- email: leigh@sleepingdeer.com
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My goal is to achieve simple and practical design processes, building systems of effortless usability and productivity for the user. Some highlights:
For US Airways I'm designing the user interaction for a large call center application to enhance agent productivity and ability to up-sell. I facilitate user workshops and through structured exercises elicit the users' mental model, and communicate those models, needs, and preferences to the design team and to development. I perform usability testing at all stages beginning with paper mockups and abstract prototypes.
Flash Interaction Design and Coding, Enlighten (contract) 2/07 - 8/07
For interactive agency Enlighten, I designed and scripted interactive Flash components that are part of the online social network Be-Bratz.com, featuring avatar chat, customized avatars, and time-dependent avatar life parameters. Working within a multi-disciplinary team that spanned several creative companies (animators and engineers), my deliverables included the central Flash avatar, custom Flash rooms, animating keyframe art, and interpreting client specs. Please see Be-Bratz Social Network.
Intranet Development, American Express (contract) 8/06 - 12/06
For AMEX's Global Procurement department, I designed and coded interactive application components of the corporate intranet, AmexWeb. This work included AJAX document sorting apps, creation/coding of web surveys with conditional logic, graphic design, and formal requirements specs and online user guides. Developed user flows, wireframes, interactive prototypes, visual design, UI specs, also led cross-functional stakeholder design reviews.
See an AJAX document sorter.
MorganHill Communications (consulting business) 3/03 - 7/06
Operated a Web and creative firm in California and Arizona. Provided Website and Flash design, development, and maintenance projects for various local art galleries, businesses, and arts organization websites. Along with client's central marketing appeal, I created user flows, wireframe and interactive prototypes, layout and graphic design, written content, design reviews, final publication.
See an example.
User Interaction Manager, Instantis (contract) 7/00 - 2/03
With Instantis I owned all user interaction and usability aspects of their flagship product, SiteWand, a complex eBusiness development platform. Directed and provided hands-on for user research, user personas, user stories, goal-based scenarios, wireframes and color comps, working prototypes, functional specification, usability testing.
Created Flash navigation screens for Symbol (www.symbol.com) software product CDs. These Flash projectors provided access to the install scripts and documentation. A major project was an interactive concept tutorial illustrating the benefits of Symbol's wireless LAN management software, Mobius Axon, involving deep object hierarchies and extensive Flash Actionscript messaging.
See an example.
User Interaction Designer, Syndeo Corporation 8/99 - 6/00
I was responsible for UI development for Syndeo products, notably a Class V softswitch and other software for voice over IP (VoIP).
Account Manager and Creative Director for this Web and technical writing firm, charged with delivering professional Web projects for corporate client intranets and Websites.
While onsite at Netscape Communications, I directed and managed a team of 12 UI designers, developing key productivity aspects of Netscape's intranet.
Created a freelance copy writing business, serving ad agencies, graphic design firms, and businesses in Vancouver and Honolulu. Provided creative concepts, tag lines, slogans, finished copy.
Systems Analyst 9/86 - 9/89
Designed workstation furniture for Vancouver satellite remote sensing firm, MacDonald Dettwiler Associates. Included ergonomic studies, user interviews, user videos, physical mockups and functional prototypes. Developed a complete Quality Assurance program for this company, and published my methodology in the monthly, Quality Progress.
Browsable Resume
Download the MS Word version.User Experience Designer
My career includes 7 years of hands-on and management in user interaction design and user interface design, spanning corporate Websites, intranets, social networks, and enterprise applications. I am well versed in the end-to-end interaction design process (Waterfall, Agile), and know how to flex that process to suit each project.My goal is to achieve simple and practical design processes, building systems of effortless usability and productivity for the user. Some highlights:
- 12 years Website, online software, and enterprise application UI design
- 7 years user interaction design
- 7 years UI team Management, creative lead
- 5 years Flash application design and Actionscript
- 6 years creative copy writing/Marcom
Contracts and Employment
User Experience Designer, US Airways (contract) 12/07 - PresentFor US Airways I'm designing the user interaction for a large call center application to enhance agent productivity and ability to up-sell. I facilitate user workshops and through structured exercises elicit the users' mental model, and communicate those models, needs, and preferences to the design team and to development. I perform usability testing at all stages beginning with paper mockups and abstract prototypes.
Flash Interaction Design and Coding, Enlighten (contract) 2/07 - 8/07
For interactive agency Enlighten, I designed and scripted interactive Flash components that are part of the online social network Be-Bratz.com, featuring avatar chat, customized avatars, and time-dependent avatar life parameters. Working within a multi-disciplinary team that spanned several creative companies (animators and engineers), my deliverables included the central Flash avatar, custom Flash rooms, animating keyframe art, and interpreting client specs. Please see Be-Bratz Social Network.
Intranet Development, American Express (contract) 8/06 - 12/06
For AMEX's Global Procurement department, I designed and coded interactive application components of the corporate intranet, AmexWeb. This work included AJAX document sorting apps, creation/coding of web surveys with conditional logic, graphic design, and formal requirements specs and online user guides. Developed user flows, wireframes, interactive prototypes, visual design, UI specs, also led cross-functional stakeholder design reviews.
