Person — Josh Crandall · What Would Fly

I am a native son of Kentucky and raised in the heart of everything bourbon, basketball, and horses. Driven by curiosity and a desire to always be learning, I’ve lived many “lives” along the way, each one a distinct experience adding a colorful piece to my personal mosaic.

In my professional path I’ve ventured through architecture, carpentry, furniture design, and historic preservation. After architecture, my curiosity and focus turned to the human scale of design and how people interact with the world around them. This is what drew me to industrial design, design management, and ultimately, user experience.

As an entrepreneur, I’ve founded and co-founded startups and immersed myself in the startup ecosystem through workshops, pitch competitions, hackathons, and global service jams. Along the way, I’ve shared what I’ve learned by teaching, guiding, and mentoring design students and early-career professionals.

My personal interests and pursuits have been just as diverse — I’ve been a part owner of a music club, director of an annual masquerade charity ball foundation, organized company softball and bowling teams, and a member of an award-winning competitive BBQ team. I also am a proud member of the Big Blue Nation (Go Cats!) and enjoy gaming in all forms.

Josh is the extremely rare combination of creativity, intelligence, humility and humor…

…(he) is one of those people who approaches life with a level of empathy and positivity that is infectious. Whoever gets to work with him next: congratulations, you’ve won the lottery. I recommend him without reservation to any organization seeking a thoughtful, collaborative, and forward-thinking UX leader, and more importantly: a wonderful human being.

Sarah Tolzman Director of Brand Creative & Strategy Marie Oliver

Josh is a unicorn… He presents ideas clearly, earns trust quickly, and keeps clients engaged. He knows his stuff and immediately becomes a trusted voice in the room. People listen when he speaks.

I’ve seen him step naturally into all kinds of roles: designer, researcher, project lead, data analyst, and mentor to others on the team. He cares deeply about creating work that’s both effective for the end user and realistic for the development team. That balance is rare.

Amanda Murray Senior Account Director APAX Software

Josh is a true leader and expert in consumer behavior and thinking. His talents extend well beyond user experience design in the traditional sense.

On a personal level, Josh is hilarious and charismatic. These traits contribute heavily to his presence as a speaker in any setting. Audiences are visibly captivated by his presentations and the planning pitches he leads are inspiring to be a part of. Josh brings in his breadth of experience unrelated to digital products into each challenge he tackles and was an invaluable member of our team.

Nikki Leonard Product & Project Manager Business Operations & Digital Marketing