Spatial Designer -> UX/UI Designer & Engineer

github

Amy Wright  • Peerlist

My Pivot from Interior Design to UX EngineeringI recently made the leap from spatial and interior design into UI/UX design and engineering. While I fell in love with technology and coding long ago, this pivot was also driven by necessity: the traditional interior design market has grown increasingly scarce and low-paying over the last several years. I needed a new canvas where my design skills could actually thrive.As a solo creator under my brand Vizabold, I built The Green Tape Measure to merge my past industry expertise with my new engineering toolkit. It is an independent, volunteer-run North Carolina non-profit foundation providing evidence-based research, advocacy, and career clarity for the next generation of interior designers.I wanted to prove that a content-heavy, regulatory, and educational website can be exceptionally fast, accessible, and completely free of heavy frameworks.🏗️ The Technical Build &amp; Principles:<ul><li>Compiler: Built with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="break-all link-break text-gray-500 hover:underline H23r4e" href="https://www.11ty.dev/">Eleventy</a> (11ty) for lightning-fast, SEO-friendly static HTML generation.</li><li>Styling: Structured using the ultra-efficient <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="break-all link-break text-gray-500 hover:underline H23r4e" href="https://tailwindcss.com/">Tailwind CSS v4</a> for sleek and seamless dark/light modes, monochrome green aesthetic, and easy overall implementation and maintenance.</li><li>Interactivity: Powered entirely by vanilla JavaScript—no heavy React or Vue bundles.</li><li>Progressive Enhancement: Built with a resilient architecture. With the sole exception of the interactive quiz, users without JavaScript enabled still retain full access to the entire website.</li></ul>♿ Accessibility &amp; Inclusion Focus:<ul><li>Standards Compliant: Clean, semantic markup that fully passes the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="break-all link-break text-gray-500 hover:underline" href="https://validator.w3.org/">W3C HTML Validator</a>.</li><li>Screen Reader Friendly: Tested and optimized for an excellent, intuitive screen reading experience using NVDA and assistive tech.</li><li>Fully Responsive: Fluid, mobile-first design ensuring complete inclusivity across all screen sizes and device types.</li></ul>✨ Key Features Implemented:<ul><li>Interactive UI: A vanilla JS drag-and-drop "Design Roles IQ" knowledge check.</li><li>Dense Data Scannability: Multi-decade legislative summaries for all 50 US states, an analysis of 42 fires, and professional credential comparisons condensed into responsive UI data cards and slides.</li><li>Historical Navigation: An archive timeline tracking industry safety and regulations from 1857 to today.</li><li>Brand Character: Seamless integration of custom graphic assets, clean typography, and our mascot, Scrib.</li></ul>🤝 CALL TO ACTION: Join the Mission!For this non-profit to successfully protect design safety standards and empower professionals, we need more hands on deck. We are actively looking for volunteers to help us scale.We are looking for:<ul><li>🎨 UI/UX Designers &amp; Illustrators (to expand our visual assets and interactive tools)</li><li>📝 Content Writers &amp; Researchers (to help synthesize legislative data and blog insights)</li><li>📣 Social Media &amp; Outreach Champions (to spread our message across the design industry)</li></ul>If you love combining tech with social impact, check out the live site at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="break-all link-break text-gray-500 hover:underline" href="http://thegreentapemeasure.org">thegreentapemeasure.org</a> and drop a comment below or send me a DM to get involved!