Objective:

To find opportunities that will allow me to utilize my experience in information architecture, interaction design, usability testing, and graphic design to develop tools that inspire and empower the people who use them.


Education:

University of Washington
Seattle, Washington
Master of Science in Technical Communication. December 2005.

The Advertising Arts College
San Diego, California
One-Year Graphic Design Certificate Program. June 1998.

University of San Diego
San Diego, California
Bachelor of Arts in English. Minor in Philosophy. May 1996.


Professional Experience:

User Experience Architect
Ascentium (2008 - Present ); Bellevue, Washington

• Work with clients, design staff, and other project team members to create effective and engaging web sites, social applications and mobile device interfaces

• Document information design concepts and solutions by various means, including sketches, functional flow documentation, maps, storyboards, and rapid prototypes
• Develop effective user-centered solutions based on research methods including user interviews, stakeholder interviews, card sorts, surveys and usability testing
• Design and administer usability tests, including tests for mobile device interfaces
• Work with developers to ensure high usability of applications
• Establish knowledge and results-based relationships with clients, including keeping clients informed of information architecture research and issues, maintaining a clear understanding of clients' business issues and objectives, and identifying changes in project scope
• Assist project managers and account managers in scoping and estimating IA projects, and presenting concepts to our clients
• Help strengthen our design practice by supplementing subject matter expertise and credibility (Recent topics include: Emotional Design, The Psychology of Persuasion, and CHI 2009)

Interaction Designer
drugstore.com (2006 - 2008); Bellevue, Washington

• Leading UI design efforts for major initiatives , including the redesign of Beauty.com
• Participating in strategic planning, including focus groups, the development of customer surveys, creating personas and holding stakeholder interviews
• Coordinating design efforts with internal departments, third-party vendors and offshore resources
• Building prototypes ranging from low-fidelity wireframes to high fidelity comps and functional prototypes
• Writing detailed UI specifications for multiple internal audiences
  
• Using data, research and testing to inform design decisions that balance the customer needs with the goals of the business
  
• Advising and mentoring the rest of the UI team

Projects: Checkout, Tax & Shipping Estimator, Site-wide Event Messaging, Beauty.com Site Redesign, Skin and Hair Care Product Recommenders, Sample Center

Information Architect/Copywriter
Modem Media (1999-2002); Norwalk, Connecticut

• Led content creation efforts for web sites, Flash pieces and online applications
  
• Worked with art directors to develop interface elements and behaviors
  
• Built prototypes ranging from low-fidelity wireframes to fully functional pieces
  
• Wrote functional flow documentation and site maps
  
• Created user personas to evaluate design decisions
  
• Implemented changes based on data from usability tests
  
• Met extremely tight deadlines on multiple, concurrent projects
  
• Collaborated with a broad range of internal departments as well as with clients
  
• Managed junior and freelance writers

Projects: GE Corporate, GE Capital, GE Plastics, Weight Watchers, Kodak, IBM, Benjamin Moore, Harrisdirect, Citibank, JCPenney, Kraft, Unilever.

Usability Test of Explore Cities Pages
Ascentium Project: ExperienceWA.com

• Created the interactive prototype and usability test plan
  
• Managed the recruiting of all participants
  
• Administered the test at the Ascentium offices using Morae
• Wrote a full report of our findings and submitted it to the client
  
  

Usability Test of UW Catalyst's Portfolio Tool
Course Project: Usability Testing (TC 517)

• Created all documentation including consent forms, scripts and questionnaires
  
• Completed test in the Laboratory for Usability Testing and Evaluation (LUTE)
  
• Wrote a full report of our findings and submitted it to the UW Catalyst team
  
  

• Designed a new project catalog to update the firm's identity
  
• Developed print materials for presentations and awards show submissions
  
• Coordinated work with service bureaus, photographers and photo developers
  
  

Familiar with the following:
Windows XP and Vista, Dreamweaver, Flash, ActionScript, HTML, XML, CSS

Familiar with the following research methods:
Contextual inquiry, heuristic evaluation, think aloud protocol, interviewing, affinity diagramming, task analysis, card sorts.


Presentations:

“Blogs as Teaching Tools”. Emma Rose, Jonathan Speights and Karen Kasonic.  Society for Technical Communication 52nd Annual Conference. Seattle, WA. 2005.



Professional Memberships:

SIGCHI - Puget Sound Chapter (STC)
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)


Awards:

2002 Web Marketing Association
WebAward “Standard of Excellence” – BenjaminMoore.com

2001 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival
Gold Cyber Lion – WeightWatchers.com

1998 Public Relations Society of America
Edward L. Bernays “Mark of Excellence” Award – Student Project




*References are available upon request.

Word format PDF format