Brian O'Neill, User Experience & Interaction Designer

User experience web designer, interaction designer, information architect, design management, web-standards expert, web developer. Usability testing, customer research, persona development, design process management with AGILE. Design technologies: XHTML, CSS, dHTML, Javascript including JQUERY, AJAX, Scriptaculous. Comfortable working in Ruby on Rails, PHP/MYSQL, Drupal, Cold Fusion (CFML), ASP, JSP/STRUTS. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialist. RSS. 508, WCAG, Accessibility expertise. Wireless/mobile. IxDA. Sectors: Financial services, active trader, brokerage, travel industry, survey science, data visualization, language learning, designing for boomers and seniors.

Independent consultant: user experience & interaction design

I have been designing web sites and applications since 1996. In 2007, I became a full time independent consultant. These days, doing business as Rhythmspice Media, I work heavily with startups and larger corporations to design and prototype useful, usable, and beautiful web applications. I have a broad skillset and provide my clients with many services including business strategy, information architecture, UI/visual design, development/prototyping, accessibility consultations, usability studies, and hiring other designers. I believe all of these skills are required to build great user experiences. See my LinkedIn profile for references or my web portfolio.

Recent/current client list includes: Akorri.com, MITRE, Accenture, Updown.com, MyHappyPlanet.com, Language International, TravelDragon, and others.

Traveldragon.com, Founder & Designer

In 2009, I redesigned and became a partner in TravelDragon.com, the world's first search engine of trips and accommodations from boutique and experiential travel operators from around the world. Currently, I am acting as COO, managing the product ideas, design, and development along with my partner and CEO, Kathy Dragon. I also architected the original data model for the site.

Eons.com, Director of Design and User Experience

Internet startup founded by Jeff Taylor, former CEO of Monster.com

February 2006 - February 2007

• Lead the information architecture, interaction, and visual design of the original Eons.com site. While hiring and managing a team 2-3 designers plus a brand agency, launched seven products/verticals in about six months during August 2006 ranging from content/blog publishing sites to life-goal and social-media applications.
• Designed authentication systems to encourage customer sign-up leading to 100,000 registered members in the first year of business.
• Helped integrate Agile and User Experience methodologies by growing the technical skillset of the design team members. This enabled releases every two weeks with each designer responsible for most of the front-to-back design work on their assigned product.
• Conducted and began a usability / user validation program to put a check on the rapid Agile development style embraced by the engineering and product groups.
• Architected, prototyped, and coded much of the original front-end XHTML/CSS for the site, employing Web Standards methodologies to reduce page load time, maintenance, and accessibility burdens.
• Architected the design and the underlying data model for the Travel vertical (which currently lives as TravelDragon)

BrownCo (BrownCo.com) & ETRADE — Experience Design Lead

BrownCo was a division of JP Morgan Invest, LLC (JP Morgan Chase) sold to ETRADE in 2006.

January 2005 - February 2006

• As part of an entire trading system and website overhaul, conducted user research, ideation, and design of the information, interfaces and experiences of the BrownCo active trader customers.
• Helped BrownCo’s Product Management team learn how to ideate and build visual models of customer’s goals/tasks to facilitate the design of the site and insert a better UCD methodology into their project lifecycle.
• Designed interfaces for key areas including the portfolio area of the site. Conducted usability studies to validate concepts prior to development.
• Lead the adoption of Web Standards methodologies (structured XHTML, CSS, and ECMA Script) and managed the creation of all front-end CSS and markup
• Was a primary bridge between the Engineering and Experience Design groups, enabling more realistic design with less need for business analyst involvement.
• Primary consultant for web accessibility issues and was a member of JPMC’s Access Ability networking group, dedicated to universal design across JPMC's products.
• Consulted for ETRADE on how to build and integrate UX Design into software and product development.

Fidelity Investments (Fidelity.com) — Lead Designer, Information Architect

August 2003 - November 2004

• Designed interfaces for Fidelity.com's retail website which reaches millions of customers. Primary project included IA and UI work on the merger of Netbenefits and Fidelity.com data into a single roll-up portfolio (still visible on the "Portfolio" tabs today). Customers could now see all positions, relevant research, and analysis across all of their Fidelity accounts on consolidated screens.
• Using UCS processes including drafting user scenarios, business metrics & goals, strategies, interface design and development, lead projects like the Fidelity.com Stock Screener (July, 2004) and parts of the Account Opening processes. The screener was Fidelity’s first website using semantic XHTML, CSS and AJAX for a more desktop-like experience.
• Introduced the Fidelity Design and Development teams to Web Standards, and the use of CSS/XHTML for templating. Gave classes on CSS, consulted on best practices in accessibility with other designers, and trained co-workers on these methods.

Terra Lycos: Lead Designer for Financial Products

July 2000—August 2003

• Lead designer for Terra Lycos’s financial websites and trading applications including Lycos Finance, Quote.com, Raging Bull, and Lycos Small Business. Working closely with product managers, championed the user-centered design process to improve the quality of the financial offerings of Lycos.
• During tough 2002 market conditions in 2002, helped Quote.com realize a 7% increase in subscriptions by creating an up-sell strategy and by redesigning the product-selection pages and registration process.
• Designed trading applications such as the first AJAX and browser-based streaming quote application, LiveCharts™ Plus
• Created working prototypes, built in XHTML/HTML/CSS/ASP to allow business and engineering to experience the design prior to full development.
• Participated in usability evaluations of various products including LiveCharts™, the Lycos Homepage, and Lycos Search to improve upon design concepts.
• Created a new brand for Quote.com in 2003.
• Conceived new advertising vehicles like LiveCharts™ Skins, a take-over style advertisement vehicle that let clients purchase a large ad space while not impeding the user experience of the LiveCharts™ users.
• Wrote and presented a 4-part workshop for Lycos on web standards (XHTML & CSS), addressing the business and technical pluses associated with adoption of this methodology.

SmartPlanet.com - Web Designer

A subsidiary of ZDNet and Cnet

August 1999 - May 2000

Full-time position as web designer for online learning website. In addition to site design, I established a style guide for the site and trained producer on technologies.

Northern Arizona University, May 1999

Graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Performance (Percussion)

Languages

• Spanish: Intermediate writing and speaking skills
• Brazilian Portuguese: Advanced speaking skills; intermediate writing skills

Honors and Professional Affiliations

• Interaction Design Association (IxDA)
• Usability Professionals Association (UPA Boston)
• Graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0 major discipline GPA and 3.93 cumulative GPA
• Percussive Arts Society member
• Winner of Exotica Album of the Year at the 2006, 2007, 2008 Hawaii Music Awards
• Winner of two solo concerto competitions for orchestras in Arizona (1999)