Staff Spotlight: Alex Bonilla

Alex’s experience as a designer and web developer began at the University of Washington, where he earned his BS in Informatics with a focus in the “Human-Computer Interaction” track. Alex describes the program as “an incredible opportunity where I was able to learn about web development, user experience design, and how the two come together.” He also completed an internship as a UX Designer with UW Finance.

"I really loved getting my degree at UW," says Alex. "Through all the highs and lows, I have to say that my experience as a student here was incredible, and something I hold very close to me. That’s what makes me appreciate being able to continue my relationship with the university – no longer as a student but as an employee doing something I enjoy."

Alex has been on the Web and Communications team in the Department of Medicine for 3 years. In his role as UX/UI (user experience/user interface) Designer & Web Developer, Alex designs and develops the features, functionality, and aesthetic of the Department of Medicine’s website and web framework. The department’s web framework hosts all of the websites for our 13 divisions, as well as external UW entities who have contracted with the department to be hosted on the framework and employ the DOM website theme. 

"Alex is an outstanding colleague and person,” said Web Manager Wil Samson. “He has been integral in modernizing our services all the while bringing levity and an invaluable perspective to our team."

Alex and Wil are responsible for the evolution of the department's web presence, which has most recently involved designing and developing a brand-new iteration of the web framework.

“This entailed a complete re-imagining of the functionality, usability, and aesthetic of the current framework, followed by a rebuilding of the framework on an updated CMS (content management system),” Alex says.

“We are currently in the process of migrating websites from the old web framework to the new one, with the idea that the new framework will allow for more seamless migrations in the future.”

Some groups have already migrated their sites onto the new framework and launched using the new theme. Examples of the new site can be seen on the Divisions of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine and Medical Oncology and the Internal Medicine Residency Program websites. The remainder of the division sites as well as the Department of Medicine site will launch over the upcoming year.

The redesigned sites offer more layout options for the website’s homepage, people directories, and interior pages, creating a clear and elevated user experience and more opportunities for programs to customize their content.

To accompany the redesigned sites, Alex is currently spearheading the design of a brand new conglomerate news site for all news stories related to the Department of Medicine.

 “This project was planned as the next phase following the DOM web framework rebuild, and it will hopefully help shed even more light on the many news stories coming out of the department,” he says.

The news site will feature news articles from all divisions on one site with built-in functionality for filtering stories by category and division, and feeding relevant articles to corresponding pages on each division’s website.

Designing web solutions for many different stakeholders on campus is no easy task, but Alex enjoys seeing the impact of his work with the help from his team.

"My favorite part about working in my role is that I have an opportunity to help inform the web presence of the largest department at UW," he says. "It’s a team effort – shout out to the Web and Communications team – where we collaborate to continue pushing DOM to new heights."