David Mermelstein, User Experience - Strategy | Information Architecture | Interaction & Visual Design | HTMLer

About

❖ Mobile & Web UX/UI (User Interface)/Interaction App | Product | SaaS Designer & Information Architect in Chicago ❖

About 20 years ago, I left a Food and Beverage Industry due to my empathy for customers and curiosity as to how the web can improve workflow.

Today, driven by passion, not caffeine; I plan, design and do some front-end coding of apps and websites. By collaborating w/ clients, coworkers and users, problems get solved and innovation happens. The result is quality experiences that leads to customer loyalty.

Skills include:

✓ Design - Product/SaaS, Responsive, Website, Web Apps, Mobile, User Interface, Model-View-Controller, Style Guides & Tiles

✓ Research - Competitive and Product Research, User Research: User Interviews, Surveys, Contextual Inquiry, Card Sorts, Usability Testing, Heuristic Analysis, A/B Testing, Expert Review

✓ UX Design - Prototyping, Personas, Interaction Design, Accessibility

✓ Information Architecture - Site & User Flows, Wireframing, Taxonomy Development, Navigation Models

✓ Markup & Coding - HTML, CSS, Templating, JavaScript

Web development & consulting firms include:

✓ Captivix

✓ Lyons Consulting Group

✓ Azavar Tech

Education

BS Food Systems Management & Economics

Michigan State University

1988 - 1991

Experience

User Experience Architect, Interaction & Visual Designer (Contract)

Fuel Start-up

Oct 2013 - Present (11 years 1 month)

Creates and presents site and user flows, interactive prototypes, interaction and visual designs, as well as, style guides to clients. Collaborates with developers to ensure proper design and user experience integration during technical integration. Projects include custom web applications and SaaS for desktop and mobile.

Ex. Custom Social Media Application.
User Experience Visual Designer & Information Architect (Consultant)

Taproot Foundation

Sep 2010 - Present (14 years 2 months)

Creates and presents information architecture and visual designs, as well as, writes web style guides for client websites.

Ex.
American Theater Company (1/2012 to 1/2014)
Association House (9/2010 to 8/2011)
Information Architect (Contract)

Lyons Consulting Group

Jan 2013 - Sep 2013 (8 months)

Delivered strategic advice, sitemaps, navigation models, taxonomies and wireframes for e-commerce websites built with Magento and Demandware, which required responsive designs, a mobile presence and internationalization.

Ex. www.sleeptrain.com
User Experience Designer & Information Architect (Consultant)

Glantz Design

Oct 2012 - Dec 2012 (2 months)

Delivered strategic advice, audited a state university’s information architecture and prepared stakeholder discovery questions for a website redesign.
User Experience Designer (Contract)

Edelman Digital

Oct 2012 - Nov 2012 (1 month)

Delivered strategic advice, sitemaps and wireframe concepts for a desktop and mobile web rewards app based on youth activity, as well as, a news and advocacy website.
User Experience Designer (Contract)

GA Communication Group

Sep 2012 - Oct 2012 (1 month)

Reviewed and recommended community (BuddyPress), recipe and event WordPress plug-ins. Delivered strategy, wireframe, sketches, and site architecture using OmniGraffle for a major drug company’s community website redesign that will result in an improved user experience.
User Experience Designer - Ipad Sales Brochure (Contract)

Abelson-Taylor

Jul 2012 - Aug 2012 (1 month)

Delivered information architecture that transitioned Teva Pharmacovigilance Unit’s print sales brochures into iPad apps for Treanda and Trisonex. The wireframes included interactive charts and highlighted the benefits of the client’s drugs vs. their competitors.
Information Architect (Contract)

Aspen Marketing Services

Feb 2012 - Jul 2012 (5 months)

Delivered strategic advice, as well as, site flows and wireframes for:

Fedex (5/2012 to 7/12) - Loyalty program intranet used by Account Executives, Managers, Directors and Vice Presidents.
Nationwide (4/2012 to 6/12) - Sweepstakes and Referral Program microsites.
Epsilon - (2/2012 to 3/2012) - Website redesign.
Information Architect - ITsavvy.com (Contract)

The Monogram Group

Feb 2012 - Jun 2012 (4 months)

Delivered strategic advice, as well as, created and presented information architecture that included navigation models, site-wide modules and wireframes for an e-commerce website redesign.
Information Architect (Contract)

Azavar Technologies - E-commerce Start-up Client

Feb 2012 - Feb 2012

Delivered strategic advice and produced design mockups for an start-up e-commerce website.
Web Application Planner & Business Analyst (Contract)

Azavar Technologies - B2B Magnetic Products Pioneer & Innovator Client

Dec 2011 - Feb 2012 (2 months)

