Wendy Cooper, Customer Experience Researcher and Designer in Melbourne, Australia

About

I am a researcher/designer with over twenty years of experience working here in Australia, and also in Austria, Denmark, and the Emirates. My experience covers a range of design contexts including large corporations, boutique agencies and prestigious cultural institutions. In every piece of research and design, I aim for clarity, accessibility, and genuine engagement—to enrich the customer experience and improve business outcomes, regardless of context or parameters.

Defining the best process for each project is something I am particularly passionate about. My preferred methodology is a combination of human-centred design and Agile frameworks for delivery, and research methods in social and behavioural sciences for experimentation and research.

When it comes to managing a team, I believe in delegating with fairness and transparency, and empowering each individual with trust. For me, each new project is an opportunity build constructive, creative, empowering work culture.

I am also a maker of web-based tools, an amateur archer, a tap dancer, and an avid reader of neuroscience.

Education

Foundation of Psychology Behavioural Science

RMIT University

2014 - 2014
Graduate Diploma of Graphic Design Graphic Design, Typography

RMIT University

2003 - 2004

High Distinction (HD)
Diploma of Printing and Graphic Arts Typography, Printing and Pre-Press, Graphic Design

RMIT University

1999 - 2000

High Distinction (HD)
Certificate IV in Electronic Publishing Typography

RMIT University

1999 - 1999
Advanced Diploma of Arts (Electronic Design and Interactive Media) Graphic Design, Typography, Animation, Interactive Media

RMIT University

1998 - 1999

High Distinction (HD)

Experience

User Experience Lead

Telstra

Melbourne, Australia

Jun 2017 - Jul 2019 (2 years 1 month)

As a part of Telstra's transition to Agile, I work in a combination of Scrum and Lean frameworks. My core responsibilities for my two squads are stakeholder management, workshop facilitation, qualitative research, technical flow diagram creation and prototyping. I strive for clarity, transparent communications, and creative solutions. I bring out the best in all my engagements because I value the process as much as the outcome.

Beyond my regular responsibilities, I also mentor fellow colleagues, assist newcomers, shared UX knowledge, improve research methods for user testing and compensation testing, and advocate for our customers through every epic and every story.
Senior User Experience Designer

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ)

Docklands, Australia

Sep 2016 - Jun 2017 (9 months)

As the UX designer for the NPP (New Payments Platform) project, my biggest and proudest contribution was re-imagining the way ANZ customers transfer money (in their payment flow called Pay Anyone). I sketched out ideas on paper, rapidly mapped out the flow using Marvel, and designed the macro- and micro-interaction using Axure and JavaScript. We then conducted three rounds of qualitative research using my prototypes where I assisted in the facilitation, and synthesised the findings. My role then evolved as the project progressed and I became the UI designer and designed the interface for the payment flow and other related parts using Sketch. I also worked closely with other designers to help with finessing their UI Kit for Internet Banking.
User Experience Consultant

University of Melbourne

Melbourne, Australia

May 2016 - Aug 2016 (3 months)

My key responsibility is to lead the design and development of the user experience for their Service Management platform, ServiceNow.
User Experience Designer

Telstra

Melbourne, Australia

Nov 2015 - Dec 2015 (1 month)

At Telstra’s Design Practice I improved the self-service experience online and in app for customers with connectivity issues. The process involves gathering recommendations from stakeholder workshops and customer surveys to produce requirements and customer flows, which I brought to life with prototyping. The prototype is then user tested and refined for development.
User Experience Researcher

Melbourne Law School

Melbourne, Australia

Jul 2015 - Sep 2015 (2 months)

I restructured the information architecture for the Melbourne Law School's online presence and the staff intranet. The design of this initial draft uses prior research, competitor analysis and best practice. We workshopped and user tested with an audience taken from the department's key personas, and revised based on findings.
User Experience Designer

Nimblic

Melbourne, Australia

May 2014 - Sep 2015 (1 year 4 months)

I created a set of digital tools to evolve hospital communications. I was in charge of the user experience and interface design for these tools.
User Experience Designer

Unscriptd

Melbourne, Australia

Dec 2014 - Sep 2015 (9 months)

I joined the Unscriptd team to redesign their sports news content creation app. The app is used by elite athletes from a diversity of cultures and geographies. To create an intuitive user journey I designed efficiencies based on their unique lifestyles and usage habits.
User Experience Designer

Australia Post

Melbourne, Australia

Mar 2014 - Nov 2014 (8 months)

I was part of the Digital Fast Track and the UX Design team helping to evolve the Australia Post digital experience. My role included user research, data analysis and reporting; developing prototypes for new and existing digital products; redesigning the UX and UI for the intranet; creating display advertising based on user testing and analytics; and developing interface improvements for the Australia Post website. It is an engaging and diverse role that makes use of my evolving user experience skillset, and my capacity as an experienced designer.
Senior Creative

Hardhat Digital

Melbourne, Australia

May 2013 - Mar 2014 (10 months)

My responsibilities as a Senior Creative included concept development, competitor analysis, IA restructure, wireframe design, prototype development, and interface design, as well as working with the team to develop strategies and deliver digital projects.
Senior User Experience Designer

Appscore

Melbourne, Australia

Feb 2012 - Apr 2013 (1 year 2 months)

I introduced user experience thinking to the company's workflow, and enhanced experiences for mobile apps, mobile sites and websites. I am generally involved throughout the entire process of creating an app or site, from the development of the project brief through to conceptualisation, the creation of information architecture and wireframes, the execution of a design, its testing and refinement. The way in which I work is focussed, but open to relevant feedback and new information. I believe that user experience design should be a highly interactive process, especially when it comes to designing for the constantly evolving demands of mobile.
Art Director

Monkii

Melbourne, Australia

Nov 2009 - Aug 2011 (1 year 9 months)

I worked in a spectrum of disciplines for web and mobile applications, print, branding and marketing collateral. My art direction, web design and UX assistance for ACMI Generator won three awards in Museums and the Web 2011: Best of the Web Award in the categories of Winner of Best Education Site and Winner of Best Overall Site; and Victorian iAward 2011 for the e-Learning category.

Awards

Victorian iAward: Winner of e-Learning category;

Museums and the Web: Best of the Web Award—Winner of Best Education Site;

Museums and the Web: Best of the Web Award—Winner of Best Overall Site;

Print and Production Finishes for Promotional Items (ISBN-13: 978-2940361687);

Commendation in Menu Presentation from ACUMA Awards 2004;

Web Design By Content Vol. 2 (ISBN-13 978-9057681035);

Creative Impulse 6 (ISBN 8886416253)

Affiliations

AGDA

Industries

Skills

Elsewhere on the Web

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On Coroflot

@standard13, member since 2003

Followers 15

Wendy Cooper

Director and Associate/Full Professor, Myron E. Ullman Jr. School of Design, College of DAAP

Director, Industrial Design