UX/UI Designer, Researcher, Interaction Designer

Karina Hernandez ********@*****.***

www.karinajh.com

Los Angeles, CA

EDUCATION

Art Center College of Design

MFA - Media Design, 2020

Focus: Interaction, UX/UI, and Speculative Design

MFA thesis work focused on generational cultural recipes using design research methods and material studies to propose alternative approaches

for investigating user experiences.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

BIG CITY FORUM, LOS ANGELES, CA

Freelance User Interface and Web Designer

05/2020 - Present

Lead in designing the layout and research material for Big City Forum’s first website.

Create, design and test website schematics and layouts to be presented to my client.

Interview contributors using UX strategies to design the web experience. ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN, PASADENA, CA

Graphic Design Teaching Assistant

01/2019 - 02/2020

Guided students in the undergraduate Graphic Design 2 course through iterative processes of realizing concepts and research work.

Taught workshops on typographic concepts through the guidance of the Instructor. BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES, LOS ANGELES, CA

User Experience Design Fellow

05/2019 - 10/2019

Assisted the development and design of employment opportunity workshops, prototypes and design solutions for the Innovation Team’s third project.

Advocated for human-centered methods and helped define design principles.

Designed and delivered growth strategies consisting of printed and digital matter, surveys and websites.

AMERICORPS, SAN JOSE, CA

Coding Instructor

06/2016 - 06/2017

Independently acquired educational, interactive technologies for 14 middle school students through grant writing and outreach.

Taught courses on Python and introductory computing concepts. University of California, Santa Cruz

BA - Studio Arts, 2016

Focus: Digital Media, Painting and Drawing

BA - Feminist Studies, 2016

Focus: Science and Technology

is a Designer and Researcher invested

in the intersections of data, technology

and product design.

RESEARCH & PROJECTS

TINY TECH ZINES, LOS ANGELES, CA

01/2019 - 04/2019

Designed and sold design zines illustrated and curated on the topic of reproductive systems, technology and the internet of things.

Tabled at the Tiny Tech Zines fair hosted in Los Angeles featuring work from a collective of my colleagues from the Media Design Practices Program.

MUSEO TAMAYO DESIGN RESEARCH RESIDENCY, CDMX, MX

01/2019 - 04/2019

Created participatory prototypes to engage maíz vendors and families to participate in discussions of corn as a native staple.

Used technology prototyping as a design research tool to understand different approaches and understandings of a specific food in families’ cultural diets and marketplaces.

Researched and designed in information architectures and data visualizations to realize design insights.

PORTER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP, SANTA CRUZ, CA

01/2016 - 04/2016

Assisted photography professors in researching 3 California reserves and document locations through material collection.

Culminated a collection of environmental and land research work to create a publishable book through InDesign.

Conducted interviews with people occupying the land reserves and composed photo essays for the department blog. ULTRA-RED DESIGN AND ART FELLOWSHIP, SANTA CRUZ, CA 01/2013 - 06/2013

Strategized and organized public talks and classroom visits to prepare for a participatory symposium with Ultra-red founders.

Hosted workshops to listen and document community needs using sound design strategies and writing exercises.

SKILLS

Design Research

UX Testing

User Studies

Usability Testing

Qualitative Coding

Interviewing

Field Research

Storyboarding

Futures Thinking

Design Strategy

Wireframing

Design

Illustrator

InDesign

Sketch

Figma

Excel

Premiere

Photoshop

After Effects

Keynote

Salesforce

Microsoft Office

Unity 3D

Lightroom

Programming

Strong HTML, CSS

Familiar Python,

C#, Javascript

Languages

English

Spanish

2019 MDP Thesis Scholarship

ArtCenter College of Design

2019 Designmatters Design Fellowship

ArtCenter College of Design

2019 Diversity & Access Travel Stipend Award

ArtCenter College of Design

2017 MDP Development Scholarship

ArtCenter College of Design

2016 Irwin Project Grant

UCSC Art Department, Visual Arts

2016 Porter Research Fellowship

UCSC Art Department, Visual Arts

2015 Deans’ Undergraduate Research Award

UCSC Arts Division Scholarship, Visual Arts

2015 Irwin Project Grant

UCSC Art Department, Visual Arts

AWARDS

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