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Consulting

Ahmed Riaz

Interaction Designer at eBay, San Jose CA USA

Based in the Bay Area, Ahmed is an interaction and industrial designer with a background in design research, an expertise in visual thinking, and a passion for making objects that dissolve into behavior. His past design experiences include time spent as a design researcher for Gulfstream Aerospace, honing his skills as a professional napkin sketcher for the visual thinking company XPLANE, and reinventing ecommerce for the Internet pioneer eBay. MoreMore

Bob Goodman

Product Designer at Microsoft
Principal at BobGoodman.Net, Inc., Boston MA USA

Bob Goodman is a Boston-based UX professional whose consulting business offers a unique integrated model of consulting and creative services, including interaction design, information architecture, usability consulting, copywriting, brand building, and business strategy. Before launching his own business, Bob served as creative director at several leading interactive agencies in New England. As a usability consultant, Bob has run hundreds of usability labs. From these intense and sustained interactions with real-world users, he has extracted a unique set of principles and practices surrounding the user experience. At the core is his understanding of the ways in which a successful user experience flows from and undergirds smart business strategy and lasting brand value. Bob is a member of the UPA, IAI, and SIGCHI, and serves as Boston’s Local Ambassador for UXnet. He is a frequent awards show judge and speaker on UX, design, usability, and IA. MoreMore

Bryan McClain

Principal Researcher and Co-Founder at Metric Lab, Redwood City CA USA

Bryan is passionate about connecting with people and understanding their experiences and perspectives. Bryan co-founded Metric Lab with Demetrius Madrigal after doing research at NASA Ames Research Center for five years. While at NASA, Bryan worked on a variety of research studies, encompassing communication and human factors and interacting with hundreds of participants. As a part of his background in communication research, he received extensive training in communication methods, including certification-level training in police hostage negotiation. Bryan uses his extensive training in advanced communication methods in UX research to help ensure maximum accuracy and detail in user feedback. Bryan enjoys innovating user research methods that integrate communication skills, working with such companies as eBay, Kodak, Microsoft, and BAE Systems. MoreMore

Caroline Jarrett

Usability Consultant at Effortmark Ltd, Leighton Buzzard UK

Caroline became interested in forms when delivering OCR (Optical Character Recognition) systems to the UK Inland Revenue. The systems didn’t work very well, and it turned out that problems arose because people made mistakes when filling in forms. Since then, she’s developed a fascination with the challenge of making forms easy to fill in—a fascination that shows no signs of wearing off over 15 years later. These days, forms are usually part of information-rich Web sites, so Caroline now spends much of her time helping clients with content strategy on huge Web sites. Caroline is coauthor, with Gerry Gaffney, of Forms that Work: Designing Web Forms for Usability, the companion volume to Ginny Redish’s hugely popular book Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content That Works. MoreMore

Chris Anthony

UX Manager and Creative Director at Citrix Software, Miami/Fort Lauderdale FL USA

Since joining Citrix, Chris has pioneered a Creative UX department, as lead Creative, and helped transform the multitude of products from a half billion to a multi-billion dollar annual revenue. He works with more than 75 development teams, educating them in best practices and building standards. To help speed global visual recognition of very technical concepts, Chris created an iconic language. He is currently writing a book about iconic languages to share with the UX community. The breadth of his experience includes design agencies, magazine and document design, technical illustrations for the Navy Nuclear DOD, CMS and dynamic Web systems, print press, and software architecture. Some of Chris’s most visible projects include NBA.com, Xerox.com, GMC and Pontiac.com, LLbean.com, Bausch&Lomb.com, and the first Amazon.com site, while at Digitas, in Boston/NYC. Chris has won more than 40 industry design awards, including multiple Gold and Silver Webbys. MoreMore

Colleen Jones

Founder and Principal at Content Science
Atlanta GA USA

Colleen is a pioneer in content strategy, working at the intersection of content strategy and user experience. At Content Science, her results-driven content strategy consultancy, Colleen has guided strategic initiatives for large global brands such as InterContinental Hotels Group, Philips, and The Home Depot. She has a wealth of content strategy experience, having held key leadership positions at threebrick, which she co-founded; Spunlogic, now Engauge Digital; the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC); and Cingular Wireless, now AT&T. Colleen participated in the landmark Content Strategy Consortium at IA Summit 2009. She holds a B.A. in English and Technical Writing and an M.A. in Technical Communication from James Madison University. Colleen is very active in the Atlanta UX and content strategy communities, as well as a notable author on content strategy and user experience. MoreMore

Dan Saffer

Founder and Principal at Kicker Studio, San Francisco CA USA

Formerly at Adaptive Path, Dan also worked at such companies as Organic and Datek and has a Masters in Design, in Interaction Design, from Carnegie Mellon University. He has worked with a wide variety of clients, from startups to Fortune 100s, designing Web sites, applications, and devices. Dan is on the Board of Directors of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA). He is also a member of AIGA and IDSA. MoreMore

