Hello! I’m Justin Daleiden and I am a UX designer and researcher in Minneapolis, MN. I enjoy problem-solving and thinking outside of the box to improve experiences efficiently.

Previously, I worked in Youth Ministry where I honed my strengths in empathy, listening, strategy, public speaking, creativity, and accompaniment. I am excited to combined these skills with UX Design to improve user experiences.

During my spare time, I enjoy camping, searching for the St. Paul winter carnival medallion, spending time with my fiancée, Stash, and dog, Marty, and playing any kind of strategy game.

Image is of Justin at the Gutherie theater overlooking the sites in Minneapolis

About

⬇ Check out my StrengthsFinder & how I used UX, before I knew UX! ⬇

Justin's first strength is titled "Woo" which is described by StrengthsFinder as, "People who are especially talented in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and
Justin's second strength is titled "Communication" which is described by StrengthsFinder as, "People who are especially talented in the Communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are conversationalists and prese
Justin's third strength is titled "Adaptability" which is described by StrengthsFinder as, "People who are especially talented in the Adaptability theme prefer to “go with the flow.” They tend to be “now” people who take things as they come and disco
Justin's fourth strength is titled "Developer" which is described by StrengthsFinder as, "People who are especially talented in the Developer theme recognize and cultivate the potential in others. They spot the signs of each small improvement and der
Justin's fifth strength is titled "Empathy" which is described by StrengthsFinder as, People who are especially talented in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others’ lives or others’ situations."

 How I used UX, before I knew UX

Prior to my journey into the world of User Experience Design, I spent over 10 years as a professional in Youth Ministry at two churches around the Twin Cities and one in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Research: Whenever I started at a new church, I would read the same book, “Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry: a Personal and Practical Guide to Starting Right” by Doug Fields. Although this book is aimed at those who are just starting out in a new profession, I found many of the principles and practices to be useful for starting in a new context. Some of the key principles that I found valuable that connect well with UX are:

  1. Learning about the people in the context- who is present and who is nearby?

  2. Learning about values- what is important to the people present?

  3. Learning how people communicate- what are the key forms of communication?

  4. Learning the calendar- what are the key events on the calendar that people value and where are there gaps?

Design: Typically I would take a full year to learn about the context and the people I was working alongside. That year of information gathering would then culminate in this process:

  1. Identify gaps (pain points)

  2. Rapid ideation to improve the those gaps (low fidelity prototypes)

  3. Presenting ideas to youth and key families for feedback (usability testing)

  4. Implement ideas for following calendar year (high fidelity interactive)

You can see a couple of journey maps of how applying these principles impacted the engagement of youth 1 year apart.