UX Pathways – Episode 10 : Felesia McDonald

Discover the unique user experience path that Felesia McDonald, User Experience Manager at Sherwin-Williams & Adjunct Professor at Kent State University, followed in this tenth episode.

Key Insights on UX Practice and Industry Realities

User experience is often misunderstood or undervalued by organizations. Many want great UX results but are reluctant to embrace the necessary process or challenges that UX professionals bring.
Collaboration requires educating stakeholders and negotiating compromises to ensure decisions prioritize customer needs over internal biases.
Felicia emphasizes that UX is not about aesthetics (UI), but about solid structure, understanding users deeply, and designing inclusive experiences without gaps.
Accessibility and inclusivity are critical, ensuring interfaces serve all user segments, including people with disabilities.

Advice for Aspiring UX Professionals

Real-world experience is crucial; volunteering or pro bono work is a valid and valuable way to build a portfolio and prove your skills.
Employers prioritize demonstrated ability to execute UX principles on actual projects over formal credentials or bootcamp attendance.
Building relationships and showcasing UX best practices in practice are more important than simply knowing UX theory.
Transitioning professionals must be willing to prove themselves, often starting with unpaid work to gain credibility.

Key Takeaways

Felicia McDonald’s career exemplifies adaptability, self-directed learning, and passion for UX.
UX success requires both technical knowledge and soft skills like collaboration and advocacy.
Building a UX career involves continuous education, real-world practice, and user-centered thinking.
Effective UX design prioritizes inclusivity and understanding all user segments.

Transcript

[Music]

Marc: Welcome to another episode of UX Pathways. I’m honored to be joined today by Felicia McDonald. How are you?

Felicia: You got it right! I’m good—how are you?

Marc: Doing great. I’m so happy to have you here. We’ve known each other for so long through this UX journey, and I’d love to start by asking: what is your current role?

Felicia: I actually have two roles.
I’m the User Experience Manager for Sherwin-Williams in the Digital Marketing department, and I’m also an Adjunct Instructor in the UXD program at Kent State—where you and I are colleagues.

How Felicia Got Into UX

Marc: Your journey into UX has always fascinated me. How did you get into this whole thing called user experience?

Felicia: I stumbled into it—truly. I didn’t know what UX was at first.

My background is in communications with a minor in sociology. I’ve always liked studying people and their behavior.

I worked at The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland for 22 years across multiple departments:

Reception desk
Photo department (color correction)
Graphics department
Page design

Eventually, the newspaper began going digital, and buyouts were happening. I realized I might not maintain my income if I stayed on the print side. So I went back to school, earning a diploma in web design from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. It was an online program—which I needed because I had two kids.

I loved web design, but when I read Jesse James Garrett’s The Elements of User Experience, something clicked. I was more drawn to structure, strategy, and the “why” behind websites—not just making them look good. That’s when I realized, this is the field for me.

At the Plain Dealer, I later became an Interactive Graphic Artist, building web applications for Cleveland.com. I created things like:

An animated spinal cord reconstruction
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame yearbook
A tool called Skin Finder—which won an award for being user-friendly

That recognition affirmed that I was on the right path.

Eventually, I entered the Kent State MS in User Experience Design program, where I met Dr. Fast, Dave Robbins, Paul Sherman, Ben Woods, and others. It opened up my world. I completely immersed myself—user flows, content audits, journey maps, personas, interviews, usability testing. I geek out on all of it.

When another buyout came at the Plain Dealer, I volunteered. They were keeping me on the print side while paying for my UX degree—which made no sense. The buyout allowed me to finish my degree and reset my career.

After graduation, I worked with Ben Woods as a User Research Consultant for Eaton. I ran seven usability tests in three months and loved every minute of it.

Then I joined OEC full time. It was my first real industry UX role, but I learned quickly:
People say they want great user experience—but they don’t always want the process required to get it.

I was often labeled:

“Difficult to work with”
“Not collaborative”
“Not a team player”

But it wasn’t personal—I was advocating for the user. Over six years, we built trust, and they realized I wasn’t challenging them but ensuring we were doing what was best for customers.

From OEC, I moved to New Innovations as a Senior Product Designer, but only for three months before I was offered my current UX Manager role at Sherwin-Williams.

Key Lessons & Advice for UX Careers

Marc: Your journey is incredible—you learned continuously, pivoted, adapted, and followed your passion. For someone entering UX—or thinking about moving from contributor to manager—what advice would you give?

Felicia: First:
People say they want a great user experience, but they don’t always want to do what it takes to achieve it.

Organizations love the idea of UX, but not always the process.

Jesse James Garrett’s model shows this perfectly: everyone sees the surface layer, but real UX happens underneath—in research, structure, and strategy.

Second:
Research is everything to me.
You must deeply understand:

Your users
Their tasks
Their different market segments
Every step of their journey

Your job is to ensure no gaps exist—no user left behind. That includes accessibility. If even one user type is excluded, the experience isn’t complete.

Third:
Expect resistance.
You are advocating for the user, which sometimes conflicts with others’ opinions. Collaborate, explain the “why,” and educate constantly.

Advice for UX Students

Marc: As an instructor, what do you tell students who are preparing to enter UX? Should they go to college, take a bootcamp, or pursue certification?

Felicia: My #1 message:

Get real-world experience.

I don’t care if it’s paid or volunteer—especially when you’re transitioning careers.

I volunteered and did pro bono work to build my portfolio. It was the best thing I ever did. Nobody cares how you learned UX—bootcamp, degree, certificate. They care about:

Can you execute?
Can you deliver?
Can you work with real teams?
Can you show your process?

Work with nonprofits, partner with developers, help community orgs. Your portfolio should show:

The problem
Your process
Your decisions
The outcome

That’s what gets you hired.

Marc: I completely agree. Your career has shown constant evolution and passion for learning. It’s inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing your story today.

Felicia: Thank you for having me. I love teaching because it lets me reach and support so many people entering the field. UX is still young, and guiding others is something I’m passionate about. And thank you—I’m proud of the work you’re doing too, Marc.

Marc: That means a lot. Great catching up with you.

Felicia: Same here.