Resume of Information Architect / UI Designer

Title
Information Architect / UI Designer

Primary Skills
Wireframes, Prototyping, Usability testing, UI design, Interaction design

Location
US-WA-Seattle

Posted
Jul-16-07


Summary Statement

An experienced information architect, user-interface designer, editor, and usability professional seeks a position working for a Web technology department, software development company, or university technology division.

• More than eight years experience creating functional specifications, prototypes, interface designs, and user scenarios for Web site functionality.

• Extensive experience designing and conducting usability testing plans utilizing rapid-prototyping methods, traditional one-on-one tests and focus group methods to assess the effectiveness of user-interface, navigation and help content. Also experienced in contextual design, qualitative and quantitative research design, survey design, content analysis, and statistical analysis.

• Demonstrated expert knowledge of content production, graphics and template layout, advertising and marketing issues, user interface design and information architecture, and accessible design.


Technical Skills

Systems: Unix, Windows, MacOS

Software: Macromedia Dreamweaver, Macromedia Flash, Image Ready, Photoshop, Illustrator, Go Live, Visio, MS Office Suite, Access, MS Project, Pagemaker, Visual Source Safe, QA Radar, ClearQuest, SPSS, Atlas.ti, and EndNote.

Languages: HTML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSP, ASP, XML


Selected Work Experience

04/07-present Research Assistant, Intel Corporation's People and Practices Group and the University of Washington

• Researched and presented data to Intel about the factors that lead to technology adoption in small countries. Integrated and analyzed a large set of variables drawn from the World Bank and International Telecommunications Union, among other sources. These complex datasets were then merged and analyzed using SPSS.
• Designed a codebook with detailed explanations of variables names, country codes, and general information about the project.

06/06-09/06 Editorial Assistant, University of Washington

• Edited chapters about the impact of the Web on international elections for a book published by Routledge, The Internet and National Elections: A Comparative Study of Web Campaigning.
• Substantially rewrote content for clarity and meaning, as many of the book's contributors were not native English speakers.

11/05-01/06 Web Developer, US Global Investors
• Responsible for developing and documenting a new site design for www.usfunds.com.
• Created site maps, initial paper prototypes and a usability testing plan for assessing the success of a planned redesign.
• Authored maintenance documents that outlined internal Web development processes.
• Performed site updates and maintenance to ASP pages.
01/05-06/05 Instructor of Record, Department of Communication at the University of Washington

• Primary instructor for two quarters of “Navigating Information Networks,” an upper-division undergraduate communication class focusing on the theoretical and practical dimensions of the use and design of the Web and other information networks (http://staff.washington.edu/alm2/com301sp05/).
• Responsible for all aspects of course creation and execution, including lecturing, discussion leadership, hands-on technology training, and student assessment.

01/02-12/04 Usability Consultant, Educational Technology Development Group at the University of Washington

• Primarily responsible for assessing and improving the usability and designing the information architecture of the Catalyst Tool Kit, a Web-based set of educational tools including message boards, online surveys, and peer review areas, which allow instructors to integrate technology into their classrooms.
• Created site maps, wire frames, design mock-ups and other documentation to improve the design and development of the Catalyst Tools.
• Managed the usability process; developed usability tests and recruited participants. Reported results (both formally and informally) back to developers and various stakeholders.
• Instructed faculty and staff in the use of Catalyst Tools at workshops on campus.

06/00-10/01 Interface Development Team Lead, Esurg Corporation

• Managed a team of information architects and web designers. Supervised the creation of functional specifications and design mock-ups, participated in the review of site requirements, and provided time estimates to the business.
• Worked closely with other team leads to streamline development processes. Created guidelines and documentation for site enhancements and maintenance.
• Wrote technical analyses about Esurg's competitors. These reviews focused on the quality of their sites' usability, graphic design, information architecture, and HTML coding.
• Created functional specifications and prototypes for site enhancements. Researched new information architecture and usability methodologies and techniques.
• Created and maintained QA test scripts for new site releases. Worked with developers to triage defects.

4/99-06/00 Lead HTML Production Specialist, Getty Images

• Supervised a team of web developers; conducted code reviews and provided time estimates to Program Manager. Also managed the workload of an HTML Builder outside of the department.
• Created and maintained site maintenance guides, image naming conventions and directory structure guidelines, boutique specification guidelines, and other technical documents.
• Provided training on good coding practices for both technical and non-technical individuals responsible for site maintenance.
• Worked closely with other team leads in development and QA to ensure that site standards were enforced and that project deadlines would be met.
• Met every deadline in a timely fashion despite department staffing shortage and splitting time between www.gettyone.com and GettySource projects.

12/98-4/99 HTML Production Specialist, PhotoDisc division of Getty Images

• Implemented marketing revisions and advised on HTML design and UI of marketing sections of a major e-commerce website (www.photodisc.com).
• Consulted with marketing department, copywriters, and designers to update and create site content.
• Designed, created, and maintained file management format for marketing section. Researched current and upcoming web technologies in order to identify new opportunities for site enhancements.
• Coded HTML for marketing sections of PhotoDisc's website. Verified and edited HTML code provided by designers; suggested improvements and worked on training when needed.



Professional Associations

AIGA
Information Architecture Institute (IAI)
Usability Professionals Association (UPA)
ACM's SIG-CHI (Human-Computer Interaction Division)
Association of Internet Researchers (AOIR)

Selected Publications

Howard, P.N. and Massanari, A. (2007) Learning to search and searching to learn: Income, education, and experience online. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(3). http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue3/howard.html

Massanari, A. (2006). Dot-coms and Cyberculture Studies: Amazon.com as a case study. In D. Silver & A. Massanari (Eds.) Critical Cyberculture Studies: Current Terrains, Future Directions. New York: New York University Press.

Massanari, A. (2002). Government Web sites respond to September 11. In K. A. Foot, S. M. Schneider, & L. Rainie (Eds.) One year later: September 11 and the Internet. Available online: http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=69


Education

University of Washington, Seattle, WA
PhD, Department of Communication, completed: June 2007
Dissertation: In Context: Information Architects, Politics, and Interdisciplinarity

University of Washington, Seattle, WA
MA, Department of Communication, completed: June 2003
Thesis: “Work hard. Have fun. Make history. [Make money.]”: Narratives of Amazon.com

Guilford College, Greensboro, NC
BA (Honors), Major: Geology, Minor: English, completed: May 1997

Certifications
See above


You must be logged in and have a current resume access subscription. Login or Register »

View all resumes in US-WA-Seattle »
View all resumes in US-WA »

View other Information Architect / UI Designer resumes, UI / Web Designer resumes