In this episode of Landings, Camille sits down with Nicholette Prill, Lead UX Designer at Viewrail, to talk about what it’s been like to stand up a UX practice inside a fast-moving manufacturing company in the Midwest. Nicholette shares how her background in development, QA, and information architecture led to her transition into UX—and how she’s shaping a flexible, research-informed UX process that serves both customers and internal teams at Viewrail.

Together, they reflect on the unique challenges and opportunities of doing UX work at a physical product company, the challenges and importance of getting stakeholder buy-in, and what it means to design end-to-end digital experiences that span marketing, sales, operations, and customer service. Nicholette also discusses her move from Chicago to St. Joseph, Michigan, and why the region’s creative energy and openness to experimentation make it an inspiring place to live do design work.

Key Topics Covered:

• What User Experience (UX) Design is
• Nicholette’s path from web development and QA testing to UX
• Establishing Viewrail’s flexible 5-stage UX process
• How UX activities reduce risk, improve adoption, and save development time
• Getting buy-in from stakeholders in a fast-moving company
• The future of UX at Viewrail, a leading manufacturer in northern Indiana
• Design and creative culture in the Midwest and what drew Nicholette, born and raised in Chicago, to St. Joseph, MI

Brought to you by:
Season One of Landings is sponsored by the University of Notre Dame’s Industry Labs—partnering with regional companies to realize a shared competitive advantage.

Production assistance by Wayfare Recording

Episode Links:

• Learn more about Viewrail
• Industry Labs at Notre Dame: industrylabs.nd.edu
• Learn more about Landings

In this episode of Landings, Camille Zyniewicz sits down with Kyle Klimek, Chief Digital Officer at Viewrail, to unpack his journey from engineering student to tech executive—and why he left the world of consulting to go deep with one company. Kyle shares about his South Bend roots, how a serendipitous introduction brought him to Viewrail, and what it’s like leading digital transformation at an innovative manufacturing company.

They explore:

• Why Kyle only considered companies where IT reports outside of finance
• The future of IT at Viewrail
• Introducing Agile methodology at Viewrail
• The exciting and practical ways AI is being integrated at Viewrail

Whether you're navigating the shift from consulting to in-house, curious about AI's impact on manufacturing, or just love a good “back to your hometown” story, this conversation will resonate.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Digital transformation in manufacturing
• Custom software vs. off-the-shelf tools
• Theory of Constraints (TOC)
• AI in quoting, blueprint analysis, software development, and UX workflows
• Stabilization of internal systems
• Midwest work culture and leadership values
• Consulting vs. in-house tech leadership

Brought to you by:
Season One of Landings is sponsored by the University of Notre Dame’s Industry Labs—partnering with regional companies to realize a shared competitive advantage.

Production assistance by Wayfare Recording

Episode Links:

• Learn more about Viewrail
• Industry Labs at Notre Dame: industrylabs.nd.edu
• Learn more about Landings

In this episode of Landings, host Camille Zyniewicz sits down with Trami [ge-MEE] Nguyen [WIN], a UX designer from Goshen, Indiana and 2024 graduate of Purdue University, to talk about growing up in a small Midwest city, navigating cultural identity, and launching a UX design career outside a big-city tech hub.

Trami reflects on how her Vietnamese-American upbringing shaped her values and ambition, her pivot from pre-med to UX design, and what it’s been like working at Viewrail—a Northern Indiana manufacturer actively building its UX practice.

Together, Camille and Trami discuss the realities of starting a design career in a small city, the excitement of shaping the future of UX at Viewrail, and their shared appreciation for the close-knit communities of the region they call home.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Growing up in Goshen and navigating Vietnamese-American identity
• Discovering UX design through Pinterest, school binder covers, and Reddit
• Why Trami chose Purdue’s UX Design program—and what made it special
• Her path to landing an internship and full-time role at Viewrail
• The challenges and opportunities of working at a company with low UX maturity
• The need for more UX community in smaller cities—and what that could look like
• Dreams of big-city living vs. the deep connections formed in small-city life
• The empathy and insight gained from growing up beyond tech-saturated spaces

Quote of the Episode:

“I never expected that I’d join a company that didn’t already have UX established… but it’s actually been such a cool learning experience to help build those processes from scratch.”

Brought to you by:
Season One of Landings is sponsored by the University of Notre Dame’s Industry Labs—partnering with regional companies to realize a shared competitive advantage.

Production assistance by Wayfare Recording

Episode Links:

• Learn more about Viewrail
• Industry Labs at Notre Dame: industrylabs.nd.edu
• Learn more about Landings