By Marie Dunn-Harris ‘95 Taylor in 2006If you've ever watched videos on YouTube or subscribed to any of the site's channels, chances are that experience was made possible by Bowling Green State University alumna and former Women's Basketball player, Whitney Taylor '09. Taylor, who played for the Women’s Basketball team, works for Google and is a senior interaction designer at YouTube. "I make sure that experience is great and build new features for our users from casual to highly engaged," Taylor said. Taylor was hired at Google about a year and a half ago. that, she was at Zynga, where she re-designed the gaming app WordsThe launch of the new app was so successful that Taylor was a featured speaker at the 2015 Game Design Conference in SanIt also remained No. 1 in the app store for 50 days after "That was a big point in my career," she said. grew that team from one to 10 designers - it was a phenomenal opportunity."
Shortly after that successful launch, a former colleague who worked at Google referred Taylor to the company. "That was my dream job, so after four and a half years at Zynga I quickly accepted the position at Google," she said. Taylor has a Master of Fine Arts in interactive design and game development, which she received at Savannah College of Art and Design. She went straight from that program to her first job at Zynga. "On Words with Friends I got to design experiences for millions of users, and now at YouTube I design for billions of users,” Taylor“I feel fortunate to work on a product that has such an impact.” As the lead of channel subscriptions, Taylor is responsible for the user experience when subscribing to YouTube videos. everything from what the subscribe button will look like to the custom feed it builds and what the user's channel list looks like to how a user is notified and how they can unsubscribe.
involved in the recent launch of YouTube's new feature, "Community." "We transformed YouTube from being a video platform to being a social platform,” Taylor said. “So now, channels are not only able to post video but they can also post text, images and polls that syndicate to your subscription feed.” Taylor credits BGSU's visual communication technology co-op program and the required internships for giving her the opportunities to work at big-name companies so soon in her career. She did four internships, including "Visual communications was a launching point for me," she"I think BGSU helped me explore new areas and really find where my passion was with interactive design." For students who may be interested in taking a similar career path, Taylor stresses the importance of networking and internships. "Get familiar with what the different roles are and narrow in on what interests you," she said. "Do everything you can to
reach out to people, get your foot in the door and keep trying until Taylor still keeps in touch with her BGSU Women's Basketball family. When she played, the team was ranked 12th in the nation and made it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament in the 2006-07 season. spent on the court helped give her skills that she still uses today. "To have that opportunity to play on a world stage really prepared me because I was speaking and meeting with different groups and playing in front of thousands of people," Taylor said. "So when it came time for me to speak at graduation or a conference, I always felt very prepared for those situations." Taylor is also thankful for her experience at BGSU and the opportunity she had to be a student-athlete. "My time at BGSU was a great mixture of academics and athletics and prepared me for such an intense, rigorous industry," she"Basketball showed me some of the most challenging times of
my life, which taught me to take everything in stride and not to sweat Taylor is engaged and lives in San Francisco. She is retired from competitive basketball due to a torn ACL, but is an avid surfer andImagine a world without limitations Our creative, interactive solutions cover all aspects of the product life cycle – from design and development through to marketing and sales. Our technological know-how, coupled with deep knowledge of our clients’ processes gives us the creative freedom to think outside the box and raise the bar for emotive, digital product experiences every time. Learn more about 3DEXCITE Solutions Fuel up on visual energy Highest visual quality, sophisticated artistic effects and spellbinding interactive experiences. While the creative impact of our award-winning CGI productions leaves a lasting impression on the viewer, the clever re-use of 3D data from earlier product stages convinces industry clients and creative agencies alike.
Learn more about 3DEXCITE CGI Visualize the future now Our leading software products and technologies form the basis for creating 3D visualizations for all types of products in highest visual quality – even before they are built. Learn more about off-the-shelf, as well as customizable software products, leading technology innovations and visualization services to cover all your needs. Learn more about 3DEXCITE SoftwareA Powerful Combination of learning from Apps and Books Zapp 2 Learn is a superb resource for teaching children to read and spell. Compatible with Apple and Android devices, Zapp 2 learn is a fun, interactive phonics support system for children in KS1. A self-checking resource which combines the best of both worlds - learning from apps with learning from books. A series of interactive books and wall charts come to life with the free unique app aimed at making studying enjoyable, consequently simpler and quicker. Lesson plans that work in the classroom and at home enabling parents to get more involved with phonics in line with the school curriculum.