See an AJAX document sorter.
MorganHill Communications (consulting business) 3/03 - 7/06
Operated a Web and creative firm in California and Arizona. Provided Website and Flash design, development, and maintenance projects for various local art galleries, businesses, and arts organization websites. Along with client's central marketing appeal, I created user flows, wireframe and interactive prototypes, layout and graphic design, written content, design reviews, final publication.
See an example.
User Interaction Manager, Instantis (contract) 7/00 - 2/03
With Instantis I owned all user interaction and usability aspects of their flagship product, SiteWand, a complex eBusiness development platform. Directed and provided hands-on for user research, user personas, user stories, goal-based scenarios, wireframes and color comps, working prototypes, functional specification, usability testing.
- User interaction design of SiteWand platform, look and feel, branding.
- User interaction design of customer enterprise applications for medical insurance Six Sigma programs.
- Design and development of Instantis corporate website, management of Web server, development or editing of written content, PerForce content management.
- Design and Actionscript of a Flash application viewer that graphically depicts SiteWand application structure using the app's XML description.
Created Flash navigation screens for Symbol (www.symbol.com) software product CDs. These Flash projectors provided access to the install scripts and documentation. A major project was an interactive concept tutorial illustrating the benefits of Symbol's wireless LAN management software, Mobius Axon, involving deep object hierarchies and extensive Flash Actionscript messaging.
See an example.
User Interaction Designer, Syndeo Corporation 8/99 - 6/00
I was responsible for UI development for Syndeo products, notably a Class V softswitch and other software for voice over IP (VoIP).
- Developed user interaction wireframes, Flash hi-fi prototypes for telco customer-facing dashboards.
- Developed interactive Flash UI for a Web-based telephony system, which enables users to control their account behavior.
- Designed and produced Syndeo corporate website and written content.
Account Manager and Creative Director for this Web and technical writing firm, charged with delivering professional Web projects for corporate client intranets and Websites.
While onsite at Netscape Communications, I directed and managed a team of 12 UI designers, developing key productivity aspects of Netscape's intranet.
- As the point of contact for Netscape's IT department, I developed the team strength from 4 members in 1996 to 12 members in 1997.
- Billings rose 4X (300% increase) during my first year as Account Manager.
- Individually and by directing team talent, I developed creative concepts for information navigation tools leading to knowledge worker productivity increases, and created the graphic elements and interaction scenarios to implement those tools.
- Implemented many original UI designs into working Web navigation tools using HTML, DHTML, JavaScript, Java applets, and signed objects.
- Managed the inception or evolution of key Netscape intranet sites that helped Netscape employees use corporate information to competitive advantage.
Created a freelance copy writing business, serving ad agencies, graphic design firms, and businesses in Vancouver and Honolulu. Provided creative concepts, tag lines, slogans, finished copy.
Systems Analyst 9/86 - 9/89
Designed workstation furniture for Vancouver satellite remote sensing firm, MacDonald Dettwiler Associates. Included ergonomic studies, user interviews, user videos, physical mockups and functional prototypes. Developed a complete Quality Assurance program for this company, and published my methodology in the monthly, Quality Progress.
Skills
Working with people and eliciting cooperation, teamwork, problem ownership, and information. Manager/team lead in UI design groups for 7 years. User research, user personas, sitemaps, user flows, user stories, wireframes and color comps, working prototypes, functional specifications. Photoshop (12 yr.), ImageReady (6 yr.), Macromedia Flash 8 Pro (8 yr.), Homesite (11 yr.), Dreamweaver (4 yr.), Fractal Design Dabbler (3 yr.), Most Microsoft O/S, Cakewalk Home Studio 2002, XML, FTP, PSCP, Putty, SourceSafe, CMAX, Perforce and CVS, plus numerous shareware products.Education and Training
- Bachelor of Arts, Mathematics, University of California, Riverside, CA
- Introduction to JavaScript, Paradigm Research, Inc., Mountain View, CA
- Presenting Data and Information, Edward Tufte/Graphics Press, Santa Clara, CA
- Digital Art Techniques, Thunder Lizard Productions, Monterey, CA
- Lead Your Team to Success, Fred Pryor Seminars, San Jose, CA
- System Development Methodology, GTE, Vancouver, BC
- Project Management, GTE, Vancouver, BC
- 2D/3D Object Modeling, SIGGRAPH, Boston, MA
- Structured Systems Analysis, GTE, Vancouver, BC
- Structured Design Representation, MacDonald Dettwiler Associates, Inc., Vancouver, BC
Keywords
Manager, team lead, self-starter, individual contributor, HCI, human-computer interaction, UCD, user-centered design, Agile, agile interaction design methodology, Waterfall, waterfall user interaction design methodology, coding, Flash Actionscript and Javascript, HTML, CSS, AJAX, UID, user interaction design, user interface design, UI, user interface.