This video features an interview with Derek Featherstone, Chief Experience Officer at Level Access, a company specializing in accessibility consulting, software, and services. Derek shares his professional journey into the field of user experience (UX) and accessibility, providing valuable insights and advice for aspiring UX professionals.
Key Highlights and Insights
- Current Role: Derek Featherstone serves as the Chief Experience Officer at Level Access, where he has worked for over three and a half years. The company focuses on accessibility in digital products through consulting and software solutions.
- Career Pathway:
- Derek began his career as a high school teacher in the mid-1990s.
- His interest in the web grew during the early internet era, which motivated him to transition from teaching to web design and development.
- Initially focused on coding and website development, Derek gradually shifted toward design, particularly accessibility design.
- He noticed a gap in the accessibility field: while technical compliance was addressed, the user experience for people with disabilities was often overlooked.
- Around 2003-2004, he committed fully to accessibility as an integral part of UX.
- Accessibility and UX:
- Derek emphasizes that accessibility is not just a technical task but a crucial element of user experience design.
- He highlights the importance of considering how design decisions impact users with disabilities, beyond just meeting coding standards.
- Advice for Aspiring UX Professionals:
- The most effective way to enter UX is to actively practice and engage with design problems.
- Derek encourages people to find ways to align their current activities—whether paid work, volunteer roles, or personal projects—with UX objectives.
- Example given: Even roles unrelated to design (e.g., a soccer coach) can be approached as design challenges by iterating on tools or processes (like training plans or attendance sheets).
- These iterative projects can be used to build portfolios and demonstrate UX thinking and skills.
- The key takeaway is to connect your current work to UX problems and showcase your problem-solving approach.
Core Concepts
- User Experience (UX): The process of designing products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users.
- Accessibility: Ensuring that digital content and products are usable by people with disabilities.
- Accessibility as UX: Viewing accessibility not merely as technical compliance but as a critical component of the overall user experience.
- Iterative Design: The practice of repeatedly refining a product or process based on feedback and usage.
Conclusion
Derek Featherstone’s journey underscores the evolving nature of UX and accessibility, highlighting the importance of integrating inclusive design principles from the early stages of product development. His practical advice encourages proactive engagement with UX challenges in any context, emphasizing that real-world problem-solving and iteration are essential to building UX expertise and advancing in the field. This approach democratizes entry into the UX industry by focusing on skills and mindset rather than formal roles alone.
Transcript
Marc: Hi everybody, welcome to another episode of UX Pathways. I have the honor of being joined by Derek Featherstone. Hi Derek!
Derek: Hey Marc, how’s it going?
Marc: Good! Let’s start by having you explain your current role.
Derek’s Current Role
Derek: Sure. I’m the Chief Experience Officer at a company called Level Access. We’re an accessibility consulting and software services company. I’ve been here for about three and a half years now.
Marc: Congrats! So the big question: How did you get into all this? How did you get into user experience?
How Derek Got Into UX
Derek: It’s a long story, but I’ll give you the short version.
I used to be a high school teacher—from the mid-90s to the late 90s. During those years, the web was exploding. I loved teaching, and I still teach every day—just not high school students anymore.
Eventually, I wanted to leave teaching to start my own company. The plan was two-fold:
- Teach people how to design and build websites
- Design and build websites for clients
As I grew in that work, I started out more on the development side. But over time, I found myself drawn to design, and specifically to accessibility.
I could write code and build accessible components from a technical standpoint, but I kept noticing something important:
We were “doing it right” in the code, but people with disabilities were still having terrible experiences.
That fascinated me. It pulled me deeper into UX—not just accessibility as code, but accessibility as experience.
Around 2003–2004, I went all-in on accessibility as part of UX. That’s when things really shifted for me.
Advice for People Entering UX
Marc: That’s a great journey. For people who want to follow in your footsteps—what advice do you have for someone trying to enter the industry?
Derek: Absolutely.
1. Start doing the work—right now.
I don’t say that lightly. So many people say:
“I want to focus on UX, or accessibility, but my job isn’t UX.”
You need to find a way to make your current work connect to the work you want to do—whether it’s paid, volunteer, or something you create yourself.
2. Turn everyday activities into design problems.
Let’s say you volunteer as a soccer coach. UX isn’t limited to digital screens—you can treat coaching like a design problem.
Create something that makes your coaching work easier:
- A practice-planning template
- A standardized way to take notes
- A sheet for attendance, reflections, highlights
Then iterate:
- Use your first version during a few sessions
- Notice what’s missing
- Redesign the sheet
- Repeat
After a few iterations, you’ve created a real UX artifact that demonstrates:
- How you think
- How you solve problems
- How you iterate
- How you improve systems
And now—you have a portfolio piece.
3. UX is about how you think.
UX isn’t just about designing screens.
It’s about:
- Thinking deeply about people
- Understanding the problems they’re trying to solve
- Creating solutions
- Iterating based on feedback
If you don’t feel you have a way into the industry, make a way. Connect what you’re doing now with the work you want to do. Then show that connection through tangible examples.
That’s how you demonstrate you can do UX work.
Marc: Fantastic advice, Derek. Thank you so much for joining the podcast today.
Derek: Thank you, Marc. It’s been a pleasure. Take care!
Marc: You too.
[Music]
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