I am an experience designer with a strong interest in storytelling, working mainly in digital environments on UX and UI. I am also a researcher, working towards a Master of Research (MRes) degree, with the focus on transmedia storytelling, within a theatrical environment, based on an ethnographical study of a live project. I am particularly interested in how the use of storytelling can inspire audiences to become participants and collaborators, and also provide meaning to their actions.
I believe that the success of any experience, product, application or event lies in an ability to carefully orchestrate the user journey through that experience, my personal interest lies in orchestration of the experiences via transmedia storytelling. Subsequently, I have spent a lot of my time working, researching and learning experience design from one of the oldest mediums of representation, theatre, this included planning a transmedia experience campaign for the live show Leaving Planet Earth at the EIF (Edinburgh International Festival). The knowledge gained from live studies of a theatre audience has proved to be indispensable to both my commercial and personal work, as it made me even more focused on user-centered design.
In addition to my studies, I have also been freelancing for over 5 years, and have worked for companies in Edinburgh, London, Stockholm, Poland, Russia and the US, covering a variety of roles from motion graphics designer, web designer, UX and UI designer, graphic designer and also project manager, both in-house roles and independently. Freelancing has taught me how to wear many hats at the same time, deliver on deadlines and on budget, and most importantly how to deal with clients direct.
Projects
- Leaving Planet Earth Multiplatform ProjectLeaving Planet Earth is an award nominated transmedia project that encompasses a main theatrical event, a variety of online websites, footage, posts, social media accounts, pop-up installations and projections, all helping to unfold a story of humanities mass migration into space. Transmedia storytelling is a process of unfolding the narrative over multiple channels in order to create a deeper, richer experience. Preferably each of the channels tells a different, unique part of the story (Jenkins, 2007). Leaving Planet Earth was produced by the famous Scottish theatre company, Grid Iron, in collaboration with Edinburgh Napier University and The University of Edinburgh. The show had its world premiere as part of the curated programme of the 2013 Edinburgh International Festival, and was performed in The Ratho Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, with the audience departure point in The Edinburgh International Conference Centre. MY ROLE Branded as a transmedia designer, and responsible for the creative output, my main responsibility lay in the expansion of the narrative online, as well as creating events in the physical world, including projections and installations. My duties included finding and implementing story hooks, which could be further expanded online and which would provide incentives for the audience to engage. As part of the Grid Iron team I also liaised with fellow stakeholders such as Universities and their designers and developers, EIF, and also worked closely with the co-directors/co-writers and producer. I had to design, deliver and launch transmedia platforms on time and on budget, with the distribution and orchestration of them crucial in order to achieve cohesion with the main theatrical event. While the transmedia campaign was 'live' I was responsible for live audience interaction, and managing seven internship students who worked in the capacity of transmedia assistants, and were helping out with pop-up installations and blogging. Visual identity of some of the online experience was also designed by myself. Some aspects of that designed aesthetics were used within the show.
- Girl, Interrupted VideoThe backstage video of a photoshoot, 'Girl Interrupted' which took place in Summerhall, the former Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, in Edinburgh in November 2012. Photos were taken by Aleksandra Kocela. MY ROLE I directed, filmed and edited the piece. I had a pre-production meeting with the photographer who wanted to ensure a natural feel to the production, but also wanted something different from all the other backstage videos. It gave me an opportunity to experiment with tints, split screens and typography, and I also managed to source a Moby soundtrack for free. The footage aims to tell the story of the day of the shoot, it's reportage format, illustrating the work of everyone involved in the process, it is also a piece which can standalone from the main photographic shoot.
