DRAENNA JACKSON
HI, I'M DRAENNA
...But you can call me DJ. I'm a user experience researcher and designer in Chicago. Want to know more?
READ MOREDOWNLOAD RESUME (PDF)ABOUT ME
Logical, functional, beautiful. Each follows the others. I create logical hierarchies, functional interfaces, and beautifully intuitive designs. I base it all in thorough research, iterative prototyping and insightful user testing. I talk to users, sift through data and find solutions. I love making things user friendly, and I want to help you do it, too.
Interface Design
There are a dozen ways to ruin an interface, but only one or two ways to make it a joy to work in. I hunt for those ways through iterative designs and constant user testing.
Research
Any good plan needs facts to back it up. Whether that comes from unbiased user testing or a literature review of recent research papers, I work to find what needs to be found.
Information Architecture
Wireframes, process flows, hierarchy trees...these are a few of my favorite things. Few things are more satisfying than a well-designed layout. I love finding the order in the pile. I revel in making the flow through a site seamless, and making clicks easy.
Multimedia
I once was a video editor, making things for people to watch. But creating solely visual experiences was too passive. Now I make things for people to interact with. But I'll still break out the Adobe Creative Suite and make some killer motion graphics.
"Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay." -Sallust
SKILLS
"Facts from paper are not the same as facts from people." -Henry Geenan
EXPERIENCE
- 2018
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UX Researcher
Nov 2018 - nowDeveloped detailed research plans and interview scripts for several Digital Roadmap initiatives. Conducted requirements-gathering interviews with key project stakeholders. Conducted both quantitative and qualitative data analysis on data gathered from one-on-one interviews, surveys, and remote and local user testing. Helped the Lead UX Designer to create, evaluate, and iterate on rapid UI prototypes in Axure to support key design decisions. Developed reusable templates to communicate research findings to executive leadership, business stakeholders and project teams.
- 2017
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UX Designer
July 2017 - June 2018Conducting user tests (remote and in-person) and creating research protocols. Designing, prototyping and presenting concepts and wireframes to clients, QA, development, and internal teams. Conducting accessibility audits of live and in-production websites. Conducting competitive analysis reviews and heuristic evaluations of both desktop and mobile sites. Assisting in brainstorming exercises to generate new perspectives.
- 2016
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Research Assistant
February 2016Assistant researcher for a new web-based health management system.
- 2015
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DePaul University
November 2015Graduated with an M.S. in Human Computer Interaction
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Delta Upsilon Pi Epsilon
June 2015Inducted into the International Honors Society for the Computing and Information Disciplines.
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Designer (UX/UI/IxD)
January 2015 - July 2017Working with multi-million dollar business units to design research plans and apply heuristic guidelines to new interfaces. Designing and testing the interfaces for an IoT initiative. Assisting with user testing ahead of the launch of a new equipment line. Creating surveys and collecting statistical data. Creating, designing, and re-designing Sharepoint sites for internal and external communications, based on statistical and qualitative data, including creating wireframes, card sorts, prototypes, and iterations. Creating graphics and video for internal sites.
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UX Intern
January 2015 - May 2015Conducting competitive analysis of retailers in the industry. Along with a CX Designer, conducting interviews to discover our customer base. Assisting in the creation of several archetypes/personas used to guide the site redesign. Conducting and recording usability tests of the new mobile site. Analyzing customer call logs to find patterns in customer needs. Creating Pivot Tables and Powerpoint presentations summarizing research findings.
- 2014
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Web Design Intern
June 2014 - December 2014Assisting in the design, from prototype to execution, of an Enterprise-wide initiative for this Fortune 200 company. Creating surveys and collecting statistical data. Creating, designing, and re-designing Sharepoint sites for internal and external communications, based on statistical and qualitative data, including creating wireframes, prototypes, and iterations. Creating graphics and video for internal sites.
- 2003
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Freelance Film/Video Editor and FX artist
January 2004 - August 2013Using Final Cut and After Effects, along with a host of other applications, I created award-winning content for both big and small screens. This included commercials, TV pilots, training material, fitness videos, and feature-length movies.
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Columbia College Chicago
September 1999 - May 2003Made the Dean's List and graduated with a B.A. in Film/Video Editing
PROJECTS
CONTACT
"To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time." - Leonard Bernstein
I'm available to work in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. I want to help make your project amazing. You should write me. Go ahead, don't be shy.