Christo Claassens User Experience Professional
- 24 Witherspoon Ln, Princeton, NJ 08542
- 609.791.9691
- brolloks@brolloks.com
Professional Profile
My user experience and design approach empowers organizations to follow a comprehensive design approach for their online solutions. Making user needs the drivers for all solutions and at the same time meeting your business’ strategic objectives.
I believe in a well defined strategy to seed all solutions. My specialties are in interaction design, information architecture and client-side web technology. I am a self-described usability nerd, who revels in championing user needs, can’t get enough of usability testing, and I have a healthy respect for web standards and accessibility requirements. My understanding of server side technologies and database design makes me an ideal candidate to bring the worlds of the designer and the developer together in a solution that will meet all your users’ needs.
Qualification Summary
Design
Skilled in creating interaction design flows, information architecture schemas, wireframes layouts
Programming
(Expert) HTML, CSS, (Intermediate) JavaScript, DOM, Actionscript, AJAX, PHP, XML, XSL, RSS
Software
Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, MS Office
Education
BA (Hons), M Div, MA – University of Stellenbosch 1991 - 1998
BlackRock Princeton, NJ 2007 – Present
User Experience & Design Manager
- Manage the user experience design team that designed and iterate BlackRock’s award winning Financial Professionals’ website (ranked #1 by kasina in 2009).
- Direct design for all BlackRock’s interactive online applications.
- Created and oversee an in-house usability lab.
- Lead the design team that brought the BlackRock brand online after BlackRock’s merger with Merrill Lynch Investment Mangers.
Key Responsibilities
- Participate in the product definition and strategy process.
- Lead the interaction design, information architecture and information design process.
- Oversee creation of visual design mock ups, functional prototypes, and other artifacts.
- Execute the BlackRock brand within the style guidelines on all online venues.
- Pitch concepts and present design solutions.
- Manage design team career paths through mentoring and facilitating learning opportunities.
Merrill Lynch Investment Managers Princeton, NJ 2000 - 2007
Senior Web Designer/Web Designer
- Designed an in-house content management system, which included several functions to improve repetitive task efficiencies.
- Responsible for all aspects of the architecture, design and creation of a new company intranet.
- Designed and coded several flash applets.
References & Web
I will gladly present references on request.
Current & Past Reading
This is a short list of books I have read, re-read and constantly reference, and websites and blogs I frequently visit.
- Jesse James Garrett - The Elements of User Experience
- Alan Cooper - The Inmates Are Running the Asylum
- Bill Moggridge - Designing Interaction
- Edward Tufte - The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Envisioning Information, and Visual Explanations
- Eric Meyer - More Eric Meyer on CSS
- Jeffrey Zeldman - Designing with Web Standards
- www.subtraction.com
- www.alistapart.com
- www.webdesignerwall.com
- www.lightondark.com
- www.metafilter.com