“If you have the opportunity to work with Tori, don’t hesitate, just do it... you’ll be bringing some kick-a** design talent to your team and you will have a blast too.”
– Brenda Stine, Process39Blog
Sporadic musings on mostly UX topics
Hi.
I’m a user experience designer living and working in Austin, Texas. Take a look at some of my work, get in touch, or read some of the totally true things people have said about working with me.
When I’m not at my computer, I’m also a fearless DIYer, leader of Austin’s IxDA local group, electronics hobbyist, cyclist, and photographer.
About Me
I’m a user experience professional who has been designing useful and intuitive web and mobile applications for over 15 years. I have a broad range of experience with consumer and enterprise applications, and am adept at working with everyone from small startups to existing UX teams.
Available for short or long-term engagements.
I’m a swiss-army knife of UX – I’m skilled at a broad range of UX practices, including research, concepting, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing. As of 2011, I've decided to shift my focus to primarily mobile applications.
Past clients include:
- BestFit Media
- 97d West
- Volusion
- FoodontheTable
- T-3
- 97dwest
- SolarWinds
- What I've been up to lately
Need help creating great experiences for your customers? I’d love to hear from you. Send me an email and I’ll follow up quickly. If we don't happen to sync up, I’ll try to put you in touch with someone that might be suitable.
My Background
My career began in graphic design in the days of the Mac Plus, and grew with the boom of desktop publishing. My increasing computer savvy led me to managing some of the first, and later, largest computer center operations for Kinko’s stores in Texas and in the Bay Area. While in the Bay area, my formal education in film piqued my interest in CD-ROM development, which quickly led me to make the transition to working primarily on the web. Upon my return to Austin, I worked as Senior Designer for Excite’s communities products. It was this experience in applications– instant messaging, message boards, and chat – which would define my career in the coming years, as I became more focused on the user experience and interaction design, and worked on increasingly complicated desktop, mobile and web applications for Excite, The Cobalt Group, and HomeAway.
My Other Sites
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iphonography
I still forget my phone is a camera, too. Here’s some photos I’ve taken when I’ve remembered.
What I read online
UX and Web Dev
- Signal vs. Noise
- IxDA Discussion
- Johnny Holland
- Pasta&Vinegar
- SixRevisions
- Carsonified
- The 99 Percent
- A List Apart
- Bokardo - Social Web Design
Design
Electronics and Makers
Amusements
Work
As a consultant, much of my more recent work falls under NDAs. Here’s a small sampling of screens and wireframes I’ve designed.
As of 2011, I've primarily worked on mobile projects, including iPhone, iPad and Android applications. My work on these consumer applications are not (yet) available for public viewing, but I would be glad to talk through my role, show my work, and talk through the design problems in person.
In 2010, and in conjunction with Theresa Neil, I've worked on projects for Innography, Paypal and Adobe. Other recent projects, below, are still in development or private beta:
Wisegate ITDesigned from the ground up, WisegateIT.com is a gated website app designed specifically for IT professionals. Heavily utilizes social tools: reviews, ratings, badges, activity monitoring, discussions. Currently in private Beta.
Volusion
Four month redesign of portions of Volusion's public-facing e-commerce store administrative UI. Not yet released.
OpenText (formerly Vignette)
Brought on mid-project, I worked on the interface for their inline Content Management tools. Required knowledge of the ext-JS library and the ability to mitigate legacy issues.
Older work not under NDA:
Client: Launchpad Coworking
Role: Concepts, interaction design, visual design, user testing
Launchpad was a project which allowed independent professionals of all kinds to book meeting rooms and workspaces.
Role: Concepts, interaction design, visual design, user testing
Launchpad was a project which allowed independent professionals of all kinds to book meeting rooms and workspaces.
Client: Slooh
Role: Conceptual Wireframes
Slooh is a service which allows amateur astronomers to view and take images using three observatories worldwide. I was tasked with visualizing an online version of their printed educational workbooks sold in retail stores.
Role: Conceptual Wireframes
Slooh is a service which allows amateur astronomers to view and take images using three observatories worldwide. I was tasked with visualizing an online version of their printed educational workbooks sold in retail stores.
Recommendations
Tori has a deep understanding of both interaction and visual design. Her creativity extends well beyond web design, however - you want her on your team when you need ideas and solutions in any area. Tori knows how to think, period.”
– Julie Gomoll, Chief Schemer & EntreprenuerTori joined our project at Vignette at a time-critical phase and ramped up quickly within a technically complex environment. She quickly and independently integrated herself within the team, establishing great working relationships with developers immediately.
– Tony Haverda, Sr. Manager UX, OpenText