I specialize in strategic and exploratory design research to understand behavior, identify human need and motivation, translate observations into actionable insights, define tangible design directions and new opportunities. My background is in interaction design with special focus on user research and with extensive industry experience working on challenging and innovative products with hardware, software and service components. I'm experienced leading research and design activities in all stages of the product design lifecycle, ranging from research, strategy, concept, design, prototyping, implementation, evaluation and go to market. In my cultural anthropology studies my aim is to focus on the intersection of design, culture and technology, as they relate to social trends, communication, artifacts and environments. I'm interested in exploring issues surrounding identity, representation and interpretation in cross-cultural context. I use photography and video as ethnographic research method. Prior to my current home base of San Francisco I have lived, studied and worked in various countries in Europe, as well as Canada and the USA. Counting among my lesser known accomplishments I have been a two term mayor of San Francisco on Foursquare in 2012 and 2011.

Staff User Researcher @ From March 2015 to Present (10 months) San Francisco Bay AreaPrincipal Design Researcher @ Most recent responsibilities included: defined and lead user research activities of a team of three and various subcontractors while in charge of long term strategic planning and the management of a large budget. Past research experiences also included long, short and medium term, local and international research projects with small or no budget. Embedded in a multi-disciplinary Design team, collaborated with Engineering, Marketing, and Product Management. Throughout the projects, responsibilities included; - Identified knowledge gaps, defined research needs and research objectives . in alignment with strategy - Set up research guidelines, scope, budget, timeline, project proposals . and briefs, recruitment guidelines, participant screeners - Selected appropriate research methodologies and conducted studies . (contextual inquiry, surveys, interviews, field studies, heuristic evaluation, . in-lab, in-field and remote usability, mental model mapping, card sorting, . co-creation, diary studies, workshop facilitation, focus groups, competitor . landscape analysis, etc.) - Designed creative approaches to solve challenging research problems, - Proposed new and creative ways to conduct research and present findings . to stakeholders - Provided user understanding by analysis, insights and interpretation . with prioritized recommendations - Assisted in incorporating research findings into design solutions - Defined user scenarios, use cases, developed personas, design drivers, . interaction principles and models, prioritized features - Recommended best practices for research and design processes - Advocated for the user and for user research to drive user-centered design Core contributor and editor of Advanced Design Quarterly, an internal print publication to promote design and team culture within the company. Design Research, User Experience,Interaction, Service and User Interface Design, Advanced Design, Design Strategic Projects, User Research, Usability, From August 2008 to January 2015 (6 years 6 months) DA [wo]man @ My own independent consultancy focused on Design Research and User Experience. Various clients include: Government of Canada and Donat Group, Nokia Canada, Davis Voyer Group and Dell, Villon Films Documentaries, Yael Wand Musician, The Lunny Group, Mandula Moda, Real to Reel Children Film Festival, Crate Ideas, Nightshade Corsets + Clothing. From May 1999 to 2015 (16 years) Coach, CS.247 Interaction Design Studio @ From April 2014 to June 2014 (3 months) Coach, Designing Liberation Technologies @ Interdisciplinary project teams of graduate students collaborated with students from the University of Nairobi and local NGOs in Kenya to design solutions for promoting development and health. Applying principles and methodologies of human-centered design, teams were encouraged to adapt their projects to meet needs they encounter as relevant to the people for whom they are designing. The starting point for the projects was to find innovative solutions to considerable problems which may involve the use of mobile technology (and applications) in the areas of health, education, and economic development. As a coach I assisted student teams throughout the quarter in applying human-centered design processes to conduct observations, interviews, identify needs, generate concepts, create prototypes, test their use and present their projects. From March 2012 to June 2012 (4 months) Student Mentor @ A unique environmental, public arts and educational outreach initiative of Worldstudio in collaboration with the Academy of Arts University and AIGA SF to engage