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User Experience Designer/ Design Analyst
Stealth Startup
Feb 2014 - Present (10 years 6 months)
Collaborating in a three person team to create new experiences and interactions for a social platform through methodology research, market benchmarking, and iterative design practices.
Developing wireframes in Balsamiq, user flows in Lucid Chart, and design guidelines in Adobe Creative Suite for iOS mobile consumer application and a responsive web/mobile consumer portal.
Generated a mobile component style guide and a library of over 150 icons via a thorough design analysis distilling our prototypes into essential building blocks in order to create efficient, consistent pixel perfect mockups for our mobile application.
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Freelance Designer
Kat Sikes Design
Jan 2013 - Present (11 years 7 months)
Freelance designer in UI/ UX, graphic design, branding development and customized toy design.
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User Experience Designer/ Information Architect
KeepandShare
Jan 2013 - Feb 2014 (1 year 1 month)
Remodeled the entire help system for a suite of B2B SaaS tools by restructuring the information architecture of earlier help page content and rewriting the information into short, interconnected, keyword searchable articles.
Created graphic diagrams for key concepts and operations within the software to accompany help articles and improve customer usability.
Consulted on the interface design of new developments and tools with the Keep&Share software suite.
Generated HTML formatting standards for the new help system, and incorporated them into existing CSS styling.
Developed new icons drafts as needed.
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Exhibit Development Manager
Children's Creativity Museum
Jul 2012 - Nov 2012 (4 months)
Oversaw the staff, budget, supplies and overall creative direction of the Children’s Creativity Museum’s exhibits department. Collaborated with fellow managers and directors to shift the current and future exhibits towards our company goals. Implemented the latest research in early childhood education design in the development of new exhibits. Coordinated projects with third party partners and fabricators as needed.
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Consultant/ Wiki Author
Center for the Advancement of Informal Science Education
Nov 2011 - Feb 2012 (3 months)
Worked with supervisors and fellow wiki authors to develop articles about the role of exhibits in informal science education based on research.
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Masters Thesis Project
Levine Museum of the New South & UNCG
Aug 2011 - Feb 2012 (6 months)
Orchestrated a collaborative project involving the Levine Museum of the New South staff and UNCG Interior Architecture professors to develop, prototype, fabricate and evaluate a successful constructivist interactive into a preexisting exhibit space.
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Exhibits Intern
Exploratorium
May 2011 - Jun 2011 (1 month)
Assisted with design development and evaluation of prototype interactive exhibits, using multiple iterations of timing, tracking and interviews and subsequent prototype redesigns in response to evaluations.
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Assistant Curator of Exhibits
Greensboro Historical Museum
Aug 2008 - Jun 2010 (1 year 10 months)
Transformed a spreadsheet of ideas to enhance a period setting exhibit into design plans and contractor fabrications in absence of a head curator of exhibits. Carried out the research, design, prototyping and installation of successful interactive exhibits in collaboration with the education department. Oversaw exhibits and lighting maintenance and assisted with installation of new exhibits.
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Exhibits Technician
North Carolina Museum of History
Jun 2007 - Jul 2008 (1 year 1 month)
Fabricated casework, vignettes and developed interactives in major museum exhibits as part of the exhibits team. Assisted the head exhibits designer in case and exhibition design. Assisted with the transfer and installation of traveling exhibits.
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Summer Intern
Smithsonian Institution Office of Exhibit Central
Jun 2005 - Aug 2005 (2 months)
Constructed fabric and foam mannequins for the display of Ottoman robes. Gathered experience in silicone casting, life casting, faux finishing, artifact installation, special event set up as well as grant-writing in a Smithsonian workshop.