Daniel Szuc

Principal Usability Consultant at Apogee Usability Asia Ltd., Hong Kong

Daniel is based in Hong Kong and helps companies in Asia like PCCW, HSBC, CSL, China Light & Power, Sunday, Cathay Pacific, Marriott, ADB, and Yahoo! China make their products easier to use. He has also worked with Telstra Australia and IBM. Daniel has spoken on Usability in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia, United States, and Australia, helping to develop new groups of interest in the region. He recently co-wrote and released the Usability Kit with Gerry Gaffney. Daniel is a founding member and President of the UPA China Hong Kong Branch, co-founder of the UPA China User Friendly conferences, and holds a BS in Information Management from Melbourne University Australia. MoreMore

David Kozatch

Principal at DIG, New York NY USA

David Kozatch brings over 20 years experience in marketing research and customer user experience to his work as an interviewer and strategic consultant. As principal of DIG, which he founded in 1989, he has conducted literally thousands of focus groups and in-depth interviews in the areas of financial/business services, software, hardware, Web/interactive services, and telecommunications. Since 1996, David has been a leading thinker in helping companies gain a deeper understanding of the ways people use the Web and mobile communications. His company’s user experience research was integral to successful launches on the Web for Google, HBO, Verizon, and Absolut Vodka. And, more recently, his work for clients like Register.com, FedEx, and Cablevision has helped these companies build better brands online. MoreMore

Demetrius Madrigal

Principal Researcher and Co-Founder at Metric Lab, Redwood City CA USA

Demetrius truly believes in the power of user research—when it is done well. With a background in experimental psychology, Demetrius performed research within a university setting, as well as at NASA Ames Research Center before co-founding Metric Lab with long-time collaborator, Bryan McClain. At Metric Lab, Demetrius enjoys innovating powerful user research methods and working on exciting projects—ranging from consumer electronics with companies like Microsoft and Kodak to modernization efforts with the U.S. Army. Demetrius is constantly thinking of new methods and tools to make user research faster, less costly, and more accurate. His training in advanced communication helps him to understand and connect with users, tapping into the experience that lies beneath the surface. MoreMore

Dirk Knemeyer

CEO at Involution Studios LLC, Boston MA and Silicon Valley CA USA

Dirk is a catalyst for developing new ideas and inspiring people and groups to create meaningful change. His contributions to the business and design communities are myriad. He has participated on seven different Boards of Directors for companies, industry organizations, and design publications. He has been a keynote speaker and given presentations all around the world and has published over 100 articles on business and design topics. At Involution Studios, a digital product design firm in Silicon Valley, Dirk is responsible for the business success of the company. His diverse professional background includes time as a management consultant, advertising executive, and design director. Dirk is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute for Information Design (IIID), the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Center for Brand Experience, and the Executive Council of the User Experience Network (UXnet). MoreMore

Eric Schaffer

Founder and CEO at Human Factors International (HFI), Inc., Fairfield Iowa USA

Eric Schaffer founded HFI in 1988 and, over the last quarter century, has become known as the visionary who identified usability as the driving force in the Third Wave of the Information Age—following hardware, then software as the previous key differentiators. Eric recognized that the most profound impact on corporate computing would be the result of a positive online user experience—the ability for a user to get a job done efficiently, easily, and without frustration. His book Institutionalization of Usability: A Step-by-Step Guide provides a roadmap companies can follow to make usability a systematic, routine practice throughout an organization. Eric co-developed HFI’s Schaffer-Weinschenk Methodâ„¢, the only ISO-certifiable process for user-centered design, which builds on principles from human-computer interaction, ergonomics, psychology, computer science, and marketing. He has completed projects for more than 100 Fortune 500 clients, providing user experience design consulting and training. Recently, Eric has been traveling the world teaching HFI’s newest course, “How to Design for Persuasion, Emotion, and Trust.” He is a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and a Certified Professional Ergonomist. Eric earned his PhD in “Applied Psychology specializing in Human Performance”—aka usability—from Stevens Institute of Technology. MoreMore

Garett Dworman

Senior Consultant at Tec-Ed Inc., San Francisco CA USA

Tec-Ed specializes in knowledge-management analysis and design. Garett has over ten years of experience in product and user interface design for firms ranging from established financial institutions to high-tech startups. Garett has published extensively on how people and organizations disseminate, access, and consume information. He holds a Ph.D. in Decision Sciences from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. MoreMore

George Olsen

Lead User Experience Designer at Shutterfly Inc
Principal at Interaction by Design LLC, San Francisco Bay Area CA USA

