UX Design
My graduate studies in Library Science and time within complex archives demonstrated how information is organized and structured is as important as how it is displayed. Visual metaphors rely on information architecture to ground the concepts. At the most atomic level, and proved through hundreds of hours of testing, something as simple as the quality of micro-copy can make or break a user's experience and consequently even my love of the english language's nuances has found a practical tech outlet.
When you spend hours up close and personal with users you can't help but want to solve what ails them large and small. I approach UX Design from the pragmatic perspective that style shouldn't hinder usability, but I also understand that users can and often need to be educated on new interfaces, new interactions, and thus UX should be easily and delightfully learnable.
Information Architecture
While everyone is familiar with standard IA flowcharts this document was a hybrid that was necessary based on the complexity of the fintech environment we were building, and how critically important it was to keep Design and Engineering teams in synch.
Above you can see an example of a typical information architecture deliverable for a mobile app. In this case I worked to catalog all of the necessary data that either be displayed or derived from calculated values in each application view.
Wireframing
While not typically my primary role, I often assist in the creation of wireframing during early design efforts. The above was created for the upcoming SWBC Bacon iOS app, developed by Tuple Labs where I function as Head of UX & Testing.
I later guided the Design team in creation of a prototype using these screens which I then crafted into materials for multiple rounds of qualitative research and hands-on user testing. Being so close to users throughout development made me critical in discussions with stakeholders and production teams.
NNG Usability Researcher Specialty Certification
The closest thing that HCI has to a professional certification is Nielsen Norman Group's specialty certification for Usability Research. I'm continuing to work towards a Master Certification as well as becoming increasingly involved in workshops sharing my knowledge and experience with eager organizations.
