Arwen is a Lead User Experience Designer based in Charlotte NC, adept in user research, information architecture, and product design.
Featured Work
User Research • Information Architecture • Product Design
Ekos: Wine Harvest Management
The Ekos Product team identified a key blocker for us to break into the wine market: supporting the harvesting and processing of grapes. As part of a team, I led the research and design for a new, mobile-first harvest management module in Ekos.
Since this project is still underway, I have password-protected it. Contact me to request the password.
"Arwen is the best designer/architect/product person I’ve ever worked with. I recently stopped saying she’s ‘one of’ the best, and I’ve just accepted that she’s at the top of the list of all the talented people I’ve worked with in my career. It’s simply a fact...She is truly a visionary product designer, an excellent communicator, and a natural teacher who helps her colleagues improve every day."
—Will Hortman, Director of User Experience, Fairygodboss
My Process
Understanding, then Designing
To illustrate my approach to user-centered research and design, I’ve created my own version of the Double Diamond popularized by the U.K. Design Council. All engagements are different and may not require this comprehensive approach. However, the overall process stays the same: understand the situation, define needs and goals, generate solution ideas, test those ideas, and refine until goals are met.
My take on the design double diamond concept
User-centered
Users are people. Designing something both usable and useful for people requires getting to know them first. Research efforts often start by simply talking to people about their day, their goals and pain points. etc. However, these direct methods are usually just the beginning. In addition to talking with people, I frequently employ observational and guided interaction techniques. Depending on the engagement, I have conducted custom design ideation and feedback workshops, immersive ethnographic research, usability studies, cognitive walkthrough interviews, and many other endeavors. The deliverables are usually insight reports and documentation — journey maps, task flows, storyboards, etc. — that are highly valuable for designers, stakeholders, product managers, and development teams alike.
Above: one of my favorite storyboards from my work at Rubbermaid Healthcare. It conveyed the urgency of a particular problem, encouraging the team to prioritize a user story they had previously dismissed.