George has more than 10 years of experience doing award-winning design work for a variety of companies—from dotcom startups to Hollywood studios such as Disney to Fortune 500 companies, including Nestle Transamerica and The Capital Group, and to Internet giants such as Yahoo!, where he was the interaction designer for Yahoo! Search. For the past two years, George has headed his own user experience consultancy. He has also taught at UCLA Extension, spoken at numerous conferences, and written articles about user experience design. Back when George had a hands-on role in crafting Web sites, he co-founded The Web Standards Project, a grassroots coalition of Web developers who sought to ensure browser-makers fully supported HTML, CSS, and other Web standards that help make the Web accessible to all. He was also a co-founder of both Boxes and Arrows, a peer-written online journal about user experience issues, and UXnet, a group seeking to make connections between people, resources, and UX organizations. Recently, DevSource™ featured George in its series of video interviews with experts in the field of software and Web development, “Great Minds in Development.” MoreMore

Greg Nudelman

Senior UX Designer at UEVision Inc.
San Francisco CA USA

Principal at DesignCaffeine
Pleasanton CA USA

A freelance UX designer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Greg is passionate about designing useful, usable, intuitive finding and social-networking user interfaces, multi-step workflows, and business dashboards for Web, Flex, and mobile applications, including iPhone apps. For over 11 years, Greg has designed, performed user research, and developed applications, working in domains that include social networking, ecommerce, biotechnology, real estate, and banking. He has extensive, hands-on software engineering experience, which he thinks makes him a better designer, because it gives him an excellent understanding of how much effort—and money—his designs will take to build and deploy. Greg is the originator of the Experience Partners approach to design, which involves users as partners in the application design process. He has published over 20 articles in JavaWorld, ASP.NETPro, and UXmatters—for which he writes a monthly column, Search Matters. Greg taught a workshop on participatory design at IA Summit 2008 and, more recently, presented his ThirstyPocket iPhone app designs at the 2009 NetSquared Year 4 (N2Y4) Conference. His presentation for IA Summit 2010 is titled “Design Caffeine for Search and Browse UI.” MoreMore

Hilary Coolidge

Consultant in Experience Design at Molecular, Boston MA USA

While at Molecular, Hilary has worked on projects for companies in the financial services, consumer products, Web services, and consulting industries. She was responsible for planning and conducting a usability study for a mobile Web site, produced site maps and annotated wireframes for a Web site redesign for a top-10 consulting company, and created a new home page for a well-known job search company, including new branding and campaign messaging. Other companies she has worked with include Coca-Cola, Boost, BCG, IBM, Monster.com, and Houghton Mifflin. Hilary enjoys bringing her business knowledge and experience to the experience design field. MoreMore

Janet M. Six

Principal at Lone Star Interaction Design, Dallas/Fort Worth TX USA

As Principal of Lone Star Interaction Design in Dallas, Texas, Dr. Janet M. Six helps companies design easier-to-use products within their financial, time, and technical constraints. For her research in information visualization, Janet was awarded the University of Texas at Dallas Jonsson School of Engineering Computer Science Dissertation of the Year Award. She was also awarded the prestigious IEEE Dallas Section 2003 Outstanding Young Engineer Award. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Graph Algorithms and Applications and the Kluwer International Series in Engineering and Computer Science. The proceedings of conferences on Graph Drawing, Information Visualization, and Algorithm Engineering and Experiments have also included the results of her research. Janet is the Managing Editor of UXmatters. MoreMore

Jessyca Frederick

Director of Product Management at ThisNext, Los Angeles CA USA

Formerly Senior User Experience Designer at comparison-shopping giant Shopzilla, Jessyca was also Principal of the all-things-Web consulting firm, Monarch Productions, which she founded in 2001. Always looking for new ways to stay involved in the UX community, Jessyca is a member of UPA, CHI, and STC and is the UXnet Local Ambassador for Los Angeles. She has recently published articles with STC. Jessyca has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of California at San Diego and also completed a minor course of study in Mathematics. MoreMore

Jim Ross

Principal of Design Research at Electronic Ink, Philadelphia PA USA

Jim has spent most of the 21st Century researching and designing intuitive and satisfying user experiences. As a design research consultant, he has helped such companies as Bank of America, Bloomberg, Comcast, Ford Motor Company, NBC Universal, Oppenheimer Funds, Novartis, Rite Aid, Vanguard, and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. As a User-Centered Designer at JPMorgan Chase, he led the design of large intranet sites, Web sites, and Web applications. Jim has a Masters of Science degree in Human-Computer Interaction from DePaul University. MoreMore

