Meghna Dholakia's Email

Portfolio: www.mdholakia.com I'm an user-experience designer with a background in cognitive science from UC Berkeley. My interests lie at the intersection of cognitive science, design, and technology. Cognitive science gives us new ways to understand both how humans process information and how we make decisions.

Interaction Designer @ From August 2015 to Present (2 months) San Francisco Bay AreaUser Experience Designer @ Work with developers and designers to develop interaction models for existing Nuance products that increase ease of use and efficiency Envision concepts for integrating natural language into new product interfaces to create intuitive experiences for users From April 2014 to Present (1 year 6 months) Sunnyvale, CAUX Immersive Student @ • Broad spectrum exposure to tools, processes, and current trends in design. Hands-on project work in an agency format. • Employed full design process including user research, competitive analysis, user journeys & flows, wireframes, and interactive prototypes across three projects. • Conducted a usability overhaul and designed a new first-run for an AngelPad startup • Prototyped new web experience for admin role using low fidelity (paper) and high fidelity interactive Axure prototypes. • Gained an appreciation for the challenges and joys of group collaboration in a creative environment under deadline. From November 2013 to Present (1 year 11 months) San Francisco Bay AreaFreelance UX & Visual Designer @ Produced graphics & media for Barestage Productions (Berkeley Theater Group), local musicians, and other local organizations theelectricyears.wordpress.com/design From August 2009 to Present (6 years 2 months) Kitchen Manager @ Ran a kitchen for a 65 person cooperative, managing a 40,000 dollar budget, ordering food & supplies, overseeing six cooking teams, and keeping the kitchen up to local/state health & safety standards • Worked to bring individuals with differing ethical viewpoints (vegans, locavores, and nothing but baconites) into accord and to ensure all individuals felt like their needs were met. • Established greater efficiency through stronger management of food providers and re-vamping of the inventory system. From January 2013 to June 2013 (6 months) Stebbins Hall, Berkeley, CAUX Design Intern @ • Worked with a team of two developers within an agile framework to create strategies for boosting social engagement, as part of a company pivot away from long-format journalism • Presented iterations of paper prototypes to demonstrate concepts for creating an event-driven engagement loop to drive in-app purchases and social interaction • Designed within the constraints of iOS—working with limited screen real-estate and optimizing for physical interaction on mobile devices From June 2012 to August 2012 (3 months) http://bandofthedayapp.com/Branding & Strategy Consultant @ Provided branding and internal-operations consulting for two Bay-Area nonprofits • Assisted an Oakland nonprofit to craft wider appeal to donors while staying true to its roots in Oakland’s music scene • Conducted stake-holder interviews and studied recruitment best-practices to assess an SF nonprofit's recruitment strategy for their intensive educational & job training program From January 2011 to June 2012 (1 year 6 months) Project Consultant @ • Visited Ahmedabad, India to assess cultural views on “making,” to find local champions and makers, and to discover how a maker event could be adapted to fit the local need • Sourced and closed commitment from sponsors within the design & science communities • Delivered complete project plan for staging along with web site, marketing materials, curation process, and more. From May 2011 to August 2011 (4 months) Research Assistant @ Developed and conducted a research project on color perception for color perception research seminar. Assisted in running lab experiments for visual perception lab. From January 2011 to May 2011 (5 months) Columnist @ Wrote a column on issues of technology, arts and sciences from a personal perspective http://bit.ly/1eemctM From January 2011 to May 2011 (5 months)

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Major Cognitive Science, , Minor Theatre @ University of California, Berkeley From 2009 to 2013 Cognitive Science, Exchange Student @ Trinity College, Dublin From 2011 to 2011 Henry M. Gunn High School From 2005 to 2009 Meghna Dholakia is skilled in: Photoshop, Qualitative Research, Public Speaking, PowerPoint, Microsoft Office, Java, User Experience, Interaction Design, User Research, Graphic Design, Wireframes, User Experience Design, Usability, Microsoft Excel