Amara Poolswasdi. Summary. Experience. Senior Experience Designer at Sphero

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1 Amara Poolswasdi Summary Amara is a 2008 Addy Award winner and 2011 Mobile Excellence Awards Finalist who has taken her skills to businesses and organizations around the world. She is passionate about startups and helping bridge the gap between technology and its users. Her specialties include user experience design, user interface design, and user research. When not working on design and marketing projects, Amara can be found volunteering for charities, training for endurance events, and blogging. Experience July Present (5 months) I am currently focused on design interusability and distributed user experiences across multiple devices. I work on the experiences of Sphero s family of products -- Sphero 2.0, Ollie/Darkside, SPRK, BB-8, and other new emerging projects. In addition, I lead all user research efforts across our connected play products, generally on a near-$0 budget. One of the proudest moments of my career was the BB-8 droid launch. My role on this project included human factors design, interactive design, usability optimization, and user research. Corporate Projects UX/UI Designer at Amazon July June 2015 (3 years) I led the design and delivery of the end-to-end customer experience for a brand new product, the Amazon for Windows 8 Shopping App. This work entailed merging the customer experience expectations for the emerging Windows 8 OS with Amazon s customer experience efforts. I worked closely with multiple internal and external teams to deliver a world-class customer experience. I launched a proof-of-concept shopping app for desktops and tablets in 9 countries. Post-launch improvements to the customer experience included designs for Live Tile notifications, Gold Box Deals, App Settings, Customer Feedback, Shop by Department, and Category Browsing. I also led the design and delivery of the end-to-end customer experience for another brand new product, the Amazon 1Button App for desktop and mobile browsers. The experience is designed to encourage customer usage by providing experientially contextual features, helpful notifications, and quick access to Amazon s most popular features and products. I launched a proofof-concept app across Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome in 9 countries, with mobile distribution and design under development. I've also consulted on project efforts across Amazon Smile, Amazon Social, Amazon Associates, Universal Shopping Experience, Internal Brand, Windows Phone, Gold Box Deals, and Amazon Local. In 2014 I transitioned to Corporate Projects. I have consulted on design tracks across the Page1

2 confidential project, and was the lead designer on a unique digital user experience that will revolutionize the way Amazon does business with its customers. Going Places Network Volunteer Mentor at Dress for Success Worldwide-West December April 2013 (3 years 5 months) Dress for Success is a non-profit organization focused on helping disadvantaged women achieve selfsufficiency by providing the wardrobe, education, and mentoring that is needed to succeed in today's job marketplace. During my years there, I also led fundraising efforts as the LA Marathon Team Captain. I also worked on runner/volunteer recruitment, event fundraising, event planning (Annual Power Walk for Los Angeles), and consulted on the PR/Marketing Committee. UX Designer at Freelance December June 2012 (7 months) Designed and delivered UX/UI projects that included geolocation/persistent-sensing service design for mobile and desktop; app developer portal design; task management apps for mobile, tablet, and desktop; and mobile VOIP app design. Client list included Alohar Mobile, Placeme App, Data Governance Board, Cruise Connect, igrade, Party Planner Pro, Visions in Education, Soapbox Soaps, and Set A Nudge App. UX Designer at Border Stylo April December 2011 (9 months) UX and graphical design for consumer-facing iphone/android applications and Internet Explorer/Firefox/ Safari browser extensions. My projects were nominated as finalists at the 2011 Mobile Excellence Awards for Best User Experience and Best Mobile Games. UX Designer at Unicorn Press August September 2011 (3 years 2 months) Development and execution of UX, UI, integrated design, marketing, and branding strategies for small businesses, startups, and non-profit organizations. Services include end-to-end digital product design, custom website design, website development, social media marketing, online advertising, graphic design, direct marketing, copywriting, digital marketing integration, mobile website design, mobile app design and development, and SEO. UX Designer, Brand Manager, Co-Founder at The Rainmaker Network April July 2011 (3 years 4 months) Product development and design, front-end web development, integrated marketing management, program management, hiring, cross-functional management Graphic Designer at Spitfire Studios December September 2008 (10 months) Creative development, design and production, project management Page2

3 Education Iowa State University Master of Science (MS), Human Computer Interaction, Grade: 3.83 Golden Gate University Integrated Marketing Communications, Grade: 3.16 California State University-San Bernardino BA, Art with emphasis in Graphic Design, Grade: 3.5 Activities and Societies: Graphic Design Diplomat; Traveled twice to Thailand for a college-based business incubation program in need of branding and marketing work. Art Center College of Design Graphic Design, Activities and Societies: Scholarship student California State University-Los Angeles Anthropology, Archaeology, Activities and Societies: Archaeological field school with the Army Corps of Engineers at Surprise Springs, Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Rio Hondo College Associate of Arts (AA), Liberal Studies, Pre-Nursing, US Coast Guard Academy via Naval Academy Preparatory School, Activities and Societies: Awarded the National Defense Service Medal in Skills & Expertise Marketing Communications Marketing Graphic Design Social Media Marketing Web Design Copywriting Integrated Marketing Digital Marketing Social Media Blogging Advertising Social Networking Passion for Helping Others Community Engagement Identifying Resources User Experience Web Development Page3

4 Digital Media Online Advertising Facebook Mobile Applications Website Development InDesign Marketing Mobile Devices Start-ups User Experience Design Product Management Publications Your Sometimes Online Life September 2012 Authors: Amara Poolswasdi Learn how you can build the perfect online persona with a little bit of effort and mindfulness. Be the most authentic version of you and connect your real-life personality with your online profiles. Honors and Awards 2015 CSUSB Alumni Professor Lecturer 2011 Finalist at the Mobile Excellence Awards - Best User Experience, Best Mobile Games 2008 Addy Award - Creative Direction, Television Advertisement 2007 CSUSB Travel and Research Grant 2007 CSUSB Graphic Design Diplomat 2005 Art Center College of Design Portfolio Scholarship Interests Cause Marketing, Graphic Design, Web Design, User Interface/Experience Design, Branding, Advertising, Integrated Marketing Communications, Business Development Page4

5 Amara Poolswasdi 2 people have recommended Amara "You know, there's this funny wall between back-end and front-end developers, just like there's this funny wall between development and operations. But here's a back-end developer and operator who sat beside Amara for months who says Amara is awesome, that she breaks down walls, and simply communicates effectively with her teammates. She did all of this easily, and these are not easy things. It's easy to imagine Amara in a product management or any number of roles for a startup. I'm also sure whatever she chooses to excel in she will soar in. A great teammate." Carlo Flores, managed Amara indirectly at Border Stylo "Amara and Unicorn Press was the perfect fit for our non-profit organization. We collaborated on the overall concept and design of our website and Amara was particularly knowledgeable about social media tools and multimedia platforms. I highly recommend Amara to anyone looking to get up an moving quickly and costefficiently." Richard L. Tso, was Amara's client Contact Amara on LinkedIn Page5