MICHAELA PHELAN

My name is Michaela Phelan, I have a B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience, and I’m an aspiring research psychologist with interests spanning business administration, website design, graphic design, and branding. At face value, that may seem like a broad scope, but I've found meaningful intersections across these domains in the process of building workflows that bridge these gaps, through both personal and professional experience.

 

I spent several semesters during my undergraduate career as a research assistant and teaching assistant, which nurtured my passion for academia, as well as a genuine appreciation for the organizational rigor that goes into conducting sound empirical research and developing a college course curriculum worth its price tag.

 

Shortly after graduating, I became a clinical administrator and operations manager for a start-up behavioral health practice. In this position, I was responsible for administrative operations, branding, marketing, website development, and operating as a part-time clinical technician. Juggling that scope of responsibility taught me the foundations and infrastructure of building a small business from the ground up — specifically LLCs — and the critical role that efficient workflows play in early success. My current work as operations manager for a small construction firm has reinforced this insight.

 

If you think of your business as a car, it requires not only its administrative systems under the hood, but a sharp and stylish exterior in the form of your brand and virtual presence in order to sell. Websites are among the most effective marketing tools for new companies, as I’ve learned through my freelance work designing and refurbishing websites for small businesses and organizations. The most effective sites demand attention and drive engagement; my backgrounds in art, design, and psychology inform the custom brand logos, graphics, templates, and copy that I curate for clients.

 

Psychology is the science of why people think and behave in the ways they do, and both marketing psychology and industrial psychology play an integral role in the successful sale of any product or service. My research background is primarily in flow state, which is essentially the scientific term for “being in the zone.” Some of the most prominent recent research on flow state focuses on maximizing workplace productivity and increasing consumer engagement, which has contributed to my inclination towards the concept of streamlining workflows in the first place.

 

I created Streamline Design Lab to be a single platform where I can offer these services individually and collectively – a place to experiment with and design systems that streamline digital and administrative workflows for small businesses, and to help business owners bring their brands and visions to life so that they can focus on what they do best.