What I Do

I make things easy to find and understand and fun to explore. I take the frustration and irritation out of searching for important information and completing tasks. I enjoy creating complete user experiences that are intuitive and creative.

I am an experienced senior UX designer and information architect with expertise in usability testing, accessibility evaluation, and a proven track record of creating compelling, effective interface solutions. Project management is my forte, and I am a skilled communicator with an extensive background in writing and editing for print and the Web.

User Experience Design | Information Architecture | Usability | Writing and Editing | Project Management

User Experience Design

Good UX design is both an art and a science. Incorporating aspects of computer science, psychology, sociology, and design, it is a growing field that I've been active in since the late 90s, when I wrote my undergraduate honors thesis at Rice University on online interaction and the representation of the self in multi-user online gaming environments.

I use my academic background in sociology and social research and years of experience in software engineering to produce process flows, user stories, and wireframes for elegant interface solutions that are easy for users to understand and thoroughly documented for developers to implement.

Information Architecture

Information architecture is the blueprint that drives your Web site. It is the underpinning of how users navigate and experience your content. Good information architecture is usable and accessible and complements a well-executed design. Poor information architecture will seriously detract from even the most beautiful presentation and compelling content.

From user profiles to content inventories to wireframes and site maps, I can create the information infrastructure you need. Solid information architecture is flexible and scalable and saves money in the long term.

Usability

I have extensive usability experience to help you review, test, and improve your software interface or Web site. I was the chief usability consultant for the redesign of www.utexas.edu, which gets over 5 million hits a month. Heuristic analyses are a quick, inexpensive way to provide a baseline of information that you can use to make effective changes. Task-based usability testing with a sample of your target audiences is one of the most enjoyable, rewarding things you can do to solicit intensive real-time feedback about your users' experience.

Writing and Editing

I've been a professional writer for the past fifteen years. I began my career doing technical writing and have written software manuals (I've won an STC Award of Excellence), Help files, promotional and marketing materials, and news articles. I can create content, edit existing content, and suggest new content appropriate to your mission and business needs.

Project Management

As both a technical writer and an information architect, I've worked on numerous projects where I was the project manager and team lead, responsible for the allocation of resources, asset tracking, and delivery of the finished project to the client. I served as liaison between the client and the creative/development team, set expectations, and oversaw the completion of the work on time and on budget.