User Experience
A talented user experience designer, I have the know-how to combine creativity and usability to build amazing experiences for clients. As the Director of Creative, UX and UI Design for Experts Exchange, I worked to optimize user engagement for both the user and the existing community members of Experts Exchange. Some highlights for my time at Experts Exchange were building personas, creating customer journey maps and doing product research for the many products of Experts Exchange. I strongly believe that understanding user's pain points leads to the opportunities that a business can be successful on.
Skills and Responsibilities
- Perform user testing
- Create surveys for feedback
- Build UX personas
- Analyze data and traffic patterns
- Conduct A/B tests
- Competitor Analysis
- Build prototypes and wireframes
- Interview internal and external stakeholders
- Perform product research for no/go analysis
- Lead empathy map, journey map, card sorting and sketch excercises
Samples
Personas: Tech Professional persona
Proto Personas: Marketing Data Mining Project
Wireframe: "Simplified" home page for Experts Exchange
User Research: Affinity map of user interviews
Wireframe: Personal Settings Experts Exchange
Hi Fi Mock Up: Notifications page Experts Exchange
Design
I have been designing quality solutions for businesses and clients for over 15 years. I believe that an empathic design approach helps to deliver the best results. I spend time to understand and prioritize the users requirements and goals. I draw inspiration from others but am not afraid to break from the norm to deliver something new. I am well versed in many print process and web development and understand the benefits and limitations of each.
Design Deliverables
- User Interface
- Brand Identity
- Iconography
- Marketing Collateral
- Conversion Centered Landing Pages
- Technical Sheets
- Tradeshow Design
Leadership
I'm a natural leader, a result of being the oldest of six. I provide mentorship and direction by being hands on and leading by example. I hire great teams and give my senior people autonomy to make decisions. I have a big personality that allows me to build strong relationships with team members that last longer than our professional time together.
I specialize in collaborating with cross discipline team members to deliver great user experiences that satisfy both the needs of the user and the business. I have sat in roles of scrum product owner, production manager, team leads and creative director. In all positions, I work with internal and external stakeholders to prioritize issues and business decisions.
At Experts Exchange, I was the Director of Creative, UX and UI Design. My team was responsible for the user experience and visual brand of Experts Exchange. I provided direction and support for a team of UX designers, UI designers, marketing designers, and front-end developers. A few accomplishments include:
- Consistent UI design across mobile and desktop experiences by creating design systems and UI guidelines documentation
- Establishing UX best practices by collecting user feedback, doing user interviews and performing regular user testing
- Becoming a Conversion Centered Design specialist for marketing team and campaigns
- Building UX personas
Development
A self taught front end developer, I have worked in agencies and product sites like Experts Exchange. I write clean semantic code under the pressure of high demand quick turnaround environments. I enjoy using CSS3 and jQuery to add interest to a page through subtle animations and interactiveness. I pride myself with my attention to details in cross browser displays. I have experience in multiple cms systems.
Languages
- HTML
- CSS
- jQuery
- PHP
Skills
Development Samples
Print Knowledge
A student of California Polytechnic State University's (Cal Poly) Graphic Communication Department, I learned in depth about all major print processes; off-set, gravure, digital printing, screen printing and embroidery. This included understanding every step of the print process from estimating to bindery details. With a concentration in Design Reproduction Technology, I focused on designing with an understanding of print limitations and helping to guide clients towards affordable solutions for their print needs. As a result I often play the role of print broker and consultants for companies and clients.
My print experience includes production management for screen printing shops, where I helped to schedule and manage client work for multiple screen printing presses and embroidery machines. I also spent time as a graphic designer for newspapers, designing layout and preparing print files for the press. I managed the embroidery shop for golf clothing line, Straight Down, where I was in charge of file preparation and overseeing the production of their high end deliverables.
Contact Me
Download Ryan's Resume
Say Hello! Ryan@RyanKilimnik.com