the public in the city's environmental efforts. Students were paired with professional designers and asked to employ the idea or form (metaphor or symbol) of the tree to make a powerful visual statement on banners that are displayed throughout San Francisco. From June 2009 to September 2009 (4 months) Design Manager @ Conducted trend and design research to inform future portfolio decisions in collaboration with international educational institutes. Responsible for identifying user needs, incorporating consumer and societal trend analysis into design principles. Contributed to strategy, planning and problem solving in brand and identity design issues (UI DNA, metaphors, brand identifiers). Developed project proposals and briefs (defined scope, budget, timeline, deliverables). Recommended best practices for research and design processes. Managed and directed resources, internal and external professionals, while lead projects and controlled budget. Conducted stakeholder reviews, facilitated communications and collaborations, made service level agreements with other organizations within the company. Developed the Nokia Desktop Identity and UX Guidelines. Researched and developed proposals for the Nokia Illumination Guide. Insights and Innovation, Design Research, Interaction, Brand User Interface, Digital Brand Identity, Service and User Interface Design, User Experience, Design Trends Research, From March 2007 to August 2008 (1 year 6 months) Research Lead @ Part of Nokia's Corporate Outreach Program, lead and facilitated workshops for a student design research project about locally specific visual trend research and cultural explorations for the university students of UniverCidade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Guided students in the collection, documentation and interpretation of current design trends to inform and influence product portfolio decisions. From April 2008 to April 2008 (1 month) Senior Designer and Simulation Specialist @ Contributed to the development of various Nokia products, N95, N91, N96. Responsibilities included; user experience, UI, concept and design of Nseries Music Player on S60 mobile platform, the Nokia Desktop Music Manager for PC and Mac and the Nokia Podcasting application for mobile. Branding and UI design of the Nokia Music Store online services and mobile client. Human Factors, Usability, Interaction, User Experience, Prototyping, User Interface, Design Research, Branding, Visual Design, From August 2004 to March 2007 (2 years 8 months) Founder, Principal @ Online community for creative expression for artists and designers. Curation, User experience, Interaction design, Art direction, Concept design, Experimental user interface design, Research, Project management From September 2001 to December 2004 (3 years 4 months) User Experience Design @ Exhibit design for the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Science and Technology Centre in Saudi Arabia, the largest of its kind in the Middle East. User experience design of large scale, touch screen based digital exhibitions. Developed effective story lines, user interaction models, navigation, interactive storytelling, digital and printed presentations for bilingual communications (English and Arabic with interpreters). Designed and coordinated exhibits, prototyping, screen layouts, animations, video, web integration, culturally sensitive visual communication. Integrating interactive media concepts (digital and physical) and visuals into physical environments. Exhibit design, Interaction, User experience, Design research, Design for cross cultural communication (audiences and environments, virtual and physical) From January 2003 to May 2004 (1 year 5 months) Interaction, Multimedia and User Interface Design @ Responsible for concepting, prototyping and designing interactions, user interfaces, navigations for online, desktop and small screen handheld devices (Palm Pilot). Design and documentation of digital style guides and branding of user interfaces of applications for multiple platforms to improve user experience, software performance and interaction efficiency. Interaction Design, Multi-platform Applications, User Experience, User Interface and Multimedia Design From June 1999 to December 2002 (3 years 7 months)

Socio-Cultural Anthropology @ San Francisco State University From 2009 to 2016 Electronic Communication Design @ Emily Carr University of Art and Design From 1996 to 1999 Design Art @ Concordia University From 1993 to 1996 Graphic Design and Typography @ Concordia University From 1991 to 1993 Specialist in Trading of Commodities of the Board of Foreign Trade @ Debreceni Egyetem From 1988 to 1989 Rita Parada is skilled in: User-centered Design, Interaction Design, Design Research, User Research, Ethnography, User Experience, User Experience Design, Usability, Design Thinking, Product Design, Information Design, Usability Testing, Creative Direction, Cultural Anthropology, Design Strategy