- Holds a MFA in Design with a focus on interaction and communication design.
- Solid working knowledge of human-centered design and design research practices.
- Experience in many phases of web product development including competitive analysis, user-research, content auditing, wireframing, rapid prototyping and visual design.
- Passion for interactive media and emerging technologies.
- Excellent communication, organizational and project management skills.
- Self-starter who works well within tight deadlines.
- Team player with the ability to inspire and motivate others.
- Skilled in a wide range of software and web languages.
- Exceptional analytical and critical thinking skills.
Focus on IxD, UX, communication theory, linguistics, semiotics and Design Research methodologies.
2008 Interdisciplinary Study :: Ecole Cantonale d'Art du Valais //// Sierre, Switzerland
Three month interdisciplinary study designing interactive memory maps of location-specific sensory experiences.
2003 B.S. cum laude Graphic Design :: University of Evansville //// Evansville, IN
Design Research
Skilled in planning and guiding design research efforts, conducting ethnographic studies, designing research probes, leading brainstorms and workshops, synthesizing data and presenting meaningful insights and opportunities.
Design Making
Comfortable at all levels of concept development - from ambiguous to refined. Experienced in rapid prototyping, sketching, storyboarding, illustrating, animating, technical drawing, design documentation and narrative development.
Communication
Professional written and oral communication capabilities with experience giving engaging and insightful presentations on a variety of topics in both business and academic settings.
Technical
Highly proficient in Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, FinalCutPro, Flash, Dreamweaver. Solid working knowledge of HTML/XHTML, CSS 2.0, PHP, Javascript, Arduino and Processing.
Senior UX Researcher / Designer:: Razorfish /// San Francisco, CA
Feb. 2010 - Present
Responsible for understanding target audiences' needs and other motivating factors that drive behavior, and developing key insights and frameworks to help clients and design teams respond to the work. Using various qualitative analysis techniques, translate insights into concepts for compelling interactions and experiences. The Senior User Researcher develops POVs around specific user groups and in specific industries based on ongoing research work and consults to project teams on user insights and behaviors relative to their projects.
Communications Designer :: Kaiser Permanente /// San Francisco, CA
Oct. 2009 - Feb. 2010
Working with the Innovation Consultancy Group, I designed research probes and communication tools for hospital staff and managers. Recent projects included communication and organizational tools to aid in transferring patient information during shift changes and exhibition materials for display at the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology.
Creative Director/Designer :: SCRAP /// San Francisco, CA
Oct. 2009 - Jan. 2010
As Creative Director my role consisted of managing the redesign of Scrap's website. Design goals included restructuring content to focus on the facilitation and education of creative reuse practices, create a highly visual user-experience, provide opportunities for richer community feedback and strengthen Scrap's outreach programs.
Teaching Faculty :: Community Arts, California College of the Arts /// San Francisco, CA
Aug. 2009 - Present
As part of the new Engage Initiative within the Diversity Studies program, I teach interdisciplinary studio courses that focus on the design and development of investigative community projects. Students are taught various human-centered research methods, documentation practices and presentation techniques in which to frame and talk about their work.
UX Researcher/Interaction Designer :: Cork Dork /// San Francisco, CA
Jun. 2008 - Present
My role within CorkDork involves guiding and conducting competitive analysis surveys and user-centered research to determine features that will serve the wants and needs of users and will provide deeper social interactions between wine consumers and producers.
Interaction Designer :: Redcats Retail Group /// San Francisco, CA
Jun. - Aug. 2009
With the goal of bridging the gap between online and in-store shopping experiences, our team presented new user-experience scenarios for Cyrillus.com that allowed deeper interaction with products through play and virtual manipulation, streamlined navigation and simplified checkout procedures.
Design Researcher :: IDEO /// San Francisco, CA
Oct. 2008 - Apr. 2009
Working with a team of design researchers, we developed a research plan with the goal of identifying opportunities in which California College of the Arts could focus on in their 5-year strategic plan. This included building communicative research tools and probes, analyzing data to reveal themes and patterns and organizing a collaborative visualizing/prototyping event for faculty and students.
Designer & Researcher :: Next 10 & California College of the Arts /// San Francisco, CA
Aug. - Dec. 2007
Conducted in-home interviews and designed research communication tools with the goal of identifying opportunities for designers to re-frame the term “green” for a variety of California audiences. Our team then designed and proposed several new systems of engagement and interaction with food products, distribution methods and communication media.
Senior Designer :: Naxos of America /// Franklin, TN
Jun. 2005 - Jan. 2008
Responsible for creative direction and design of CD and DVD packaging, brand and identity development, digital/interactive advertising media, catalogs and marketing collateral. Design achievements include a redesign of their top selling titles: Bride’s Guide to Wedding Music, Philip Glass: of Beauty & Light and Arvo Pärt: The Silence of Being that resulted in expanded distribution by Borders, Target, and Amazon.com.
Member :: IxDA Interaction Design Association /// San Francisco, CA
Member / Volunteer :: AIGA - SF Chapter /// San Francisco, CA
Volunteer :: Gray Area Arts Foundation /// San Francisco, CA
2008 - Present
Design Consultant / Volunteer :: La Cocina Food Business Incubator /// San Francisco, CA
2008 Student Fellowship Award :: CCA Center for Art & Public Life /// San Francisco, CA