Aarianna Barnes - FOUNDER

I am a Harlem-native UX designer and Graphic designer who is fascinated in using design to bridge gaps between communities. I consistently push
myself outside of my comfort zone. In 2019 I took advantage of my educational
opportunities by returning back to school to learn deeper graphic design
principles at Parsons School of Design. Then in 2021, I enrolled in school again
to study UX principles at General Assembly. I am also a UX design and career
mentor on ADP List. I own a digital design consultancy Aarianna Designs,
and a diversity based digital magazine Ccmag.org.

I began mentoring in 2021 while I was earning my certificate in UX. I was
hesitant to start mentoring because I didn’t believe I had any valuable
information to give. It wasn’t until I had my first few sessions that I came to
understand that people really wanted guidance and answers about how to
make the pivot into UX. I became a co-journer of sorts: taking necessary
steps in my life, and then teaching others how to make the steps that I did.
To date, I have conducted over 700 MENTORSHIP SESSIONS, over
‍1,000 HOURS OF MENTORSHIP, and over 5 UX CONFERENCES. I could
not have gotten as far as I did, without God.

I built my mentorship principles based off of the “each one, teach one” rule. It
is sincerely my belief that success carries the necessity of turning around and
pulling someone else up, right along with you. In my mentorship I use
everything I learned in my career journey (the good and the bad) to inspire,
strategize, and guide my mentees into brighter futures. Together we make
internal and external changes to the life of the mentee, so that when they
receive their blessing, they know exactly how to hold onto it, and how to bless
others.