UCLA
UCLA
UCLA UX is a community of user experience design professionals and enthusiasts. Our mission is to connect, synchronize, and grow UX practices at UCLA.
We are committed to supporting and growing the use of research-based, strategic, modern digital design practices at UCLA to better serve the institution’s mission, stakeholder needs, and members’ professional development.
Hold space to connect design practitioners and share experiences, needs, priorities and goals.
Provide resources, tools, guidance, education and consultation.
Take action - propose, align, execute and maintain initiatives that serve our mission in ways that are efficient and impactful.
Raise awareness on campus on the value of design and research.
As stated in our Charter... UX practitioners work within cross-functional teams to improve touch points between UCLA and the people it serves. User experience goes beyond just usability and accessibility. It encompasses the entire experience between a user and an organization. Practitioners balance organizational goals, end-user needs, and constraints (technology, policy, budget, etc) to arrive at elegant solutions.
Though all team members and stakeholders contribute to user experience, roles most likely to own or champion this aspect of digital and service roll-out include UX designers, UX researchers, UX writers, UX analysts, service designers, content strategists, information architects, creative strategists, front-end developers, product designers, UI designers, product owners, product managers, producers, UX directors and UX managers.
We offer open and inclusive membership to those in the broader UCLA community who are committed to growing UX design capacity and maturity to work together towards shared goals.
Term is July 1 - June 30
Lauren Cullen, UI/UX Designer, Office of Advanced Research Computing
Tulasi Atikamsetti, Business Systems Analyst, DTS (Digital & Technology Solutions)
2025-2026 Co-chairs
Congratulations to our new 2025-2026 UCLA UX Co-Chairs! Read their statements below.
Lauren Cullen
I’m honored to accept the nomination for UCLA UX Co-Chair for 2025–26. With ten years of experience as a Senior UI/UX Designer in UCLA's Office of Advanced Research Computing, I’m excited to support the goals of the UCLA UX community. I look forward to partnering with my fellow co-chair and the steering committee to deepen connections across UCLA and beyond, elevate group visibility, and continue strengthening support and resources for UX practitioners.
Tulasi Atikamsetti
I’m drawn to UCLA UX Group because of its collaborative environment and practical approach to UX. After attending a couple of events organized by UCUX, especially ‘The craft of UX’, I am sure I want to be part of it. The mix of workshops and project teams aligns perfectly with my goal of transitioning into UX design. I’d love to learn from experienced members, contribute to meaningful projects, and eventually help others
1st Annual Meeting
Wednesday, June 4, 2-3pm
Join us as we recap our first year and look ahead to what’s next. We’ll also explore ways of framing UX and its role in technology. If you’re a designer who’s struggled to contextualize what you do, or a non-designer trying to understand what it entails and where it fits, or anyone who obsesses about roles on cross-functional teams - check it out. And add to the discussion with your own ideas or questions.
Request the list managers to be added. It is recommended you be logged in with your g.ucla.edu email account or a Google/gmail account you check regularly for best results.
BruinTech is a diverse association of Bruin technologists sharing a common mission for advancing technical knowledge and experience, encouraging innovation, and promoting participation among all our members. BruinTech strives to establish community relationships and foster professional development throughout the UCLA technical community while promoting digital citizenship through our work with students, faculty, researchers, and staff. BruinTech is sponsored by UCLA IT Services.
BruinTech holds events throughout the year on various technology topics, including UX.
Join the BruinTech Slack channel and mailing list to stay informed on the latest community events.
The Craft of UX
Wednesday, November 20, 2-3pm
Join us as we dive into deliverables, documents, artifacts, prototypes, napkins scribbles, diagrams, workshop agendas, implementations - anything specific that has improved user experience on a project. This event is a group effort and we'd love to learn from you! Please submit work you can talk about for a few minutes. Reach out via the form below before Friday 11/15.
What is User Experience (UX) at UCLA?
Wednesday, October 16, 2-3pm
Join us for a facilitated discussion on what user experience means, what it means at UCLA specifically, and how to use UX practices in your day-to-day work. This is open to all whether you’re just curious about UX or a seasoned professional. We want to hear your questions and contributions and figure out together how to best support and grow UX at UCLA. Register for the zoom link and submit questions or topics you want covered.
Beyond Aesthetics: Process Transformation with UX Design
Friday, September 13, 1- 2pm
Speakers: Anna Ahearn, Kristin Ashton
Uncover the dynamic intersection between user experience (UX) design and process improvement in ‘Beyond Aesthetics: Process Transformation with UX Design.’ Explore how combining strategies for human centered design and process improvement empowers UX designers to make customer driven decisions.
Delve into the core principles and goals of human centered design. Navigate the ‘menu’ of UX methodologies and discover practical approaches to integrate UX expertise into your workflows. Engage in hands-on usability testing, a fundamental UX methodology, to acquire skills applicable immediately to your projects.
By the end of this session, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge to integrate UX methodologies into your workflows, utilize UX teams effectively, and gain practical skills through hands-on usability testing, fostering customer driven decision making and impactful process improvements in your digital projects.
2024-2025
Colombene Gorton, Lead UX/UI Designer, Strategic Communications
Alicia Goff, UX Designer, UCLA Student Affairs IT
2024 and before
Special thanks to Anna Ahearn for leadership and organizing