Design Manager

FAWN ELLIS 917-***-**** ~ ****.*****@*****.***

*** *. *** ****** ~ Champaign, IL 61820

PROFILE:

User Experience Research (UER) ~ User Experience Design ~ Interactive

Design ~ Product Management

Innovative and user-focused user experience professional with master's

degree from top-tier design school and excellent analytical ability,

especially with regard to observation of user behavior. Strong oral and

written communication skills; can present findings concisely and

effectively. Can work well in cross-functional teams, including

engineers, product managers, and designers

STRENGTHS: User Experience Research (UER), User Experience Design

(concepts), Interactive Design (concepts), Design Research, Product

Management, Usability Testing, User Behavior Analysis, User Personas,

Market Research, Ethnographic Studies, Generational Studies

SOFTWARE: Survey Monkey, Adobe InDesign / Illustrator / Photoshop /

Acrobat Pro, Macromedia Flash, MS PowerPoint / Excel / Word, Entourage,

Quark Xpress, Oracle, FileMaker, HTML, CSS

SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS

OXO (Niche product design agency)

. Played key role in research / development of new large-scale product

category (69 products) featured in Businessweek, Fast Company, ABC and

several popular blogs.

. Transformed previously defunct product abandoned in prior year into

profitable product by applying user feedback to revive performance.

. Researched (interviewed and documented) previously undefined consumer

behaviors to deliver user-driven and margin-driven products.

. Strategized and developed competitive market trend analysis template

to enable team to more effectively understand competition and market

shifts.

. Developed and implemented strategy for better user research and

documentation.

. Identified new opportunity and kicked off two new product categories

(I am not at liberty to disclose these).

CALLISON DESIGN (Worldwide design consultancy)

. Developed interactive Callison blogspace that shared best practices,

concepts, images, product, video, etc., across numerous teams in

studio of 50 creatives.

. Handpicked for major projects with top clients.

. Led development of massive interactive communications campaign for

Boeing - new venture and space (interactive design) for both Callison

and Boeing.

. Managed production of interactive Boeing website launching to 20,000

employees across 20 Boeing campuses.

. Launched innovative research into the evolution of the Boeing culture

and their employees' behaviors and preferences.

. Developed fun interactive video that explained evolution of Boeing

workplace.

. Created video games to take Boeing employees through new offices,

tools, and spaces most useful to their individual workstyles, and

video game where staff mapped out their day and coworkers' days to

build better understanding of how their team worked.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

OXO, New York, NY, 2008 to 2009 $20 million niche product design agency

with 50 employees

Product Manager

. Managed teams of 10 designers and engineers (plus vendors and

prototype houses) in design / development of 10-12 concurrent new

client products and product revisions.

. Led market research, user experience research, analysis, and usability

testing to identify and refine product opportunities.

. Advised designers and engineers on market research, user research, and

usability findings to inform user experience and product design.

. Delivered compelling presentations on new product opportunities,

product concepts, and prototypes to internal and external stake

holders.

. Managed vendor adherence to schedules, pricing, production & shipping,

product materials, product quality and troubleshooting.

. Authored user surveys and conducted user testing, observation, and

interviews; assembled user research analyses.

. Provided product pricing analyses, product sales and margin analyses,

competitive market analyses.

CALLISON DESIGN, Seattle, WA, 2006 to 2008 $185 million design

consultancy with 700 employees

Creative Strategist

Lead Design Researcher

. Conducted market research and user research along with research

analysis and synthesis.

. Created and presented concepts, user personas, storyboards,

prototypes, and final product to internal and external stakeholders.

. Led usability testing and drove integration of concepts into

interactive website, website content, and information architecture.

. Authored user surveys and design research methods; assembled research

analysis.

. Hired and managed consultants and managed combined internal and

external (consultant) teams.

. Informed client, team, managers, and designers about user and market

research to inform product design.

. Led user experience research, user experience design, and design of

wireframe and information architecture; directed art and creative

strategy.

. Aided interior designers in creating interactive client work spaces by

researching and concepting social networking systems and new

interactive communication technologies to help visitors and employees

navigate and immerse themselves in corporate campuses.

. Led innovate generational research on users to understand differences

in generational work and life expectations.

ELEMENTS OF LIVING, New York, NY, 2005 to 2006 Design magazine

Design Editor

. Recruited by startup to head editorial content direction and visual

design of new design magazine.

. Conducted research on target market to define look and feel;

identified and projected market trends; presented trends and concepts

to Editor in Chief/CEO.

. Managed and directed freelance contributors, product editors, and

external sources (PR firms, designers etc).

. Advised on art and brand direction, and served as senior design and

editorial resource for freelancers and editors.

. Updated website and advised on introduction of interactive elements

when feasible.

I.D. (INTERNATIONAL DESIGN), New York, NY, 2004 to 2005

Digital/print/engineering design magazine

Editorial Assistant - Interactive Media / Digital Design

. Hired from internship and promoted to work directly with senior-level

thought leaders in design industry.

. Conducted in-depth market research and trend analysis, and presented

design trends to editorial staff.

. Managed design competitions such as Interactive Media Design Review

and Top 40 Designers.

ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE

INTERIORS MAGAZINE, Contributing Writer

WORLDCHANGING.COM, Seattle Blog Editor & Freelance Writing Manager

ELEMENTS OF LIVING, Senior Editorial Staff and Writer

I.D., Contributing Writer

PERKINS + WILL, Seattle, WA, Marketing Services

INTERNSHIPS

I.D. (INTERNATIONAL DESIGN) MAGAZINE, New York, NY

Conducted market research and trend analysis; identified design trends

and innovations.

SMITHSONIAN'S cooper-hewitt national design museum, New York, NY

Researched, edited, and proofread content for exhibition and catalogs;

assisted in curating.

HENRY ART GALLERY / ART MUSEUM, Seattle, WA

Conducted intensive photographic research, reporting, cataloging.

SABERNET, Seattle, WA

Built web-based search engine database, conducted competitive analyses

promoting and marketing company services to potential search engine

participants.

EDUCATION

HONORS MASTER OF ARTS (MA) - HISTORY OF DESIGN 2003 to 2006

Parsons School of Design, New York, NY

BACHELOR OF ARTS (BA) - INTERDISCIPLINARY VISUAL ARTS 1998 to 2002

University of Washington, Seattle, WA

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