Lia Prins
I create and code to inspire a curiosity and enable an understanding of the natural world.
Welcome to my website!* I’m a UX and data vis designer with an unflagging affection for science communication, learning, and, perhaps less predictably, antiquated office supplies. Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, I studied biology, art, and design at the University of Washington before moving to Austin a few years ago to collect on my sunlight debt.
I work in the Life Sciences sector of IBM Watson Health, where we pair data visualization with cognitive technologies to help biochemists more efficiently discover potential cures for genetic diseases.
Still curious? Me too
My innate need to creatively communicate information asserted itself irrefutably when I was in college, and a shift in my area of focus—from biology to design—followed. But I never stopped considering myself an enthusiastic pupil of the sciences: I ardently believe in the pursuit of knowledge via discovery, and view the exchange of these findings as something approaching sacrosanct.
Yes, sacrosanct. Some may see it as quite an extravagant word to be bandying about in one’s portfolio, but I stand by my choice of vocabulary on this matter. New discoveries depend upon the knowledge established by those that came before them. We’d all be without modern medicine, human-harnessed electricity, and even an understanding of why the sun “rises” were it not for a continuous relay of revelations from generation to generation.
But there’s a catch. Each of these knowledge-transactions is fragile and fraught with complexity—contingent upon both the transmission of an accurate, coherent account and the capacity (coupled with the context) on the other end to thoroughly comprehend it. Effective dissemination of scientific knowledge, therefore, seems to me to be an invaluable and intriguing design problem laden with the weight of the world.
*My enthusiasm occasionally exceeds my expertise when it comes to DIY projects, and the code backing this site is no exception. Apologies in advance for the bugs you’ll inevitably encounter; I’m working on them!
