Design Health

Karin Carlson

Chicago, IL P: 207-***-**** *************@*****.*** https://www.karincarlson.design/

EXPERIENCE

Self-Employed – Chicago, IL

Design Strategist and Research Analyst Consultant Jan 2020 – Present

• Design and conduct usability audits of non-profit websites and conduct heuristic analysis and user research to ensure that the mission and goals of the nonprofit are met alongside users’ needs.

• Researched and reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of Goodwill Northern New England’s AmeriCorps recruitment strategy through interviews with current and former members, staff, and host sites. As a result, volunteer placement increased over 50%.

• Compile competitive analysis of similar AmeriCorps programs nationwide. Suggest process improvements for maximum recruitment effectiveness.

Portland Webworks – Portland, ME

User Experience Designer and Researcher Jul 2018 – Dec 2019

• Designed and tested user-centered, responsive wireframes and prototypes for enterprise software for state government agencies that meet business requirements.

•Supervised and conducted user research and usability testing efforts through user interviews, card sorting, A/B testing, and tree testing and presented analysis with recommendations for usability improvements.

• Advocated for user needs with teams of project managers, developers, visual designers and stakeholders through presentations and written reports.

•Led accessibility efforts and launched a program to ensure WCAG accessibility standards were understood and implemented across products.

Phenix English School – Utsunomiya, Japan

Elementary TEFL Teacher Sept 2016 – Jul 2017

•Designed and implemented high-energy, age-appropriate and engaging lesson plans for 3 daily 2-hour classes.

•Managed an English immersive classroom of 4-12 students ranging in age and skill level.

•Wrote quarterly student reports monitoring academic and personal development milestones.

USER EXPERIENCE PROJECTS

Minnesota Department of Education and Economic Development Jun – Sept 2019

• Evaluated the usability of CareerForceMN.com through usability testing, user interviews and other user research methods such as heuristic and language analysis, card sorting and tree testing.

• Proposed changes via wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes to improve usability and reduce user error.

• Shared findings with stakeholders via report, presentation and data visualization.

Vermont Application for Health Coverage and Help Paying Costs Aug 2018 – Feb 2019

• Consolidated and redesigned 5 health care applications into a unified, user-centered single application.

• Created and moderated usability tests and user interviews with users, government staff and community partners.

EDUCATION

Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin May 2012

Bachelor of Arts, Media Studies/Communications and Anthropology; Cumulative GPA: 3.7/4.0

Summa Cum Laude with Honors

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

User Experience: Field research, User testing, A/B testing, Wire-framing, Prototyping, Story Maps, User Personas, Information Architecture, User interviews, UX documentation, Design system management, Design thinking, User interface (UI) design

Tools: Sketch, Invision, Figma, Adobe XD, Adobe Creative Cloud, Webflow, Usability Hub, Optimal Workshop

Technical: Agile, HTML, CSS, Github

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