Embarking on an odyssey 🧭
My journey deeper into experience design
I'm embarking on an odyssey—a new journey to expand my experience design practice.
Last month marked the beginning of a transformative chapter in my design career as I joined the Odyssey Works residency program. I'm so grateful and excited to be part of the 2025 cohort to expand my understanding of experience design. After 15 years in the field, the term "UX designer" feels too limiting to encompass all the types of design that ignite my passion.
From pixels to people
I suppose my journey into experience design started in childhood, where I built imaginative worlds with my stuffed animals, My Little Ponies, and Polly Pockets. In high school, my creativity flourished through story-rich presentations crafted with poster boards and PowerPoint presentations. My path into design grew deeper in college through a multidisciplinary degree program—combining multimedia, graphic design, and fine arts—and was enriched by 2 study abroad experiences, art history, and mentorship from visiting professors. From there, my career evolved through successive roles: graphic designer at an ad agency, UX designer in tech, product design lead, startup co-founder, director of interaction design, agency co-CEO, and ultimately, design studio founder.
For many years, my Huzzah Studio practice has been focused on pushing UX design beyond digital screens. But I’ve struggled with the amorphous definition of "experiential" and questioned how my work could evolve to truly embody this concept. So I immersed myself in experiential design research—devouring Odyssey Works' publications, joining the WXO community, exploring museum exhibitions and art popups, and having insightful conversations with industry leaders.
During one of these conversations, a mentor offered a profound insight: "We practice what we want to become." This helped me reflect on the moments where perhaps I had been an experiential designer all along. And looking back, some of my most meaningful projects weren't client work at all—they were heartfelt life experiences I had created, like:
Crafting an advent calendar to help my sister count down the days to her hospital discharge during her extended recovery
Designing a remembrance ceremony in nature to honor my mother's life and death
Fostering neighborhood connections by flipping flapjacks at my sidewalk pancake popup in front of my San Francisco apartment
Hosting virtual journeys and workshops for fellow freelancers to feel supported in running their businesses
A bridge to the beyond
“Because EVERYTHING that a human engages with creates an experience, experience design is discipline agnostic, and experience designers tend to work across disciplines.”
– Odyssey Works
The Odyssey Works residency stands out for its extraordinary multidisciplinary approach, drawing from theater, performance art, architecture, and visual arts. Our diverse cohort embodies this principle perfectly. Made up of 30 creatives from across the globe—from Brazil to Austria to India, and beyond—we are game designers, authors, healthcare facilitators, filmmakers, and more. We're all so "prismatic on purpose" (à la The Ecstatic Review) that during our first meeting, we didn't even discuss what we did for "work"!
The founders, Abraham (architect, poet, author, educator, experience designer) and Ayden (artist, author, educator, experience designer), practice their own unique approach to experience design—crafting deep, richly researched experiences for a single person. Imagine receiving that level of attention, love, and care! It's a radical departure from the traditional "one-to-many" approach of design. Their intentionality and focus on human connection were so evident even at our program kickoff in New York last month.
The 30 cohort students and faculty gathered in the small hamlet of Cragsmoor, NY for a winter weekend retreat. I was rooming within the main house, a beautiful historic farmhouse—formerly a home built for landscape painters in the late 1800's, then used as a boarding house for school, now transformed back into an artists' haven. The current owners, a sculptor and painter, have filled every floor and room with artworks and curated collections.
When snow and ice made gathering as a full group in the main house impossible, we discovered a hidden backup plan had be planted—the “Emergency Workshop Recovery System”: instructions for smaller, self-guided group projects. The surprises continued when Tiu de Haan, this year's guest lecturer, joined us—I'm a huge fan of her work, having taken her inspiring ritual design class last year! Through our collaborative activities, we shared vulnerable conversations, built forts, created an impromptu dance club, and gathered for a meditative storytelling circle. The kickoff retreat gave us just a glimpse of the all magic that lies ahead for 2025.
“In a universe of measurement, we set a goal and strive to achieve it. In a universe of possibility, we create a context and let life unfold.”
– Rosamund & Benjamin Zander, The Art of Possibility
Follow the journey
Through this residency, I aim to expand my practice and develop new tools and frameworks to bridge the path to new possibilities.
There's vast territory to explore in creating meaningful, immersive experiences. Above all, I'm inspired by the potential to create experiences that go beyond user interfaces—ones that touch hearts and transform lives.
As I begin this 10-month odyssey, I'm excited to discover how it will undoubtedly transform not just my work but my entire approach to design and life. I'll be documenting my experiences here, sharing insights, projects, and the evolution of my practice.
Key questions I'm holding are:
How will I balance running a business while studying?
How can I create space to fully embrace this opportunity?
How will this reshape my practice?
What new directions will my professional path take?
I invite you to join me on this adventure. Stay tuned for updates on my first project, where I'm already applying learned principles to create intimate, personalized experiences that bring people together in meaningful ways. Have questions or curiosities about this odyssey? I'd love to hear from you.
So excited for you and this new chapter Sarah! Sounds like such a beautiful and natural evolvement of your journey!