Joe Lamantia

Experience Architect and Strategist at MediaCatalyst, Amsterdam Netherlands

A veteran architect, consultant, and designer, Joe Lamantia has been an active member and leader in the UX community since 1996.  Joe has crafted innovative, successful user experience strategies and solutions for clients ranging from Fortune 100 enterprises to local non-profit organizations, digital product companies, and social media startups, in a wide variety of industries. Joe is the creator of EZSort, the leading, freely available tool for card sorting, as well as the Building Blocks for Portals design framework. He is also a frequent writer and speaker on topics including future directions in user experience; the intersection of business, culture, and design; and systems thinking. Joe is currently based in New York, working as a UX strategy consultant for the enterprise architecture group of a global IT services firm. MoreMore

Joe Sokohl

Director of Global User Experience at Keane Inc., Richmond VA USA

Joe has more than 15 years of experience in user experience-related fields. He has concentrated on crafting excellent user experiences, using information architecture, interaction design, writing, and user research. At Keane, Joe acts as an advocate for user experience consulting: information architecture, user research, interaction design, and usability evaluation, along with visual design and Web design. He manages the careers and education of 35, mostly offshore, information architects, visual designers, technical writers, and Web developers, mentoring them in skills competency, along with general business consulting practices. He also evangelizes best practices in UX among both internal and external clients. Previously, Joe held UX positions in Hamburg, Germany; Richmond, VA; Chicago, IL; and Durham, NC. Once upon a time, he’s also been a soldier, a cook, a radio DJ, a road manager, a teacher, and a reporter. MoreMore

Joel Grossman

VP of Technology at Leapfrog Online, Chicago IL USA

Joel Grossman was formerly the Managing Principal of Pivotal Click, a user experience research, design, and innovation firm that focuses on helping clients identify the moments of truth for their digital products and services. Prior to forming Pivotal Click, Joel built the Interactive Branding practice for LAGA, a nationally recognized brand design agency. He has held senior UX management positions with Playboy Enterprises and Encyclopedia Britannica. He also led product development for Edventions, a start-up that Edison Schools since acquired. Joel began his career as an independent technology consultant, working on application development and networking projects in the US and Japan. Joel has a master’s degree in political economy from the University of Minnesota and serves as Chicago’s Local Ambassador for UXnet. MoreMore

John S. Rhodes

Strategic Usability Consultant at WebWord LLC, Owego NY USA

Based in Owego, NY, John has helped such organizations as IBM, Women.com, Cabelas, US WEST, Universal Instruments, Binghamton University, and Broome Community College. He earned a B.S. in Management Science, an M.A. in Philosophy, and an M.A. in Experimental and Cognitive Psychology at Binghamton University. MoreMore

Jonathan Follett

Founding Partner and Creative Director at Hot Knife Design, Boston MA USA

At Hot Knife, Jon designs Web sites and applications for a variety of private- and public-sector clients, approaching each project with a strong focus on the use of language and clear communication of the client’s message. He has a passion for typography, its history, and its proper use in design. While Jon’s first design job was for Saul Bellow’s literary magazine, “News from the Republic of Letters,” he has also worked for various Web and multimedia firms in Boston. He was, most recently, lead designer for the Massachusetts Pension Plans Regulatory Agency. Jon co-authored two humorous non-fiction books, “Gray Highway: An American UFO Journey” and “Suburbageddon.” In another life, he plays jazz piano. Jon is a member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the Interaction Design Association (IxDA), and the Usability Professionals Association (UPA), Boston Chapter. MoreMore

Josephine Wong

Principal Usability Consultant at Apogee Usability Asia Ltd., Hong Kong

Jo Wong has practiced as a usability consultant in Hong Kong for the past 10 years, working with companies such as PCCW and CSL. She specializes in conducting usability tests in both Cantonese and Mandarin. She is a member of the Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA) Hong Kong Chapter and promotes usability through her work with the Internet Professionals Association. Jo attended Melbourne University, completing a Bachelor of Social Science Information Management. MoreMore

Joshua Kaufman

Independent Interaction Design Consultant, San Francisco CA USA

As a consultant, Joshua focuses on cross-platform interaction design and UX strategy for Web and mobile applications. Previously at Tiny Pictures, Joshua created user-centered designs for Radar, a social media service that lets people engage in visual conversations using camera phone pictures and videos. He holds an M.S. in Human Computer Interaction from University College London, University of London, and has over 8 years of experience in both the United States and Europe. An active member of the UX design community, Joshua is the IxDA SF Community Manager, is a member of BayCHI, and was formerly the London Local Ambassador for UXnet. MoreMore

Kate Walser

Principal Consultant and Senior User Experience Designer at CX Insights, Fairfax VA USA

