Reference application
My role: Concept, data model and data structuring, UX design, art direction
The Gazetteer was designed to showcase aspects of Actuate's new REST API in both native and web-based applications (the application itself was a hybrid of the two). It was also demonstrated how Actuate technology could work in a responsive environment (here on both the desktop and on tablets).
Drawing on World Bank figures, the app allowed users to explore decades of demographic data using either a map-based atlas interface or a more traditional drill-down menu. Either route would bring the user to a detailed report at the world, continent, region, or country level.
Product
My role: Concept development, oversight of UX, art direction
In early 2014, we rolled out a "freemium" version of the iHub, allowing new customers to use the product for free, subject to daily data limits, which would be increased on a subscription basis.
To introduce new users to the product, we built a wizard-like Uploader that walked them through importing an existing report design. A sample report, titled "Are We There Yet?" was also included.
The Uploader then demonstrated several key features of the product, such as the ability to embed reports in other applications, and also allowed users to see how the product tracked consumption of the daily data allotment.
We also used this project as an opportunity to evolve the standard product look-and-feel, softening the visual design to bring it in line with contemporary "consumer-like" trends in enterprise software.
Web-based Resource
My role: Information architecture, content strategy, migration strategy
This is one of my favorite projects and my favorite clients — an interesting UX challenge for a savvy client who fully engaged in the development of their site.
Mills College has been a trailblazer for much of its history. Founded in the mid-19th Century, it was the first women's college west of the Rockies; a pioneer in women's higher education, and the first U.S. single-sex college to welcome transgender students.
In the early 2000s, Mills decided to take its student handbook online. While many schools simply launched brochureware (an old Web 1.0 insult: the online equivalent of a PDF that simply replicates a print document the site is intended to supplant), Mills wanted to take advantage of the flexibility of online media to build a truly interactive handbook that would allow students to explore and access information in ways a printed book couldn't offer.
Over the course of several months, I developed a model for a site that would allow students to explore classes and majors, connect with professors, and make use of essential services. The client was no passive player in this development: every iteration of my work was examined and discussed in detail. UX folks often complain that their clients get in the way of good design. But in this case, I got to work with a smart and thoughtful client that took the time to really look at what I'd proposed and then offer detailed and useful feedback.