Wrote business and functional requirements, use case scenarios, as well as, delivered wireframes for a web application that transitioned a manual sales quote process into an automated one.
Information Architect (Contract)

See 3 Communications - Public Health Organization Client - HIVQUAL.org & HEALTHQUAL.org

Sep 2011 - Dec 2011 (3 months)

Improved the user experience of a resource website used by AIDs clinics from around the world. Audited content, as well as, produced content outlines, taxonomies, sitemaps and wireframes.
Information Architect (Contract)

Azavar Technologies - Infrastructure, Energy & Construction Client - WhiteConstruction.com & IEA.net

Oct 2011 - Nov 2011 (1 month)

Delivered wireframes for a new infrastructure and energy website, as well as, the redesign of construction company website.
Information Architect & User Experience Design Strategist (Consultant)

MyNightClubManager.com - Nightclub Management SaaS Start-up

Oct 2010 - Oct 2011 (1 year)

Improved the user experience of a nightclub management SaaS application, based on stakeholder requirements, end-user research and expert review.

Conceptualized and built working mobile web application prototype to deliver to customers.
iPad Mobile User Experience Specialist (Contract)

Acquity Group - Discover Financial Services

Sep 2011 - Sep 2011

As a member of the mobile user experience team, produced, as well as, reviewed, documented, and recommended improvements to iPad wireframe and interaction notes for final client deliverables.
Senior Information Architect (Contract)

Razorfish - Top Insurance Financial Client

Jun 2011 - Jul 2011 (1 month)

As a member of the website self service team, conducted research and produced wireframes for insurance policy view concepts, as well as, wrote interaction design documents for the customer document center.

Performed audit of interactive calculators on website and produced wireframe concepts, as well as, documented user experience recommendations.
User Experience Strategist (Contract)

UBMStudios.com

May 2011 - Jun 2011 (1 month)

Delivered wireframes and sitemaps, based on key stakeholder business and marketing requirements, interviews, competitive analysis and an expert review for website redesign.
User Experience Design Strategist (Contract)

Strategic Hospitality Search

Dec 2010 - Jan 2011 (1 month)

Integrated, coded HTML and CSS for a WordPress blog utilizing existing design.
Information Architect & User Experience Design Strategist (Contract Consultant)

Liquorshelves.com - Armana Productions LLC - E-Commerce Start-up

Jan 2009 - Aug 2010 (1 year 7 months)

Architected, designed, coded HTML and CSS, as well as, developed and implemented lo-fi/hi-fi prototypes for an e-commerce product website.
User Experience Designer & Information Architect / Creator

DiscoverChefs.com - Personal Project

Sep 2008 - Jan 2009 (4 months)

Conceptualized, designed, coded HTML and CSS for a chef portfolio web application in collaboration with a programmer to understand design for MVC Frameworks (CakePHP). Prototyped working mobile app. Conducts user research utilizing new technology.
Project Manager & User Experience Architect

American Marketing Association / Marketingpower.com

Aug 2005 - Dec 2008 (3 years 4 months)

Led up to 70 cross-functional team members from concept through completion on projects. Created and presented user experience, functional, and technical deliverables. Managed the user experience design and technical quality of projects.
Senior User Experience SaaS Product & Web Designer

Webhire Inc. (Acquired by Kenexa 2006)

Dec 1999 - Jul 2005 (5 years 7 months)

Produced and presented creative briefs, user experience and visual design deliverables based on end user feedback and collaborating with c-level executives, customer service, training, engineering, product, and marketing teams for SaaS products, corporate websites, intranets, e-marketing, product demos and prototypes, training modules, Fortune 500 career websites, and other interactive projects.
Search Engine Manager

Megajobsites Inc. (Acquired by Beyond.com 1999)

Jan 1999 - Dec 1999 (11 months)
Product Partnership Manager / User Experience Designer

HR Sites International (Acquired by Webhire Inc. 1999)

Sep 1997 - Dec 1999 (2 years 3 months)
Assistant Restaurant Manager

Boston Chicken/Market

Aug 1994 - Jul 1997 (2 years 11 months)
Food Production Manager

Daka International Food Service - IIT

Aug 1992 - Jul 1994 (1 year 11 months)
Management Trainee

Max's Deli

Sep 1991 - Aug 1992 (11 months)

Awards

Third Place Start-up Weekend Chicago - User Experience Designer & Information Architect (6/2010) - Produced sitemaps, wireframes, design mockups, and a prototype for short term leasing website and web application concept.

Affiliations

Taproot Foundation; Interaction Design Association; UX/UI, Refresh Chicago & Chicago Mobile Meetups

Skills

Elsewhere on the Web

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On Coroflot

@merms, member since 2005

Following 31
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David Mermelstein

Lead UX Designer for Social Impact Design Agency (F/T, Remote)

Design Director for Social Impact Design Agency (F/T, Remote)