Hi! I am a Lead Designer with a proven track record in delivering products and experiences through hands-on research and innovative design studies. On this page, you'll discover the unique qualities that define me as a designer.
My Uniqueness
DESIGN | GLOBAL IMPACT
In my 10 years in the design industry, with 4 years leading team in North America Business at Motorola and 25 patents to my name, I've developed a wide range of compelling solutions that are in sync with business objectives and contribute to strategic growth. These range from handheld devices to mixed reality, incorporating voice, and touch interactions, and span industries from consumer, medical, furniture to public safety.
I specialize in making an impact through design and research, taking concepts beyond the drawing board and into customers' lives. This requires strong negotiation, alignment, approval, and implementation skills. I have a proven track record in both global corporate companies and agile small startups.
User Journeys
BUILD RIGHT EXPERIENCE
As a "Problem Definer," I focus on distinguishing between building the right experience versus building the experience right. The industry often rushes into solutions without fully grasping customer issues and journeys. My approach emphasizes the importance of user journeys and flows to accurately identify the real issues. Here are activities I take:
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Conducting in-depth research on users, their products (HW and SW), behaviors and needs.
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Defining User Personas with goals and tasks.
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Sketching day-in-a life scenarios and user journeys to define pain points and opportunities.
This critical problem definition phase precedes aligning with stakeholders and business goals to build the "RIGHT" solution, using an agile process. It emphasizes understanding before solving. This approach applies to both hardware and user experience.
Strategical Partner
LEARN AND ADAPT
I'm dedicated to innovation, constantly seeking anything new. My career includes developing various concepts and leading confidential alpha projects that have shaped organizational visions. I'm IP-savvy, adept at focusing patent claims for significant protection. Beyond my projects, I mentor junior designers and interns, fostering their development. I initiated and led a Design AI team at Motorola, conducting training sessions to keep designers up-to-date with the latest tools.
My role involves conducting thorough competitive analyses and market research for potential partnerships and acquisitions, with a focus on important business and technical aspects like ergonomics and usability. The insights and recommendations I provide to CTOs have been crucial in guiding successful acquisitions, cementing my position as a trusted strategic advisor.
N Series Design Approach
PROCESS STRATEGY
TRUST THE PROCESS
Design operations are critical for embedding best practices in every aspect of design, ranging from research insights to design systems. This involves conducting deep market research and user studies to fully understand the target audience's preferences and behaviors, analyzing existing products and trends for potential innovation and improvements, and gathering and analyzing data to guide the design process towards a product that satisfies both functional and aesthetic needs. The result of this comprehensive approach is a clear and consistent understanding of the design process, ensuring high-quality outputs and predictable delivery schedules.
ITERATE
In the design process, a significant emphasis is placed on user experience (UX), ensuring that products are not only aesthetically pleasing but also intuitive and user-friendly. This involves conducting usability tests with actual users to gather essential feedback, crucial for refining the design. The process also includes adapting the design to meet the varied needs and preferences of different user demographics, thereby enhancing user satisfaction and accessibility. Also, concepts undergo thorough evaluation and refinement based on functionality, feasibility, aesthetics, and user experience. Creating prototypes for testing and validation is a critical step, using iterative feedback to make continuous improvements, ensuring that the final product successfully meets user needs and design standards.
COLLABORATE
The final design and production stage is marked by a strategic balance of give and take, emphasizing cross-disciplinary collaboration. It's a fine line between aligning with business objectives and advocating for the product's best interests. This involves working closely with engineers, marketing specialists, and others, finalizing the design with a keen focus on materials, dimensions, and manufacturing methods. Throughout this process, the aim is to maintain a harmony between practicality and innovation, ensuring the product is both cost-effective and of the highest quality. The ultimate goal is to create a product that fulfills market demands while exemplifying creative and user-focused design.
The design process I employ, adaptable to the project, typically encompasses four phases: Research, Synthesize, Design, and Evaluate-Validate. The core of this process is a deep focus on understanding the customer, often involving immersive experiences like firefighter training or police ride-alongs to identify user pain points.
Key elements of my approach include:
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Placing the user at the center of the design process.
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Welcoming innovative and disruptive ideas.
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Bridging various technologies and guiding them towards execution.
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Visualizing the integrated experience's final outcome.
Scenario Walk-Thru
AR/VR Demos
Hand Sketches
AI Sketches
2D/3D Development
Detail Design
Block Models (Prototypes)
UI Mockups | Renderings
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
PROGRAM TYPES
CLASS A
Class A programs involve comprehensive exploratory research phases. They utilize various studies like workflow analysis, journey maps, and use case analysis to define the program. These programs are heavily influenced by research and require extensive cross-discipline collaboration.
CLASS B
Class B programs entail a limited pre-initiation phase. These programs require updated personas, scenario and use case analysis to frame the problems effectively. These programs are categorized for next gen products.
CLASS C
Class C programs are designed for known situations and program spins, often involving limited or no new use cases. Typically, these programs focus on product refreshes.
KEY DELIVERABLES
ONE PAGERS
One-pagers are developed to define each project and ensure alignment among internal design teams. These documents are based on program requirements, which are collaboratively determined by external teams.
SCHEDULES
The schedule outlines milestones and deliverables on agreed-upon dates. It ensures program transparency and aligns stakeholders.
DESIGN DOCUMENT
Design documents contain insights and work-in-progress items. They are utilized for program collaboration, design reviews, and making key decisions.
CMF DOCUMENT
CMF (Color, Material, Finishes) documents clarify the final product's draft finishing, appearance, materials, and specifications. They are essential for aligning with vendors and engineering teams.
BUILD DOCUMENT
Build documents are used to identify quality issues, defects, gaps, KPIs, tactility, travel, drag marks, blushing, flash, etc. They ensure the product meets standards for function, fit, and finish.
HUMAN FACTORS | USABILITY
Human factors documents concentrate on hands-on assessments, heuristic reviews, usability, wearability, and accessibility for all product builds. They ensure products meet all human factors requirements.