Meet Alexa Herasimchuk | Product Designer and YouTube creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexa Herasimchuk and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexa, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
Growing up, basketball was a huge part of my life and to this day, it still is.. I played competitively all throughout my childhood and decided I wanted to continue playing into college. I was recruited to play at a state school in Wisconsin where I grew up and I was incredibly excited and proud of myself for this accomplishment.

After 2 years of playing there, I made the very difficult decision to quit. After giving my college experience there a try, I had found myself very unhappy, sad, and uninspired. So, simply put – I did something about it. The following year, I drove one way across the country to San Francisco to attend an art and design school and it changed my life.

I don’t think you may ever really know whether to keep going with something or to give it up and try something else. But I do know what it feels like when you really have tried to give something you’re all, and it’s just not working. I’ve found that as long as I keep following where the energy takes me, that it’s bound to work out in the end.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I learned my love for design back in 2012 after moving from a small town in Wisconsin to San Francisco, California on a journey to reset my life. In 2014, I graduated college with a BFA in Graphic Design at California College of the Arts, but my true passion was in digital Product Design which is where my design career started.

After working as a Product Designer at a few startups while in undergrad, I joined Yelp as a full-time Product Designer to design for the Yelp for Business Owners product. Afterwards, I joined Zendesk to help design software for the best customer experiences.

After 7 years of working as a digital Product Designer, I switched into Design Operations to explore my interest in community and culture. This was largely inspired by starting my YouTube channel now known as, “Hello, I’m Alexa” in 2018. For almost 2 years, I worked as a Design Program Manager focused on Community Engagement for the design teams at Zendesk, helping to grow the design teams, share stories, and design memorable experiences.

Fast forward to today, I’ve switched back into a focused Product Design role where I am now a Senior Product Designer leading a new growth area for Zendesk.

I’ve learned a lot through my career so far but one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is to follow where the energy takes you. I know that as long as I keep creating and just follow where the energy takes me, that I am on the right path to something great.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I actually just moved to San Diego about 6 months ago so I still feel sort of new! With what we’ve explored so far, here are some places I would suggest:

– Fig Tree for breakfast in Pacific Beach
– Catania for dinner in La Jolla
– The Yasai for dinner in La Jolla
– Bobboi Natural Gelato for dessert in La Jolla
– Juneshine for drinks in North Park
– Del Mar dog beach
– Mission Trails for hiking
– Sunset on the hills at Blacks Beach
– Surfing at Tourmaline
– Basketball at Muni gym in Balboa Park

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d love to shoutout to my fiancé, Mike. Ever since he came into my life, he has made every day that much sweeter. Mike is so incredibly supportive of the work I’m doing and I know I can always count on him for anything.

Website: www.alexaleighh.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/hello_imalexa

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/aherasimchuk

Twitter: www.twitter.com/hello_imalexa

Youtube: www.youtube.com/helloimalexa