Resume

Alex Y Chen has 6 years of experience delivering products with integrated teams in both in-house and consulting environments.

Experience

Table XI

• Facilitate design thinking workshops and discussions with both the product team (typically in teams of 3-6) and directly with the client, including presentations to sponsors and executive-level stakeholders.
• Create UX artifacts (mid- to high-fi wireframes, user flow maps, information architecture maps, and user research reports) to support collaboration and agile development.
• Conduct user research to drive insights and empathy with users, mainly through interviews and usability testing (playing both a lead and supporting role).
• Involved with the DEIB initiative (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) and co-lead of the accessibility working group.
• Support content creation for web and social media platforms (writing, illustrations).

Shure, Inc.

• Led the product design and research of Designer, an installed desktop app for networked AV system configuration built by a team of about 20 engineers with about 2,000 downloads/quarter.
• Collaborated with a core requirements team (including product management, software engineers, and QA) to ensure the design solutions were technically robust, with a focus on steerable microphone technology.
• Facilitated discussions with internal and external users to identify user goals, pain points, and usability issues alongside the research team and product management.
• Led the accessibility initiative with the team of about 10 product designers by giving educational presentations, creating accessible guidelines, and integrating access as part of design review.

Design for America

Collaborated with a core team of 5 people to mentor and support a national network of 900+ students, mentors, and community members. Supported the website redesign through user research, sketching, and wireframing. Created content for communication and marketing materials.

The Providence Plan

Worked with a team of about 5 data programmers and analysts to create graphics for print materials and web interfaces to promote public data access and literacy in Rhode Island.

Studio Dunn

Supported the development of home furnishings and accessories through hand sketching and model-making, 3D modeling, and rapid prototyping (i.e. CNC milling, 3D printing) by working directly with the lead designer and studio owner.

Education

General Assembly

Rhode Island School of Design

Tools

• Admin: Microsoft Office, Google Drive
• Agile: Jira, Trello, Pivotal
• Collaboration: Miro, Mural
• Design: Adobe Creative Cloud (Illustrator, Indesign), Sketch, Figma, Zeplin, Whimsical
• Front-end: Basic understanding of HTML & CSS

Mentorship and Advisory

Chicago Portfolio School

Guest critic and lecturer for interaction design students.

Sam Fox School, Wash U

Guest critic for interaction design students.

American Alliance of Museums (AAM)

Collaborated with Rebirth Garments to advise on a standard set of accessible communication guidelines.

Speaking Engagements

#FundraisingTech Event

Gave a talk called "Introduction to Digital Accessibility" that highlighted key aspects of accessibility and how people could get started incorporating access into their process. Representing myself.

Write/Speak/Code

Facilitated the workshop “Design for Accessibility: Steps Toward Radical Disability Justice." Representing myself.

Better World by Design

Facilitated the workshop "Design for Accessibility: Steps Toward Radical Disability Justice." This has 3 components: an introduction to accessibility and disability, an activity to recognize ableism and access barriers, and an activity to perform an accessibility audit of a product or website. Representing myself.

UX Strategy Meetup

Gave the introductory talk for "A Sound Strategy: Designing Invisible Experiences," a panel comprised of our product design team. Representing Shure, Inc.

Chicago Design Week

Spoke on the "Designing Welcoming Experiences" panel with 3 other speakers, all of whom had immigrant backgrounds and discussed the idea of a welcoming experience through that lense. Organized by Design for America, representing myself.

UX Strategy Meetup

Gave a talk about product strategy and social impact of a community composting app, for which I led the product design. Representing Compost Connect.

Better World by Design

Facilitated the workshop "Design with Compassion," an introduction to human-centered design. Representing Design for America.