Based outside Washington, DC, Kate is Principal Consultant for CX Insights, a division of Tritus Technologies, Inc. For the past 12 years, she has envisioned and designed products that make sense and engage customers—all while promoting accessibility. Kate has worked across industry, government, and non-profit organizations, including AXA/Equitable, T. Rowe Price, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and Veterans Affairs, as well as for some international organizations. Kate was a member of the U.S. federal advisory committee that updated the Section 508 and Section 255 accessibility standards. She has a degree in biomedical engineering and an MBA in strategy and international business. She is VP of the Washington, DC-area UPA chapter, and a member of the UPA-Knowbility Web Accessibility Certificate advisory board. MoreMore

Kyle Soucy

Founding Principal at Usable Interface, Rochester NH USA

As the founding principal of Usable Interface, a consulting company specializing in product usability and user-centered design, Kyle Soucy has created intuitive user interfaces for a variety of products and Web sites. Her clients range from pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer to publishing powerhouses like McGraw-Hill. Kyle is the Founder and Past President of the New Hampshire Chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association (NH UPA); has served as the Chair of PhillyCHI, the Philadelphia Chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI), and is the local UXnet Ambassador for New Hampshire. She is passionate about the continued growth of the usability and user experience design community. MoreMore

Laurie Lamar

Senior UX Designer at Industrial Wisdom LLC, Denver CO USA

Laurie Lamar was previously a consulting information architect and interaction designer in Boulder, Colorado, USA. Her clients ranged from Fortune 100 companies to nonprofits, government agencies, and startups. Projects included large marketing and support-oriented Web sites, intranet portals, search engines, custom content-management user interfaces, and complex Web applications. Laurie serves with Karyn Young as a UXnet Local Ambassador for the Denver area. She is also chair of the Rocky Mountain CHI chapter. Laurie’s interests include languages, world travel, and the interstices between disciplines. MoreMore

Liya Zheng

Principal Design Consultant at Liquidnet Inc., New York NY US

Liya began her career as an interaction designer. Currently, she helps Liquidnet re-imagine the future of the equity marketplace, using a variety tools and techniques from a wide range of user experience practices. Previously, she worked for Respironics, a leader in respiratory monitoring and assistive technology, and helped them establish an internal experience design capability. Liya became interested in storytelling in interactive media through a position early in her career at Rockstar Games. She is member of the UPA, AIGA, and ACM. Liya earned a BS and an MS from Carnegie Mellon University. MoreMore

Louis Rosenfeld

Publisher at Rosenfeld Media
Information Architect at Louis Rosenfeld LLC, New York NY USA

Lou is an independent consultant and entrepreneur, whose latest startup, Rosenfeld Media, will publish books for UX professionals. He holds a Masters in Information and Library Studies and was instrumental in establishing the field of information architecture. At Argus Associates, a stellar IA consulting firm Lou co-founded in 1991, he was president and lead information architect on projects for such clients as AT&T, Borders Books & Music, Chrysler Corporation, Dow Chemical, and SIGGRAPH. With Peter Morville, Lou co-authored the best-selling book, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, which has become a standard text for many graduate-level classes. In 1993, he founded the Argus Clearinghouse, a popular Internet research service. Lou is a popular speaker and writer who has presented at CHI, COMDEX, Intranets, and various Web design conferences, done speaking tours, and contributed columns to CIO, Internet World, and Web Review magazines. Lou is co-founder and past board member of the Information Architecture Institute (IAI). He played a leading role in organizing and programming the first three IA conferences—the 2000 and 2001 ASIS&T Summits and ACIA 2000—and still serves on the Summit’s program committee. Lou is a co-founder of UXnet and leads its Local Ambassadors and has served on the advisory boards for Content Management Professionals, AIGA ED, and IxDA. MoreMore

Luca Mascaro

Owner and Lead User Experience Architect at SketchIn, Ticino Switzerland

Luca has more than 10 years of experience in information design, user interface design, interaction design, and accessibility for Web sites and Web applications. He is founder of SketchIn—a user experience design and strategy consultancy located in Lugano, Switzerland—and co-founder and UX manager at Phiware Engineering—a Swiss firm specializing in enterprise applications. Luca’s work focuses on agile UX design, applying user-centered design principles to projects for clients such as Generali Assurance, Swiss-Italian Television, the Swiss Post, and Italy’s Innovation Department. Luca is president of IOSHI (International Organization for Standards in Human/Computer Interfaces)—an association that promotes standards in Human/Computer interfaces—is a member of many international organizations—such as IWA/HWG (International Webmasters Association/HTML Writers Guild) and UPA (Usability Professionals’ Association)—and participates in the W3C HTML, Web Content Accessibility, and Web Application working groups as well as that for ISO software ergonomics. MoreMore

Luke Wroblewski

Senior Director Product Ideation and Design at Yahoo! Inc
Principal at LukeW Interface Designs, Silicon Valley CA USA

