Ovetta Sampson is a UX designer and design researcher driven by data science and ethical design. She sees herself as a problem solver by using a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods to inspire innovations in diverse industries, including transportation, IoT, and service. As a Principal Creative Director at Microsoft, Sampson works with multidisciplinary teams to visualize an intelligible pathway for digital transformation that cultivates the potential of future technology like AI and Mixed Reality.
Before her role at Microsoft, Sampson had a successful journey at IDEO as a Design Research Lead. By integrating her M.S. in Computer Science (HCI) with her B.A. in Communications, Sampson devoted most of her time at IDEO envisioning human-centered experiences for future technologies. In her practice at IDEO, she emphasized the intersection of humans and technology. She approached her work with ethics and compassion by visualizing humanity’s future through digital and intelligent products. To create a positive impact through design, Sampson applied various design, research, and engineering methods to multiple industries in transportation and mobility, financial services, health care, and technology specializing in systems design.
Following her passion for the intersectionality of humans and technology, Sampson brings ethical design to the forefront by marrying data science with design research. “We’ve divorced people from their data…which gives companies a license to forget about the people behind the data. And that fuels some unethical practices we’ve fallen into,” Sampson stated in an interview with dScout. She believes there are misconceptions between data scientists and design researchers, which creates a divergence between their work. Sampson proposes amelioration of more human-centered design. She stated, “For us to create human-centered products in an intelligent era, we have to have people who understand human behavior and motivation working alongside people building algorithms. To do that, we have to have UX researchers who understand how algorithms are built. We can no longer work in a silo.”
Bibliography
Tran, T. H. (n.d.). IDEO alum Ovetta Sampson on the future of data science, UX, and bringing forth the individual behind every data point. . Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://dscout.com/people-nerds/marry-data-science-with-user-research-ethical-design-depends-on-it
Sampson, O. (2018, October 11). My Data and Design Ethics Manifesto. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://towardsdatascience.com/my-data-and-design-ethics-manifesto-e9a2374345b7
Sampson, O. (2019, February 02). Ovetta Sampson. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://28daysoftheweb.com/2019/ovetta-sampson/
Sampson, O. (n.d.). Ovetta Sampson. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://uxmag.com/contributors/ovetta-sampson
Sampson, O. (n.d.). Ovetta Sampson. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://womentalkdesign.com/speakers/ovetta-sampson/
