About Me

I am an Information Architect, UX Designer and UX Researcher based in the Greater New York City area. My background is in fine art, design and photography.

I hold a master’s degree in Library & Information Science with Distinction and an advanced certificate in Archives from Pratt Institute’s School of Information. I hold a bachelor’s degree in History of Art from Cornell University, where I graduated cum laude for my senior thesis on the color theory of Wassily Kandinsky.

Philosophy & Approach

 

Findability

Users cannot complete tasks if they cannot find the information they need. In order to be found, information should be grouped according to relevancy, and hierarchy should be driven by what is most general to most specific. Labels must be straightforward and clearly indiciate the information within an area or destination. Taxonomies and controlled vocabularies should be implemented to make sense of large groups of information. These are my guiding principles for planning structure, navigation and layouts.

User Centricity

You cannot design unless you know who you are designing for. The user and their needs must be at the focus and center of every phase of a project. Since the best way to reach success is to watch what users do, designs should be tested with target users through an iterative process to validate the proposed structure and pathways. I apply this thinking to my projects to create satisfying experiences for the target users.

Efficiency

At its core, usability is about efficiency. The goal is always to increase users' speed to conversion, whatever that conversion point may be. The interface must enable users to complete their tasks so they can reach their goals quickly and easily. To accomplish this, I create layouts guided by usability heuristics for interface design.

Living Systems

I treat sites, apps, products and platforms as living systems. The parts rely on each other to function properly and effectively. When I plan a site, app, product or platform, I examine the entire system and think about the elements in the context of their interconnectivity.
 

Skillset

 

Information Architecture

My core IA skills of knowledge organization, labeling and navigation design are built on my foundation in classification, taxonomies, controlled vocabularies and metadata schema. I incorporate much of this on a daily basis in creating task flows, sitemaps, wireframes, entity field documentation and search strategy to support findability.

User Experience

In conjunction with my IA skills, my core UX skills include application of usability heuristics, user research and testing methodologies, wireframing, visual designs and UX writing, as well as soft skills such as empathy and collaborative communication.

Visual Design Usability

With a background in fine art, design and photography, I have always had a strong visual design sensibility and skills in spotting good or poor design. I have a particular affinity for the elements that contribute to visual design usability: proximity, alignment, repetition and contrast.
 

Content

As part of my knowledge organization skills, I define and strategize content through an evaluation process to determine optimal categorization and related content groupings. I utilize various methodologies such as tree and click testing, card sorting, content inventories, audits and content maps.

Human Factors

I look at how relevant human characteristics can be applied for effective design. As part of any user test or layout I construct, I consider how characteristics such as abilities, limitations, attention, memory, workload and other cognitive functions can be accounted for in order to affect an outcome.

Other Related Skills

  • Digital asset management
  • Records management
  • Digital archiving
  • Copyediting and proofreading
  • Drawing and photography