Recent Work

NETFLIX: Set-top Box
UI Design Consultant, 2005-2007
Services: Contextual Inquiry, Persona Development, Concept Design, Design Development, Implementation Support

May 2008: Product Launch! In his review, New York Times columist David Pogue asks "Is the Netflix Player, then, the movie box the world is waiting for? Not quite...But it comes darned close." Why isn't the Netflix box perfect? The usual suspects - content and video quality. However, those issues aside, Pogue claims that "player’s on-screen menus are extremely simple...your wish list appears as a parade of colorful DVD cases on a scrolling shelf." A delightful product that will only get better as content and bandwidth improve.



TiVo: Set-top Box
Senior User Interface Designer, 2001- 2005
After working at TiVo as a design consultant for six months, I was invited to become a permanent member of the TiVo user interface team. During the four years I worked at TiVo, I was UI lead for 3 software releases. I also wrote the TiVo User Interface Guidelines, which define a taxonomy of the existing interface and design mantras for the future.





DIABETESWELL: Medical Web Portal
UI Design Consultant
This project, which was funded by Johnson & Johnson, consisted of four interface designs for the primary participants in the care process - the patient, nurse, administrator, and insurance company. Working with a small team of consultants, we conducted a discovery process focused on work flow analysis, created the clinical and interface design specifications; and coordinated the technical team, testing, and launch.




Cooper Interaction Design
User Interface Designer, 1998-1999
GREENLEAF MEDICAL SYSTEMS: Greenleaf had the unfortunate experience of launching a product on the Newton platform just months before Apple announced it would abandon the Newton. We were asked to redesign the product for a WinCE platform. The existing product design was very good, so we focused our efforts on creating tools for quick and easy data entry, such as diagnostic sliders that allowed the therapist to enter data with one quick gesture.



Neohouse Consulting
Founder, 1993-1998
AUTODESK: When I was a building architect I watched clients struggle to visualize design options. Their pain suggested a meaningful product idea -- computer software that would allow consumers to visualization options during the design process (remember, this was 1993). I developed the idea, sold it to Autodesk, and then acted as the lead designer, working with Autodesk's development team, through three product release cycles. According to the New York Times Picture This Home! "...was the easiest and most enjoyable of the multimedia home design aids."

References

William Chien, Product Director, Netflix
Margret Schmidt, Vice President of User Experience, TiVo
Jonathan Korman, principal, Cooper Interaction Design
Janet McLaughlin, Project Director, Greenleaf Medical Systems & DiabetesWell

Education

InContext Design, Rapid Contextual Inquiry, 2007
Nielsen Norman Group, Design Week, 2004
Stanford University, Medical Informatics, Short Course, 2001
Edward Tufte, Information Design, 1999
UIE, Managing Design Complexity, 1997
UIE, Rapid Prototyping, 1997
University of California, Berkeley, BA, Architecture, 1981

Teaching

I teach design methodology at OpNet, a nonprofit organization that seeks to "Bridge the Digital Divide" and positively impact the lives of bright and talented young people.

Speaking Engagements

I speak about methods to uncover valuable product features, to focus the team, and to validate product design. Web2000, November 3, 2000, San Francisco, CA; WebDC, August 11, 2000, Washington, DC; WebLA, May 25, 2000, Los Angeles, CA.

Affiliations

2007 Academy of Arts and Sciences, Interactive TV Emmy Awards, Peer Review Judge
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
BayCHI, Bay Area Computer Human Interaction
American Institute of Architects, Licensed Architect