How we replaced our print holiday card with a website, 1,400 LED lights, and support for an invaluable community resource The holidays and New Year inevitably get everyone reflecting on what went well, what didn’t, and how we can improve. So it’s no surprise that when a few Pixo colleagues went out to lunch in early December, the conversation turned not only to ways we can improve Pixo, but to ways we can send big love to our community as well. They decided to focus on the traditional holiday card — something we’ve sent out as a signal of goodwill for years — and turn it on its head.
Author Archives: Lindsey Gates-Markel
Announcing the Pixo Prize-winners of PygHack 2018
Online election guide — We Choose Our Future — won for best UX The second annual PygHack — a 24-hour hackathon at Research Park — took place in September. Just like last year, Pixo had a few hands in the hack. We staffed a table with consultants (and candy!) while the hack took place, and afterward, we judged the final hacks and awarded a Pixo Prize for best user experience (UX).
Creating a theme to align your project team
And maybe, IDK, transform your entire organization! No problems whatsoever and no missing pieces at all Recently, visual designer Tyler and I sat down with our CEO, Lori. She’d asked for an update on a web redesign project he and I had been blissfully working on. I had done weeks of discovery full of interviews and visits and had filled a wireframe with content design.
The official 2017 last-minute Pixo UX & design gift guide
From essential software to cozy foot bags, this guide’s got it all. Let’s see… our staff gift exchange is tomorrow. The paper chain counting the days until holiday break is getting shorter every day.
Our official, full-blown, kick-butt, slow-walking Director of Technology
It’s Wednesday afternoon at Pixo, and the Hall of Justice is getting restless. The #happy-hour Slack channel starts to light up as 4:45 ticks closer. Finally, it appears: It’s 4:45, and Marty, our recently appointed Director of Technology, has deemed it time for “a Marty.
The history of Pixo’s Dorito Day
“I want to say it stemmed from me talking way too much about Doritos. ” It was Austin’s last day. Our beloved front-end intern was leaving for a summer at Tumblr, and we wanted to send him off with a bang.
A stack of Post-Its and a dream
So, hello. I’m the content strategist at Pixo. When I was hired as the (emphasis on the, as in only) content strategist at Pixo, I had… little to no idea what content strategy was.
Welcome to Pixo. Welcome to #friendship.
In case you haven’t noticed, we’re growing! We’ve got several open positions right now, and we already have a new crop of Pixonauts roaming our office, learning the ropes. With all the exciting change happening around here, lately I can’t help but think about the days when I was brand-new to Pixo. It really is a special place to work, and my colleagues were exceptionally helpful and friendly.
10 ideas for creating content collaboratively and quickly
When the University of Illinois at Chicago needed a new website, they came to Pixo. There was only one catch — they needed it fast. After kicking off the project in January of 2015, the new UIC.
Inside Pixo: Staying focused in the Hall of Justice (or elsewhere)
Our open office is fraught with distractions… and friendship. My desk at Pixo is covered in a pile of UX and content strategy books, a mug of Papermate Flair pens, art by Zoe Si, a phone that never rings, and a small vase of water (the home of three fuzzy marimo, all named Gary). In eight minutes and forty-three seconds, I’ll allow myself to get up and walk around the room, or scavenge the Pixo Cafe for a mid-afternoon snack.
Lindsey Gates-Markel
Crazy stuff happens during silences at the theater. — Annie Baker
Lindsey Gates-Markel
Senior Content Strategist
Lindsey helps teams realize their vision and reach their goals through thoughtful discovery work and content design. She likes asking questions and uncovering the narratives behind users’ perceptions and behaviors. She can break a website down into a content model faster than you can say “metadata.”
From 90s zine culture to an MFA in creative writing, Lindsey is a hands-on maker and reflective thinker. She met the job description for Pixo’s first-ever content strategist with a vision of her own, convincing us that content strategy and her years of acting and writing converged in one essential skill: empathy.
EXPERTISE
Content strategy, interviews, discovery, content inventories, content modeling, synthesis & analysis, usability testing, writing for the web
EDUCATION
Lesley University – Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing
Monmouth College – Bachelor’s in Arts, English
EMPLOYMENT
Pixo, August 2020 – present: Senior Content Strategist
Pixo, April 2018 – August 2020: Lead Content Strategist
Pixo, 2015 – April 2018: Content Strategist
Girl Scouts of Central Illinois, 2012–2015: Grant and Technical Writer
Wolfram, 2010–2012: Copy Editor
Volition, 2008–2010: Receptionist
0