Contact JD: +1 646 714 3122 • jobs@jdwelch.net

User experience designer with more than 10 years experience across a variety of platforms, organizations and industries. Strong style focused on simplicity, clarity and usability. Chameleon-like ability to succeed within any brand or technology system. Recent focus on working in the gap between designers and developers. Invaluable asset on challenging projects demanding versatility, speed and quality.

Skills:

Synthesizing the needs and goals of users, product managers, marketing and salespeople, user researchers, writers, localizers, developers and testers to ensure the best possible experience.

Work:

July 2009 – Now
User Experience Designer
Microsoft (through User Research International), Redmond, WA

I work with a variety of teams -- System Center Essentials, System Center Operations Manager, Customer Support, Solution Accelerators -- on a variety of interesting projects ...which are too new to talk about here. I'm happy to discuss them in person, however.

May 2008 – May 2009
Product Designer III, Management & Administration Experience (MAX)
Microsoft (through Aquent), Redmond, WA

Working with a team of designers, researchers, program managers and developers, I created and refined user experiences for many parts of Microsoft System Center products. For instance:

• Developed a WPF prototype of large parts of the System Center UX Framework, which allowed the design team to more effectively specify interaction details and led to a significantly higher-fidelity final product
• Designed, lab-tested and wrote extensive guidelines for a Setup experience used (so far) for the next release versions of System Center products: Essentials, Service Manager, Configuration Manager and Operations Manager. The pattern is generic, extensible and provides a simple, distinctively-branded Out of Box Experience
• Contributed to feature areas of System Center Essentials, refining existing and creating new UI

March 2007 – March 2008
User Interface Designer & Information Architect
WatchGuard, Seattle, WA

Lead visual and interaction design and information architecture for all areas of WatchGuard's website, I focused on streamlining & reducing content, revamping visuals & typography and creating reusable design & interaction patterns. Key accomplishments:

• Designed a major overhaul to the visual presentation of all WatchGuard web properties, to emphasize and synchronize with a corporate rebranding and begun to develop design patterns
• Twice iterated on information design of product information section to better introduce products to potential customers and reduce ongoing content maintenance
• Introduced bold Flash-based "Shouts" to draw traffic from the home page to specific featured content
• Solved the problem of findability for editorial content, the "Learning Lab," with a new information architecture and strong visuals
• Redesigned the WatchGuard online store to utilize third-party commerce engine. Completed interaction design of the checkout process and catalog and revamped IA of product catalog
• Developed a system of icons for WatchGuard's non-hardware products, such as security subscription services and add-ons
• Designed personas, workflow, wireframes and other artifacts for a high-profile quote generation application
• Designed an application to allow partners and DMR salespeople to quickly compare WatchGuard products and services, with a special emphasis on presenting a thorough competitive analysis
• Led the interaction design of the "Mail-o-Matic," an application which allows channel partners to create customized e-mail communications based around current marketing campaigns

December 2006 – February 2007
Product Designer, Education Products Group
Microsoft (through FILTER), Redmond, WA

As lead designer on the Student Experience Client project, I drove the interaction and visual design of a modular, gadget-style project management, time tracking and research tool application for secondary and university students. Tasks:

• Worked closely with user researchers to define features and interaction, leading to high-fidelity mockups of use case scenarios for the design and product teams
• Explored of issues in creating an experience for both the desktop and web platforms
• Investigated integration of components into existing applications (word processors, web browsers, calendars, etc.), including work on a custom RibbonX tab for Office 2007

July 2006 – November 2006
Product Designer, Customer Design Center
Microsoft (through FILTER), Redmond, WA

Working on Windows Live applications, most of my work centered on the Windows Live OneCare product providing interaction and visual design for point and major software releases, from minor tweaks to major new features. Notable accomplishments:

• Revamped client application(s) to use Windows Aero interface style
• Redesign of key sections of marketing website and associated graphics production. Emphasized consistency in presentation of key visual elements across media. Tackled and solved localization issues in displaying visual examples of the user interface
• Designed visuals and interaction for Sidebar Gadget displaying syndicated security news, OneCare status, etc.
• I also worked on OneCare Family Safety, a parental monitoring system, including client UI design and web administration console design. Finally, I assisted with numerous other projects, including Windows Live Spaces themes, Live Drive (Now SkyDrive), and contributing to the Windows Live Human Interface Guidelines.

June 2005 – June 2006
Interactive Designer / Web Monkey
Copperfin, Bellevue, WA

As a hybrid designer/front-end developer, I worked on a variety of web projects for local and national clients. Interpreting FreeHand-designed layouts, creating original concepts, production, and webmaster tasks were all my responsibility. In addition, I contributed to the design and was responsible for the implementation of Copperfin's own portfolio website on the occasion of their name change and identity overhaul.

September 2004 – March 2005
Web & UI Designer/Developer
Coinstar, Bellevue, WA

My work with Coinstar consisted of assisting on interaction design, information architecture and production of the kiosk UI for a major software release and localizing Coinstar's website for several international markets. Highlights:

• Worked on a prototype for the next generation of their kiosk's consumer UI, using a back-end of XML/XSLT and PHP to output static HTML with dynamic images and automatically-generated localized (US English, Spanish, French) versions
• Created a standalone CD-based demo version of the kiosk UI which uses the same front-end codebase with various DHTML tricks to mimic kiosk behavior closely, allowing the sales groups to show off new software functionality accurately and stylishly
• Maintained the US website and assisted the interactive designer in exploring options for enhancements to style and content of same, including the implementation of automated web traffic analysis software and production work for a Lotus Notes/Domino-driven extranet database of artwork

April 2002-May 2007
Art Director
League of Professional System Administrators

For this nonprofit system administration group, I designed and developed a branding system and related collateral artwork, working closely with volunteers, staff and vendors. Key accomplishments:

• Created new branding system and logo for the organization, including a large library of reusable production art, web buttons/banners and other collateral, and authored an extensive branding guide
• Produced artwork for national print advertising campaign
• Designed collateral materials, including certificates, posters, postcards, brochures, shirts, etc. for marketing communications, giveaways and promotions

Fall 2000 – Present
Freelance Graphic Designer, Web Designer,
Front-End Web Developer

• Print design and production, including identity packages, logos, advertising, merchandise, signage, etc.
• Web/interactive design and production, including design comps and storyboards, graphics production, photo editing, markup, JavaScript, Flash, information architecture, small databases, backend coding--whatever the project needs to succeed.
• Notable clients: FCB Seattle, Peel Interactive, The System Administrators Guild and SAGE Certification

Education

Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, History of Art, Purchase College (May 2002). Focus on Neo-Dada and African art. Thesis project: "The Other Fab Four: Collaboration and Neo-Dada"

Other projects & interests

Cooking & baking; Knitting; Writing on user experience; Writing on art; Painting & photography.