Formerly, Luke was a Principal Designer on the Search team at Yahoo! Luke is also Principal of LukeW Interface Designs, a user experience design consulting firm he founded in 1996. Luke has authored a book on Web interface design principles, Site-Seeing: A Visual Approach to Web Usability (Wiley & Sons, 2002) and many articles on interface design. Previously, Luke was a Lead User Interface Designer at eBay, where he led user experience strategies for eBay Europe and the eBay Platform. He also worked as a Senior Interface Designer at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), birthplace of the first popular graphical web browser, NCSA Mosaic, and taught interface design courses in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Luke has presented his research on Web-based interface design at national and international conferences. He is on the Board of Directors of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA). MoreMore

Matteo Penzo

Planning and Technologies Manager at Gabetti Property Solutions, Milan Italy

At Consultechnology, an ITC company with offices in Milan and Lamezia Terme, Italy, Matteo conducted research projects that focused on natural interactions between people and computers, automotive applications, and universal design—specifically for the elderly and the disabled. Matteo began his career in information technology working for Anixter International at their Milan and London offices, managing their intranet design and programming team. Then he worked as a project manager for a leading Italian Web agency in Milan, where he managed Internet projects for international Fortune 500 companies. Matteo is a sought after speaker at national and international seminars—including CHI2005, Macromedia, and VNU to mention just a few—and is a professor for the Interaction Design course in the Masters program in Humanistic Computer Studies at Bicocca University, Milan. He has written numerous articles on the subjects of natural interfaces, user experience, and technological innovation. He is also the UXnet Local Ambassador for Milan. MoreMore

Maura Schreier-Fleming

President at Best@Selling, Dallas/Fort Worth TX USA

As President of Best@Selling, a sales training and consulting organization in Dallas, Texas, Maura Schreier-Fleming works with business and sales professionals on real-world skills and strategies, so they can sell more and be more successful in business. Her clients include MBNA, Fannie Mae, and Fujitsu. She is the author of the book Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results and writes the column Selling Strategies for the Insurance Record. MoreMore

Meghashri Dalvi

Owner and Consultant at TechR, India

Meghashri Dalvi has combined her love of writing with an engineering and management background to create a successful career in technical communication. She currently works as a consulting technical communicator in India and is pursuing doctoral research in management. MoreMore

Michael Hawley

VP Experience Design at Mad*Pow Media Solutions LLC, Boston MA USA

As VP of Mad*Pow’s user experience department, Mike brings deep expertise in user experience research, usability, and design to Mad*Pow clients, providing tremendous customer value. Prior to joining Mad*Pow, Mike served as Usability Project Manager for Staples, Inc., in Framingham, Massachusetts. He led their design projects for customer-facing materials, including e-commerce and Web sites, marketing communications, and print materials. Previously, Mike worked at the Bentley College Design and Usability Center as a Usability Research Consultant. He was responsible for planning, executing, and analyzing the user experience for corporate clients. At Avitage, he served as the lead designer and developer for an online Webcast application. Mike received an M.S. in Human Factors in Information Design from Bentley College McCallum Graduate School of Business in Waltham, Massachusetts, and has more than 13 years of usability experience. MoreMore

Pabini Gabriel-Petit

Principal User Experience Architect at Spirit Softworks LLC
Silicon Valley CA USA

Founder, Publisher, and Editor in Chief, UXmatters

For more than 15 years, at companies such as Google, Cisco, WebEx, and Apple, Pabini has set strategic direction for user experience and led UX design and user research for Web, mobile, and desktop applications. With expertise in all aspects of UX design—including interaction design, visual interface design, information design, and information architecture—Pabini has designed innovative applications for diverse product domains, encompassing consumer and enterprise products. Recently, as VP of UX at scanR, Pabini led UX strategy and design for award-winning mobile and Web applications that let users scan digital photos of whiteboards and documents, then view and manage their scans. Formerly, as UX Manager at WebEx, Pabini led UX strategy, design, and user research for online meeting and collaboration applications. She designed the award-winning Meeting Center and Training Center, setting the industry standard for online meeting software. Clients of Pabini’s Silicon Valley consultancy have included GetJar, scanR, Google, Cisco, Tellme, WebEx, and Apple. In addition to bringing UXmatters to the UX community, Pabini was a Founding Director of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) and is IxDA Local Leader for Silicon Valley, Co-Chair of BayDUX, UXnet Local Ambassador for Silicon Valley, BayCHI IxD BOF (Birds of a Feather) Leader, and a former Interactions Editorial Board Member. MoreMore

Patrick Kennedy

Senior Experience Architect at News Digital Media, Sydney Australia

Patrick has over 10 years of experience in the digital media and Web industries, and his expertise covers many areas, including information architecture, ethnographic and design research techniques, and best practice Web design and development. Over the years, Patrick has advised a wide range of clients, across private and public sectors, both in Australia and the United Kingdom. Patrick is a member of the Sydney chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA), the Computer-Human Interaction Special Interest Group of Australia (CHISIG), the Web Standards Group (WSG), the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA), the Web Industry Professionals Association (WIPA), and the Information Architecture Institute (IAI), as well as several smaller special interest groups. Patrick holds a degree in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Technology, Sydney. MoreMore

