 1-74807-412582-1696361519
Enhancing Interpersonal Dynamics Experience
UC Berkeley Executive Education
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-99722-414165-1696527282
Identifying Business Growth Opportunities
IMD | Oct 2023 | ID: 1-90608-419347-1697648238
Implementing Winning Strategies Experience
Columbia Business School
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-73545-420995-1698151493
Managing Stakeholders in Complex Projects Experience
UC Berkeley Executive Education
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-127380-420246-1697820176
Stress-Testing for Superior Decision-Making
Yale School of Management
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-89934-417355-1697127093
Simplifying Complex Decision-Making
Yale School of Management
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-89910-418532-1697473864
Strengthening Self-Advocacy Experience
UC Berkeley Executive Education
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-99585-411586-1695833384
Understanding Customer Needs
The Wharton School
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-96214-419541-1697727221
Achieving Peak Productivity
UC Berkeley Executive Education
Oct 2023 | ID: 1-99721-407117-1695147003
2021
Human-Computer Interaction - HCI
IxDF | Mar 2021 | ID: 95764-2021-513139
Information Visualization
IxDF | Feb 2021 | ID: 95764-2021-513137
Gestalt Psychology and Web Design: The Ultimate Guide
IxDF | Jan 2021 | ID: 95764-2021-512215