- Grid Iron WebI take huge pride in everything I do, and it is important for me to maintain a strong relationship with my clients, where both sides are happy to work together and the final outcome reflects that. I have worked with the Grid Iron theatre company on a few occasions prior to this project including the Leaving Planet Earth Transmedia Experience. My proven track record of efficiency and creativity was the main reason why this famous theatre group asked me to work with them again. Their previous web presence was rather outdated, the client was after something fresh and elegant, which would make them look more contemporary, and showcase their vast archive of past productions. The most important thing from the client perspective was the ability to manage their own content going forward. They were also very specific as to the way the website was experienced by their audience, and wanted it to reflect the same way the audience would view their theatre productions, making it imperative to get the user experience journey right. Wordpress CMS was built making it simple for the client to use and update. MY ROLE The creative process was rather organic, beginning with an initial chat with the client about their expectations and their target audience, leading on to the information architecture of the site, then the use and feel. Based upon that I prepared 3 highly finished mock-ups to present, with one version being chosen and further developed. Part of my role was finding and managing a suitable developer who would build the site. I chose to work with Odd Panda Design and was responsible for managing their work and making sure they deliver on time and on budget. Once the website was complete I gave the client tutorials on how to use the website and update the content.
- SonicDropSonicDrop is an application designed for screenless experience. Currently most of the phone based applications are designed to viewed, which distracts the person from their surroundings, forcing them to focus entirely on the screen in order to consume content. With the advent of voice control applications such as Siri and Cortana, companies are recognising the huge potential in sound based apps. In terms of emotional impact we feel sound before we can hear it, this quality gives us an opportunity to implement sound into the design of product and services where we can emotionally influence the end user. The initial funding to develop the idea for this app came from The Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA). The application presented below is a proof of concept project and shows only the main features of the app, as due to time and resources we were not able to create a more elaborate version, we concentrated on the MoSCoW approach (must-have, should-have, could-have). Our aim for this project was to see how a soundscape can be presented within a social sphere and the users perception of it, plus if it’s possible to make sonic generated content appeal to a wider audience. MY ROLE The funding from SICSA was given to myself and a colleague, with whom I worked on the initial concept, wireframing, prototyping and usability testing. I developed the user interface for the application and also sourced a developer who would build the app, the subsequent briefing of the developers and regular status meetings and testing were all part of my role.
- NOVARTIS PHARMA EXPERIENCEI had an amazing opportunity to work for an experience design company based in London, MCCGLC ,on a contract both in UK and Stockholm. In London I worked with their team on booth designs for their blue chip client Novartis Pharma for European Respiratory Society Congress in Vienna . In Stockholm I was working on site with the team again for Novartis Pharma on their booth for European Federation of Neurological Societies. MY ROLE In London I was tasked with the job of motion graphic designer. My duties included animating infographics and lip-syncing of characters. The work I created was used during the event on screens in the booths and/or during presentations. In Stockholm I worked as a graphic designer. My duties included supporting the activities of a photobooth, mainly working on PS on a background retouch of photos taken by visitors in a booth.
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Work history
UI/UX Designer
London, United KingdomFull Time
Working as a part of the Digital Transformation team for UK based clients.
- User experience design (UX), customer experience (CX), prototyping, experience mapping, client workshops, 5 day sprints
- Visual design; including presentations & data visualisation
- Benchmarking, trend and innovation research
- Responsible for establishing and growing inner design community within the organisation, evangelising design to fellow teammates
Clients include: Anglian Water, Liverpool Football Club, Ulster Bank, NS&I
Please note: Due to confidentiality issues, samples of projects undertaken can only be shown during the interview
Freelance Experience Designer & Creative
Freelance
I am an experience designer with a strong interest in storytelling, working mainly in digital environments on UX and UI, but have used my skills to enhance live experiences, in particular theatre. I am also a researcher who is about to finish a Master of Research degree with the focus on transmedia storytelling within a theatrical environment. I am particularly interested in how the use of storytelling can inspire audiences to become participants and collaborators, and also provide meaning to their actions.
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Skills
- Events
- Film
- Theatre
- Visual Arts
- Art Direction
- Multi-platform Content
- Mobile
- Game Mechanics
- Web Design
- Motion Design
- Final Cut Pro
- Illustrator
- Indesign
- Photoshop
- UX Design
Education
Master by Research: Leaving Planet Earth Transmedia Storytelling Within a Theatrical Environment
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Leaving Planet Earth: Transmedia storytelling within a theatrical environment.
My research thesis is based upon an ethnographical study of this live project.
I was working as part of the Grid Iron (theatre company) design team.
BDes(Hons) Design and Digital Arts
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Awards
Master by Research Funding