Kate Harris
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About
I have worked in the field of ‘User Experience’ research and design for the last 10 years during which period I was lead designer on a number of large-scale projects including NatWest’s current account journeys and SonyEricsson’s SMART phone, Walkman interface. I’m proficient in using Visio, Balsamic, Photoshop, Fireworks and Dreamweaver throughout design stages. I hold a research Masters distinction in ‘Design and Evaluation of Advanced Interactive Systems’ and a BSc Psychology degree. I take pride in being productive when working independently, collaboratively and remotely whilst possessing excellent interpersonal, communication and organisational skills.
My skills and experience include;
• User research & requirements gathering
• Interaction Design, Information Architecture
• Prototyping (Visio, Balsamic, HTML, CSS)
• High fidelity design comps (Photoshop, Fireworks)
• UX Evaluation (Usability Testing, Expert Reviews, Heuristic walkthroughs)
• Web Analytics (A/B and multivalent testing)
• Documentation (Test scripts, usability issue logs, findings reports, design specifications and presentations for professional audiences)
• Software proficiency (Visio, Balsamic, Omnigraffle, Photoshop, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, Excel, Powerpoint, MS word (completed training in advanced Word for XP)
• Accessibility: Completed training courses on web accessibility guidelines
• Stakeholder management
• Interdisciplinary experience (Vast experience working closely with other designers, product planning managers & systems analysis, marketing, project managers, developers, graphic artists and testers) -
Education
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MRES Masters in Research (MRes) in Design and Evaluation of Advanced Interactive Systems (*Distinction)Lancaster University2002 - 2003Distinction
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2:1 BSc Psychology (2:1)University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne1998 - 20022:1
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A levels Psychology (B), History (B), Biology (B) English (C),Lancaster Girls Grammar School1995 - 1998Psychology (B), History (B), Biology (B) English (C), 9 GCSE’s A-B including English and Mathematics
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Experience
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Academic support workerWolverhampton, United KingdomSep 2012 - Feb 2014 (1 year 5 months)Part time role within the Student Enabling Centre whilst relocating and having my two children. Here, I have worked with a multitude of students with a wide range of disabilities; those with profound visual and auditory impairments, some with mobility issues, mental health issues and many on the higher autistic spectrum. During my time I have had the privilege of gaining a much deeper understanding and awareness of the challenges faced by these young adults socially, academically and technologically.
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User experience digital designerLondon, United KingdomJan 2009 - Aug 2012 (3 years 7 months)Oversaw NatWest’s ‘Current Accounts’, ‘Savings’ and ‘Membership’ areas, working on product acquisition and retention. I lead all NatWest and RBS website design changes as a result of the introduction of the new Current Accounts product range in 2010. I was also design lead on optimization and multi-variant testing projects where I was responsible for the identification of various user segments and the design of tailored interactive panels, which targeted these different segments and user journeys resulting in significant uplift in both acquisition and retention (upgrade).
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User experience researcher & interaction designerCambridge, United KingdomDec 2008 - Dec 2009 (1 year)Worked on the research and design of computer based examination software, which involved contextual enquiry and ethnography within a number of secondary schools, persona creation, requirement gathering and complex scenario creation. The second phase involved conceptual system interface mapping followed by detailed interface design of computer based examination software for students, invigilators as well as a set-up wizard for the technicians.
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User experience researcher & interaction design consultantFreelanceLondon, United KingdomAug 2008 - Nov 2008 (3 months)Specialising in Web and Mobile platforms working on various projects for:-
• Orange mobile - involving user testing and evaluation of a micro site for their flagship Internet Everywhere product.
• NHS - working as designer on fraud and security, their Newsletter magazine and front end website maintenance & design.
• Patterns & Profiles - Expert evaluation for a newly launched professional racing website. -
User experience consultantLondon, United KingdomJul 2007 - Aug 2008 (1 year 1 month)Design agency role working with a variety of clients across a number of sectors helping to optimise their user experience through research and design. As well as leading lab-based usability and contextual research sessions I facilitated design workshops and created prototypes for online interactive web applications. Clients included T-Mobile, Orange, IDEO, Easyjet, Lastminute.com, The Law Society, Breast Cancer Care and Audible.
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Lead interaction designerManchester, United KingdomJul 2004 - Jun 2007 (2 years 11 months)Oversaw the ‘Walkman’ interface for touch screen SMART phones. Being a member of the ‘Multimedia and Messaging’ team for nearly 3 years enabled me to develop my UI design and usability skills immensely. I was involved in the concept design, evaluation and detailed specification of core multimedia applications; being sole designer and coordinator of the Walkman player for the W950 and P990 handsets. I also worked on a variety of smaller application projects including; Messaging, MMS Postcards, GPRS, internet settings, cell broadcast, Sound Recorder and PlayNow. As part of my work I achieved proficiency in:-
• Collaborating with disciplines such as product application planning, systems analysis, development, graphic artists, function tests and usability.
• Working with Styleguides, Symbian and UIQ technology.
• Interpreting and responding to requirements.
• Creating, evolving and manifesting conceptual design.
• Producing high fidelity visualisations using Visio, Flash and Photoshop.
• Authoring and reviewing detailed design specification. -
Junior usability consultantDec 2003 - Jun 2004 (6 months)Working with a variety of clients including John Lewis, Littlewoods, Carphone Warehouse, 02, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Leicester Government. Key skills developed; Usability Testing, Card sorting, Website Evaluations, Report writing, solution development.
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Skills
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On Coroflot@Kate_Harris, member since 2013
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