A M I R O

About Amir

I'm a Product (UX) Designer, and my goal is to improve product interactions, interfaces, and experiences to create user-centered products. I do my best to help clients/businesses implement the most effective user-centered design principles to ensure we discover, understand, and communicate the business requirements, the emotional desires of their customers, and the context in which these coalesce. I use a design thinking / human-centered approach when solving my clients' challenges and specialize in information architecture and user research. I've spent more than 400 hours giving design lectures and workshops.

Experience

2U

  • UX Lead Instructor
  • 2014-2017

Hilton

  • UX Lead
  • 2014-2017

Code & Theory

  • Associate Interaction Design Director
  • 2014-2017

Accenture

  • Senior UX Designer
  • 2014-2017

Deloitte Digital

  • UX Designer
  • 2014-2017

UX Consultant

  • Target - Senior UX Designer
  • General Assembly - Lead UX Instructor
  • Critical Mass- Senior UX Designer
Education

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

  • Bachelor's, Product Design
  • 2014
Community

Talks · Workshops · Lectures

  • University of Texas - Austin - User Experience Student Association Event Speaker, 2023
  • Colle Movoy Design & Business Event Speaker, 2020
  • UC Berkeley - Design School of Innovation Speaker, 2021
  • Black Designer Ignite 2020 Speaker, 2020
  • University of Minnesota - User Experience Design Adjunct Professor, 2020
  • AIGA + UXPA Event - The Intersection of Art, Design, and Users Host, 2019
  • Dunwoody College - User Experience Design Adjunct Professor, 2018
  • UXPA - MN Chapter Educational Chair, 2017
  • UXPA - NY Chapter Officer, 2016

Outside of Work

Love to stay involved in the community, visit coffee shops, play/coach soccer, skateboard, and always interested in creating a DIY project!
(no promises I'm any good at any of the above)

Blessed to have worked with amazing clients.

What my team says

FAQ’s

Any questions? Look here.

Contact us

I initially started my journey in school as an aspiring architect, hence the construction management degree that you may have oddly noticed. I always wanted to design buildings that people would love to see and be immersed in, and would intrinsically adapt to its occupants. I thought architecture was the only medium to achieve this growth, so it really familiarized myself with the process of carefully designing products, and getting them built with the optimal function of the highest priority. Out of school, I worked for an engineering company in which initially caused me to see the value in user-centered design when I realized the principles of architecture really aligned exactly with UX.

As UX designers, what we do is to have a certain empathy and sympathy for a user. This is someone who uses a product and understanding what they are going through, what their emotions are, what their frustrations & pain points are, and being able to design a product in a way to elevate those pain points & frustrations. Also beyond that, being able to delight them with the experience that they are going to have while they use this product which I have to admit is pretty fun.. also quite challenging, a rewarding one. To understand somebody, a user, is pretty difficult because most people think to themselves “Well this seems to work for me just fine” and that is something we really can't do that as a designer, and it's quite difficult. We need to search for what are these people's daily lives like, what are their concerns fears, their hopes & dreams, goals & aspirations. Which should be the focus before anything is designed.

Processes in user experience are fickle and are subject to change dependent on the individual project. Regardless, most projects or project activities fall under one of the following design process steps:

1. Product definition.
During the initial phase, you’re brainstorming the product and how to execute on the project at the highest level with all necessary stakeholders. This might result in a project kickoff plan, a lean canvas, and a bunch of really early concept maps and mockups of what you’re looking to build.

2. Research. Your team refines assumptions and fills in the blanks. This stage varies based on the complexity of the product, timing, resources, level of existing knowledge, and many other factors. In general, however, it’s good to build out competitive and market analyses and conduct customer surveys. If you have an existing product, reviewing analytics, heuristics, content, product context, and user tests are also quite helpful.

3. Analysis. The product marketing data collected so far provides the foundation for personas, experience maps, and requirements documents such as prioritized feature spreadsheets and user-task matrices. At this point, the product definition, product priorities, and product plan have been defined and are ready for more formal design deliverables. Sketches and diagrams are also likely constantly being generated throughout this time.

4. Design. From this output, scenarios, concept maps, and mockups may be created. Common documentation includes sketches, wireframes, prototypes, task-flow diagrams, and design specifications. For example, competitive analysis and personas created during research and analysis feed into the mockups, concept maps, and scenarios. In turn, these pieces influence intermediate and advanced deliverables such as wireframes, storyboards, and detailed mockups. Some companies treat the Research, Analysis, and Design phase as one large process, as you can see in this overview graphic.

5. Implementation. The code and design assets are assembled to create a product that follows the product design specifications.

6. Launch. Feedback data such as support tickets, bug reports, and other analytics continue to drive product refinement through subsequent iterations and upgrades. With the offering in production mode, data should be continually generated and monitored in the form of analytics and reports to ensure continued success.

7. Measuring and iterating. Continual, data-driven product improvement is achieved through the offering in production, using performance dashboards and analytics.

Spotify & Dropbox absolutely. They both put a simple task such as listening to music and cloud storing in a realm that still reacts to how the user is using their product and tailors the content based off of the user's preferences.

Julie Zhuo (Facebook), Fabricio Teixeira (UX Design CC & RGA), Mike Locke, Mike Monteiro, Stephen Krug, Jocelyn K. Glei, Donald Norman, and Alan Cooper.

Designing the United Nations Jobs Dashboard and database was the most interesting project I've worked on. We designed a system that made looking for a job within the United Nations a lot more intuitive for applicants. The UN Jobs dashboard provides a streamlined application process, and it's very satisfying to know that our work helps facilitate the recruitment of individuals who will be making a significant impact globally.

The most important skills for a UX designer to have are: empathy, communication, critical thinking, and adaptability. Empathy allows you to understand the user’s perspective and create designs that meet their needs. Communication skills are essential for collaborating with team members and presenting your ideas effectively. Critical thinking helps you solve problems and make informed decisions. Adaptability is important because the field of UX design is always evolving, and being able to learn and grow with these changes is crucial.

Staying updated with the latest UX trends and technologies involves a combination of continuous learning and active engagement with the UX community. I regularly read industry blogs, attend webinars, participate in online courses, and follow thought leaders on social media. Additionally, I network with other professionals, attend UX conferences, and participate in workshops to keep my skills sharp and stay informed about the latest developments in the field.