Paul J. Sherman

Founder and Principal Consultant at ShermanUX, Austin TX USA

ShermanUX provides a range of services, including research, design, evaluation, UX strategy, training, and rapid contextual innovation. Paul has worked in the field of usability and user-centered design for the past 12 years. He was most recently Senior Director of User-Centered Design at Sage Software in Atlanta, Georgia, where he led efforts to redesign the user interface and improve the overall customer experience of Peachtree Accounting and several other business management applications. While at Sage, Paul designed and implemented a customer-centric contextual innovation program that sought to identify new product and service opportunities by observing small businesses in the wild. Paul also led his team’s effort to modernize and bring consistency to Sage North America product user interfaces on both the desktop and the Web. In the 1990s, Paul was a Member of Technical Staff at Lucent Technologies in New Jersey, where he led the development of cross-product user interface standards for telecommunications management applications. As a consultant, Paul has conducted usability testing and user interface design for banking, accounting, and tax preparation applications, Web applications for financial planning and portfolio management, and ecommerce Web sites. In 1997, Paul received his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. His research focused on how pilots’ use of computers and automated systems on the flight deck affects their individual and team performance. Paul is Past President of the Usability Professionals’ Association, was the founding President of the UPA Dallas/Fort Worth chapter, and currently serves on the UPA Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Paul was Editor and contributed several chapters for the book Usability Success Stories: How Organizations Improve by Making Easier-to-Use Software and Web Sites, which Gower published in October 2006. He has presented at conferences in North America, Asia, Europe, and South America. MoreMore

Peter Bogaards

Founder at Bogieland, Amsterdam Netherlands

With almost 20 years of experience in information design, information architecture, and user-centered design, Peter is a recognized leader in the international information design community. Prior to founding BogieLand, he worked for the InfoDesign & Usability Group of Razorfish Europe and was information and user interface designer at Informaat. He was responsible for the design of intentional user experiences, including user interfaces, site architectures, navigation, and usability for clients such as eBay, Elsevier Science, IBM, Nissan, and Vodafone. MoreMore

Robert Barlow-Busch

Director of Product Design at Primal Fusion, Kitchener Canada

At Quarry, Robert led projects for clients who want to distinguish themselves through products that are well designed, usable, and deliver an outstanding customer experience. As Practice Director of Interaction Design, he also worked with teammates to develop Quarry’s design methods. For instance, Robert introduced the use of personas to Quarry and has since then employed personas for projects in a variety of industries. He has also helped develop methods for better aligning usability with the goals and practices of marketing and branding. Some of this expertise is captured in Robert’s invited chapter about “Marketing Versus Design Personas,” in The Persona Lifecycle, a book Morgan Kaufmann will publish in 2006. With over 14 years of experience designing software and Web applications, Robert has worked throughout North America and Europe, at companies with familiar names such as Sony and FedEx. MoreMore

Sam Ng

Founder and Director at Optimal Usability and OptimalSort, Wellington New Zealand

As a co-founder and Director of the consultancy Optimal Usability and a passionate generalist, Sam has been involved with over 100 usability and design projects with clients in such diverse domains as government, ecommerce, education, finance, telecommunications, and not-for-profits. With a desire to practice what he preaches, Sam recently led a small team to design and develop the online card sorting tool, OptimalSort. Built on a modest budget and with limited resources, OptimalSort is now being used by hundreds of leading companies and Web professionals worldwide. MoreMore

Steve Baty

Principal Consultant at Meld Consulting, Sydney Australia

Focusing on the business and technology side of the user experience equation, Steve has worked on corporate Web sites and Web applications since 1997. Working with user experience designers, information architects, and usability specialists, Steve integrates user and business imperatives into balanced user experience strategies for corporate, not-for-profit, and government clients. He holds Masters degrees in Electronic Commerce and Business Administration from Australia’s Macquarie University (MGSM), and a strong focus on defining and meeting business objectives carries through all his work. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Statistics, which provides a strong analytical foundation that he further developed through his studies of archaeology. Steve is a member of IxDA, IA Institute, and UPA and is a regular at the Sydney IA-Peers confabs. MoreMore

Tobias Komischke

Director of User Experience at Infragistics, New York NY USA

Tobias has been working in the area of user experience for over 10 years. Currently, he is responsible for the user experience on the inside—development—and outside—training and consulting—at Infragistics. At Siemens, he held senior R&D positions at Corporate Technology, Corporate Research, and Medical Solutions, in both Germany and the U.S. Tobias earned a PhD in Economics and Social Sciences, from Universität Kassel, in Germany. He has reviewed papers for several international technical journals and conferences and has published more than 30 articles. He is a member of ACM, HFES, and UPA. MoreMore

