Mike Harmala
User Experience Design Portfolio

Resume

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Contact. me{at}mikeharmala.com

EDUCATION

University of Michigan School of Information, Ann Arbor, MI
Master of Science in Information, 05/2010
Specialization in Human Computer Interaction

University of Michigan College of Literature, Science & Arts, Ann Arbor, MI
Bachelor of Arts, 04/2007
Major in Economics & Classical Civilization

EXPERIENCE

Zaum Interactive New York, NY
Information Architect, 08/2010—present

  • Direct and advise usabililty, information design and architecture solutions for a Fortune 500 financial company’s web and interactive products.
  • Build wireframes and site maps, consult with designers on feedback and solutions.

Tec-Ed, Inc. Ann Arbor, MI
UX Intern, 07/2009—08/2010

  • Advised changes and improvements to client product designs using established usability heuristics.
  • Researched and drafted a search engine optimization plan for the company’s web assets.
  • Supported the preparation and moderation of usability tests for physical and digital interfaces.

Season of Usability Ann Arbor, MI {remote}
Kadu Intern, 06/2009—11/2009

  • Constructed interface mockups to handle expanded user features on a new version of the Kadu chat application.
  • Incorporated design patterns, usability heuristics and peer critique to refine prototype interaction flow and interface layout.

PROJECTS

Suit Up
Advanced Project & Social Computing Design, 01/2010—04/2010

  • Discovered potential users’ motivations and goals through interviews and a survey, in order to inform our design for a clothing and fashion social network.
  • Sketched and generated low-fidelity interface designs, and developed a functional version of the web service.

Night Beacon
Interface & Interaction Design, 09/2009—04/2010

  • Developed user studies, designed and refined sketches, low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes for a mobile phone application.
  • Won first place in the 2010 CHI Conference Student Design Competition.

How To Ship
Evaluation of Systems & Services, 01/2009—04/2009

  • Utilized interviews, competitive analysis, heuristic evaluation, surveys and usability tests to recommend improvements for a community web site’s design and functionality.
  • Analyzed research findings and compiled a detailed client report for each project phase.

Where The Money Goes
Information Visualization, 01/2009—04/2009

  • Conceptualized, prototyped and produced a visualization tracking political financing.

Neighborhood Senior Services
Contextual Inquiry & Project Management, 09/2008—12/2008

  • Recommended new, efficient workflow process solutions for a non-profit’s client request services, using contextual inquiry.
  • Wrote and presented a report of findings to classmates and the client organization.

SKILLS

Methods. Card Sorting, Competitive Analysis, Contextual Inquiry, Heuristic Evaluation, Interviewing, Information Visualization Design, Persona & Scenario Creation, Project Management, Prototyping, Search Engine Optimization, Sketching, Usability Testing, Wireframing

Technical/Web. CSS, HTML, Wordpress, Java*, JQuery*, Perl*, PHP*, Python*

Applications. Illustrator, OmniGraffle, Photoshop, Visio, InDesign*

* Basic, functional competency & experience.