Zynga
Michelle David played computer game maturing, however she never ever anticipated to operate in the market. As a kid, she definitely didn’t understand she’d mature to end up being the UX designer at Zynga, dealing with the exceptionally popular video game Words With Friends.
“I knew I wanted to be a creator,” David stated. “After school, I looked around and noticed this new wave of gaming blossoming on smartphones.”
David focused on the pattern and began freelancing — producing props, characters and icons for numerous indie mobile video games. After working as a video game artist for an instructional mobile video game business, she attempted her hand at UI and UX in addition to video game art. Eventually, she captured the attention of Zygna, the designers of Words with Friends and its follow up, Words with Friends 2.
Michelle David is a UX designer for Words with Friends 2.
Michelle David
Climbing the ladder
Women operating in the tech market frequently deal with discrimination, from the intern level to the board space. Women stay underrepresented throughout the tech labor force, and a pay space in the market still holds strong.
Looking back on her early profession, David stated that it was unusual to see females in conventional management functions and females good example. Most of the time, David remembers, individuals who had a seat at the table were males.
“At times, I think I struggled to find my confidence and voice. I grappled a lot with imposter syndrome, and still do from time to time,” she stated. “However, with the help of both female and male mentors in various disciplines, I realized along the way that my voice was just as important. Now I see so many confident and smart women in leadership roles all around me who continue to inspire.”
The World of Words with Friends
Words with Friends is a widely known mobile video game where gamers can get competitive in a digital mashup of Scrabble and crossword puzzles. Part of the appeal of the video game is how it toes the line in between escapism and intellectual pursuit, David stated.
“It’s a lot of fun,” she included. “It’s such a recognized game that at least a couple times a week, someone will casually mention Words With Friends in a random comment and I get to say, ‘I work on that game!'”
Learning just how much the video game indicates to gamers has actually been a fulfilling part of the task, David stated. In addition to simply having fun with loved ones, the group has actually heard stories of gamers discovering brand-new relationships and even romantic partners through random matches in the video game.
The video game has actually touched David’s life personally too. When her dad was residing in Guam, the 2 were continuously playing phone tag since of the 18-hour time distinction.
“It still felt like we were connected despite the distance because we always had a Words With Friends move from one another waiting in each other’s games lists,” David stated. “And I let him win from time to time.”
A seat at the table
While David may not have had lots of female good example in her field maturing, she remains in excellent business now.
“For more girls and young women to see tech as a viable career path, they need to see more examples of women succeeding in this field,” she stated.
While presence and representation are improving, there are still great deals of seats at the table waiting to be filled by more varied point of views, David stated. Technology is broad and encompassing: There’s something for everybody to deal with.
“Tech is a medium for creativity and there’s so much room for women to innovate and experiment with how we shape the field for the future,” David stated.
Watch this:
HBO’s Silicon Valley cast talk women in tech
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