ANDREA NELSON
USER EXPERIENCE DIRECTOR, DESIGNER & CONSULTANT

Profile

• Fourteen years’ experience as an Experience Design leader, creator & consultant
• Specialized in crafting brand-rich products and software for consumers and enterprise customers, including gestural, multi-touch, and voice-command experiences
• Proven success in inspiring a culture of innovation to deliver engaging experiences that delight audiences, drive business growth & celebrate brands
• Enthusiastic & dedicated leader skilled in directing & mentoring a multi-disciplinary team towards career growth, design leadership, and employee retention
• Impeccably detailed presenter delivering clear, thoughtful, & comprehensive design vision

Experience

Owner, Creative Director & Experience Designer     March 2018 – Present
CRESCENDO STUDIO, LLC  |  SAN FRANCISCO
Creative direction and experience design consultant and business owner. Create superior experiences for Fortune 500 clients resulting in brand-rich software, mobile, and web products.
• Partner with clients, agencies, and teammates as part of embedded design & development teams to direct all design and research initiatives, workshops, and project plans
• Develop trusted partnerships with teams & clients as a representative of my colleagues and a champion of our work throughout client pitches, presentations, and reviews
• Create comprehensive wireframes, site maps, prototypes, & workflows to provide detailed documentation of the intended interaction design to be built
• Produce pixel-perfect visual design, color comps, and assets that embody each brand
• Conduct qualitative user research and analysis to define consumer needs, motivations & behaviors that directly inform product definition & requirements
• Provide constant, clear, reliable communication to facilitate successful remote engagements

Design Director      February 2017 – March 2018
STIMULANT  |  SAN FRANCISCO
Directed a cross-functional team to create interactive, immersive software, products, and experiences blending user collaboration, architectural environments, and emerging technologies combined with digital storytelling. Reported to the Managing Director.
• Lead & mentored a multi-disciplinary, freelance team spanning interaction & visual design, 3D, motion graphics, sound design, industrial & exhibit design, content, & research
• Built successful, trustworthy partnerships with every client as a voice of authority & leadership
• Directed the discovery and definition of early-stage conceptual design, leading charettes and brainstorms; created presentations to sell the concept into full design development
• Designed interactive interfaces using touch screens, augmented reality, voice design, gestural input, and sensor-driven platforms including Kinect, NFC and RFID
• Advocated for strong collaboration resulting in best-of-class work built on time & in budget
• Crafted compelling narratives that utilized digital storytelling to invite interaction
• Launched User Research practice to expand Stimulant’s client services

Director of User Experience Design      March 2015 – May 2016
Senior Manager of User Experience, Business Services      June 2014 – March 2015
TRULIA, ZILLOW GROUP  |  SAN FRANCISCO
Lead a team of seven UX managers and 24 individuals across three offices, spanning User Experience, Visual Design, Research, UX Engineering, and Brand Marketing. Served as a member of the Trulia executive leadership team. Reported to the President of Trulia.
• Champion innovation throughout rapid, successful launches in 2015 including a Best of 2015 Trulia Android App, a top new Mortgage iOS App & a major site-wide redesign
• Hire quickly & effectively to rebuild the UX team following Trulia's acquisition by Zillow Group
• Define & execute design strategies that deliver rapid growth of business objectives for the Trulia & Premier Agent brands, across four business units
• Direct initiatives across product & marketing design teams to create a cohesively branded user experience across all consumer touch points, products & campaigns
• Establish & lead the Unified Experience Languages team to design & engineer two OOCSS pattern libraries that centralize visual, interaction & motion design for two distinct brands
• Mentor managers & team across all levels to provide clear growth paths & career objectives
• Design and fabricate the Mobile Device Wall, a portable board of watch, tablet & phone devices to promote mobile-first innovation throughout design & development

Director of Experience Design      February 2011 – June 2014
Principal User Experience Designer      October 2010 – February 2011
MODCLOTH  | SAN FRANCISCO
Lead and mentor a multi-disciplinary User Experience team throughout all levels from Associate to Principal, across two offices. Report to the Senior Vice President of Product.
• Direct all design initiatives across desktop, tablet, mobile & iOS to drive the product roadmap & deliver 30% year-over-year revenue growth
• Champion innovation for the user experience strategy through mobile-first prototyping using responsive design, author ModCloth UX principles & develop an interactive style guide
• Establish & drive the agile user experience design process
• Mentor individual professional development with career paths, internships, UX book club
• Reformed the company's meeting culture to increase productivity & employee happiness

Senior User Experience Designer      September 2009 – October 2010
FLIP VIDEO, CISCO SYSTEMS, INC.  |  SAN FRANCISCO
Crafted a multi-platform user experience enabling consumers to manage & share their videos. Support quarterly international releases; report to the Director of User Experience.

Senior User Experience Designer      January 2008 – September 2009
User Experience Designer      May 2006 – January 2008
Associate Information Designer      May 2005 – May 2006
FLUID, INC.  |  SAN FRANCISCO
Develop richly branded ecommerce experiences that champion the brand & increase revenue. Repeatedly recognized for top performance. Report to the VP of Information Design & Usability.