Catera Colvin (she, her, hers) - Design Mentor
Innovator. Detroit native. Creator.
As a design mentor at the Academy, Catera “Cat” is a jack(ie) of all trades with her experience in design thinking, user experience research and accessibility. Cat creates a space where design can become many things and implemented in many ways. As a design mentor, Cat wants to inspire and encourage everyone to be different and unique. She enjoys sharing her insights and watching others develop and grow in design.
Prior to joining the Academy, Cat developed a love for design throughout her K-12 and collegiate career. It all started with her designing an art piece in high school, which was displayed by the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum in 2012. Cat had the opportunity to experience different design concepts such as studio art, art history, graphic design and user experience design in college. Cat was a part of the iOS Design Lab at Michigan State University, where she used her design tools to develop solutions for real-world issues.
Cat received her Bachelor of Arts in Experience Architecture with a minor in Graphic Design at MSU. When not in the Academy, you can find Cat listening to music, playing video games, creating artwork and developing apps.
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What would your fellow mentors say your greatest strengths are?
They would say that when it comes to design, I am good at providing original artwork and laying out a great app. They would say that I am a person of few words and let my work speak for itself, and that I am outspoken and hilarious.
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If you were to offer students one piece of advice as they start their journey at the Academy, what would it be?
To expand your mind and to be open to everything and anything available to you. Take advantage of all the mentors’ experiences and insights. Stay positive and continue to be great!
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Have you always wanted to work in tech? What is your personal history with tech?
In middle school, I would frequently work with computers, which led me to learning how to use slide decks at a young age. I was fascinated seeing and using the different color palettes as well as the typography. I started to create logos and creative designs which led me to wanting to become a graphic designer. I am happy that I experienced tech as a child because it has made me who I am today. I've always wanted to work with Apple, so this is truly dream come true.
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What was your experience with coding, tech, iOS, or entrepreneurship before the Academy?
I have experience in coding HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON, Ruby/Rails. I learned how to code in my college courses. In my digital rhetoric class, I had to learn how to use Ruby and Rails using GitHub, which was truly an experience to remember. I've built my own website using HTML and CSS.
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What made you want to be a mentor? What are you most excited about?
I am excited for everyone to be creative and to express their ideas because no question or outlook is a wrong one. I want to answer any questions on design, as well as the process of developing lo-fi and hi-fi wireframes and prototypes. I always want to provide challenging activities to keep everyone on their toes and give constructive feedback when needed.
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Where are you from and where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Detroit.