Todd Warfel

Founding Partner at Messagefirst, Philadelphia PA USA

At Messagefirst, Todd focuses on research and design of consumer and b2b products. A recognized leader in the design research and usability fields, Todd speaks regularly at universities and industry conferences and contributes to industry publications. With over 14 years of industry experience and a background in English, cognitive psychology, and product design, he has worked on over a dozen industry-first products. Todd has done work with a variety of clients, including Albertsons, AT&T Wireless, Bankrate, Bank of America, Comcast, Cornell University, Dell, GSK, IntraLinks, Palm, Sallie Mae, Splenda, SBC, SUNY, and Tufts University. MoreMore

Traci Lepore

Principal Interaction Designer at InContext Enterprises, Boston MA USA

As a Principal Interaction Designer and contextual design expert, Traci is responsible for overseeing the quality of design projects, setting design directions, and devising strategies for furthering design skills within the company. While working as a consultant at InContext Enterprises, she has worked on both enterprise and consumer projects across a variety of industries and domains. With over seven years of experience as an interaction designer, with a focus on user-centered design methodologies, Traci has had the opportunity to experience a broad range of work practices. She holds a B.S. in Communications Media from Fitchburg State College and is currently working on a Masters in Theater Education at Emerson College, in the hope of infusing aspects of theatrical theory and practice into her design methodologies and bringing a more empathetic and user-centered focus to her work. She is a member of the Boston chapters of UPA and IxDA. MoreMore

Tricia Clement

Manager of Product Strategy & Marketing at Move Inc.

Principal at Encore Marketing Solutions, San Francisco Bay Area CA USA

Tricia specializes in translating consumer needs and cultural differences into delightful online experiences. Capturing data through various qualitative and quantitative research methods and combining it with advanced behavioral modeling techniques, she creates a holistic visualization of a consumer’s mental model, cognitive process, and behavioral patterns. Her insights and visualizations help companies align their corporate priorities, develop their product strategies, and align their organizational structures with those of their customers. Prior to entering industry, Tricia was a National Research Service Award (NRSA) Neuroscience Postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, examining social regulation of the brain. She has extensively studied and written about the commonalities and differences in learning and memory strategies between humans and other animals, focusing on social learning, concept learning, memory strategies, and symbolic representation. For her work in the area of cognition, she has received awards and competitive grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and Howard Hughes. Tricia has published over 30 journal articles and book chapters. American Scientist and The Economist covered her innovative research demonstrating work ethic in pigeons, which challenged human-centered theories explaining the phenomenon. Her latest page turner, “Steering Clear of Trouble: Fish Can Infer Social Rank by Observation Alone,” garnered the cover of Nature. MoreMore

Whitney Hess

User Experience Design Consultant, New York NY USA

Based in New York City, Whitney is an independent UX design consultant. She helps make stuff easy and pleasurable to use. Whitney is a strategic partner with Happy Cog and UX consultant for boxee, among other startups, agencies, and major corporations. Prior to going independent, she was on the design team at Liquidnet. Previously, she was an interaction designer at the marketing agencies Digitas and Tribal DDB, where her clients included American Express, The New York Times, Allstate, Claritin, Tropicana, and EarthLink. Though she began her higher education in computer science, Whitney received a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing and a Master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University. MoreMore

Whitney Quesenbery

Principal Consultant at Whitney Interactive Design, LLC
New York NY USA

Whitney is an expert in user research, user experience, and usability, with a passion for clear communication. As Principal Consultant at Whitney Interactive Design, she works with large and small companies to develop usable Web sites and applications. She enjoys learning about people around the world and using those insights to design products where people matter. She also works on projects with the National Cancer Institute / National Institutes of Health, IEEE, The Open University, and others. Whitney has served as President of the Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA), on the Executive Council for UXnet, on the board of the Center for Plain Language, and as Director of the UPA Usability in Civic Life project. She has also served on two U.S. government advisory committees: Advisory Committee to the U.S. Access Board (TEITAC), updating the Section 508 regulations, and as Chair for Human Factors and Privacy on the Elections Assistance Commission Advisory Committee (TGDC), creating requirements for voting systems for US elections. Whitney is proud that one of her articles has won an STC Outstanding Journal Article award and that her chapter in Content and Complexity, “Dimensions of Usability,” appears on many course reading lists. Her most recent publication is the chapter “Storytelling and Narrative,” in The Personas Lifecycle, by Pruitt and Adlin. Whitney is currently writing a book with Kevin Brooks, Storytelling in User Experience Design, for Rosenfeld Media. MoreMore