Meet Levi Hadley | UX Designer & Artist

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

Hi Levi, how do you think about risk?
For any person wanting to pursue a creative career, risk is an intimidating entity you have to befriend. I suppose I think about risk exactly like that—a being. It appears, often unexpectedly, and asks you to step outside your comfort zone. It feels both threatening and also exciting. Risk asks more from us and gives us a chance to gamble on our own potential. Pursuing any kind of creative career will not be a choice of safety and certainty, as you are not given a well-worn path to walk. For that reason, we must become well-acquainted with risk to have the confidence to bet on ourselves in hopes of building a fruitful creative career, and living a life that feels “on-purpose”.

I’ve taken many risks so far in my career that have lead to wonderful outcomes, but more importantly, great lessons-learned. Starting a solo-business during the pandemic, moving out of my hometown in the Mid-West to pursue a life on the West Coast, and leaving a comfortable job to pursue my true love of UX design have all lead me to where I am now. However, it’s really the first time I took a big risk on myself as a designer and artist that set the tone for how I would move through my career. When I first began college, back in Indiana, I was studying Neuroscience, Spanish, and Philosophy as a pre-med student. Although I got good marks in my courses, I knew, by my Sophomore year, that my heart wasn’t really in it. One day, while sitting in an Organic Chemistry lecture, a gnawing feeling arose in my gut telling me that I wasn’t where I should be. Unflinching, I closed my notebook, stood up, and walked out of the lecture hall. I promptly headed for the Art & Design building and transferred immediately. That day I learned that if I want to live a life as an artist and designer I would have to continually take chances and meet risk again and again.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am currently a Senior UX Designer at Choice Hotels, working on the mobile apps team. I studied at Herron School of Art & Design in Indianapolis, where I obtained a BFA in Visual Communication Design in 2017. Since then, I’ve had some amazing professional opportunities. I’ve worked in a design studio, started (and ended) my own design practice, worked as an in-house designer, and now am doing what I really love—working as a UX Designer on a great digital product used by people around the world.

One of the most difficult parts of my professional journey is that I didn’t have a mentor in my family for helping me become a UX Designer and visual artist. My mom is very musically inclined, and my brother is a musician based here in LA, but I really had to figure out my own path, especially early on in my career. Luckily, I found some incredible mentors along the way that propelled and shaped me.

I think the part of my story, as a professional, most worth mentioning is that I know that I still have so much left to learn. I admire many UX designers and creatives who are way more skilled than me. I am one of the most hungry designers I know, however. Since I was a child, I knew that becoming a professional creative was in my future. I love what I do, and I strive to become better and push myself. Ultimately, I love becoming. I enjoy feeling like my journey is only beginning.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’ve only been living in Los Angeles for a little over a year. Still, I have had some awesome experiences here that I would recommend to anyone who likes good food, loves being outdoors, and has some time to kill in the Valley or Downtown. For food, my fiancé and I are obsessed with Girl and the Goat. Stephanie Izard is the mastermind behind this restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles and it is THE place we take any friends or family that come to visit. Amazing flavors and great use of texture that make every dish sing.

Some other local haunts I’ve fallen in love with include Tiki No, a wonderful North Hollywood tiki bar, The Moon Cafe, a great cafe for relaxing and getting some work done, and La La’s, a delicious Argentinian restaurant. For some time in nature, I would happily take any outdoorsy-type to the Olivia Terrace Walking Trail up in Burbank. This trail offers stunning views of the valley and is very quiet. Also, the SuihoEn Japanese Garden in the Sherman Oaks area is beautiful. It’s a hidden gem.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
None of us arrive at anything worth mentioning without the help of others. My story is a story of countless others whose passions, purposes, successes, and failures have collided into mine. The energy from those encounters propel me, and all of us, forward to the next step.

I want to give a shoutout to a person and a book. While at Herron School of Art & Design, I had the privilege of being a student under Helen Sanematsu’s tutelage. Helen was really the first consummate design professional who I encountered and deeply admired. With an impressive educational background at Yale and subsequently becoming Art Director of Martha Stewart Magazine, Helen demonstrated the skills and thoughtfulness of the type of designer I aspired to become. She played a foundational role in shaping me into the design professional I am today.

As an artist, the book “Just Kids” by Patti Smith shaped me tremendously. I read this book in college after receiving a recommendation from one of my mom’s colleagues at a dinner in Indianapolis. Reading Patti Smith’s lived experience of striving to become a poet and musician in New York City in the 1970’s resonated with my own knowing that becoming and being an artist is tremendous effort. Her story as a young adult emboldened my highest aspirations for myself at the time—to live a creative life.

Website: https://studiolevi.co/

Instagram: @its_leave_eye

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/levihadley