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Chris Austin
UX/UI Design
User Research
Usability Testing

Chris Austin

Passionate and results-driven Senior UX/UI Designer with over 20 years of experience in designing intuitive, innovative, and user-centered digital solutions. Adept at leading design teams, driving product strategy, and delivering seamless user experiences across complex platforms. Recognized for blending aesthetics, functionality, and usability to create products that resonate with users and achieve business objectives. Expert at translating user needs and data insights into actionable design strategies, with a proven track record of elevating product performance and enhancing user satisfaction. Committed to staying at the forefront of design trends, tools, and technologies to deliver next-generation user experiences.

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My Passions (What I Do)

Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking

Designers need to approach design challenges with a problem-solving mindset. This includes analyzing problems from multiple angles, generating innovative solutions, and making informed design decisions that balance user needs with technical constraints.

Visual Design

Strong skills in visual design, including knowledge of color theory, typography, and layout principles, are essential. This ensures that the product is not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing and engaging.

User-Centered Design

Understanding and empathizing with users is key. This involves conducting user research, creating personas, and iterating designs based on user feedback. The goal is to design products that solve real problems and offer a great user experience.

Prototyping & Testing

The ability to create prototypes and conduct usability tests is vital. This involves using tools like Axure RP, Figma, or Adobe XD to build and test interactive models of the product, allowing for iterative improvements before final production.

Testimonials

I had the pleasure of working with Chris, a talented UX designer who is exceptionally user and accessibility-centric. He stays updated on the latest and best practices, provides insightful feedback, and encourages team growth. As a manager, Chris made me feel supported and helped facilitate brainstorming sessions to tackle complex design issues. His expertise and dedication make him a valuable asset to any team.

Nivina Warner

Nivina Warner, UX Designer

InEight Inc.

Chris is a wonderful designer, mentor, and manager. His ability to understand a problem and thoughtfully create solutions is meticulous and always backed by research and reasoning. I learned a lot from Chris in my time working with him. We collaborated on style guides, countless product designs for web and mobile, iconography and more. I am certain that much of my own success is directly correlated to the teachings and guidance that he provided during our time working together. Thank you, Chris!

Rachel Bonner

Rachel Bonner, UX Designer

InEight Inc.

Chris has exceptional UX skills. He is thorough, focused, iterative and thoughtful in his user centered designs. Chris always advocates for the user while searching for solutions. His work leans towards ease of implementation and cost effective development approaches. Chris has a strong knowledge of FrontEnd Development which benefits his design skills.

Jason Hinze

Jason Hinze, UX Designer

InEight Inc.

I have worked with Chris for many years. If you are looking for innovative designs, Chris Austin is the one you want on your team.

Brandi Heffner

Brandi Heffner, Director

InEight Inc.

Companies

Northrop Grumman
NTT DATA
Nelnet
InEight

Resume

20 Years of Experience

Education

Human Factors International
2014

Certified Usability Analyst (CUA)

HFI's CUA certification showcases your mastery of UX principles and practical design skills, setting you apart with heightened credibility among clients and industry professionals.

Bellevue University
2001

Master of Science, Computer Information Systems (CIS)

Bellevue University's MS-CIS program offers a cutting-edge curriculum crafted by industry experts and delivered by seasoned professionals. It combines theory with practical experience to equip you with the advanced tech skills needed to excel in a competitive and evolving technology sector.

University of Nebraska at Omaha
1996

Bachelor of Science, Biology

The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s BS-Biology program provides a versatile foundation in life sciences, combining solid theoretical knowledge with hands-on lab experience. This prepares students for research and technical roles across academia, government, and industry, while deepening their appreciation of the natural world’s beauty and complexity.

Experience

InEight Inc.
4/2017 - 7/2024 (7 yrs 4 mos)

Lead UX/UI Designer

  • Led Comprehensive Product Design: Directed the end-to-end design process for multiple InEight products, including mobile and desktop platforms, ensuring seamless user experiences that aligned with both user needs and business goals.
  • Mobile Design for InEight Compliance Mobile: Spearheaded the design of InEight Compliance Mobile, a powerful mobile app that enables construction inspectors to capture photos, videos, voice recordings, and notes in one centralized location. Focused on designing intuitive, easy-to-use mobile interfaces to streamline on-site inspections, reducing time spent on documentation and improving overall data accuracy.
    • Designed key mobile features for capturing multimedia and notes, ensuring ease of use in challenging field environments, including offline functionality for seamless data capture in remote areas.
    • Worked closely with product teams to ensure the mobile app was aligned with compliance standards and business requirements, enhancing productivity for construction teams and improving regulatory reporting.
  • Strategic Problem Solving: Utilized user research, data-driven insights, and iterative design to solve complex design challenges, resulting in improved product usability and adoption. Delivered designs that directly contributed to more efficient fieldwork processes and a reduction in errors during inspections.
  • Mentorship & Team Leadership: Led and mentored a team of in-house and offshore designers, fostering a collaborative environment to ensure consistency in design quality and adherence to best practices across multiple projects. Elevated team performance by integrating feedback loops and improving design processes.
  • Process Optimization: Instituted design systems and reusable components for consistency across InEight's product suite, enabling faster design iterations and easier collaboration across teams.
Nelnet
4/2015 - 4/2017 (2 yrs 1 mo)

UX/UI Designer

  • User Experience Optimization: Conducted extensive user research, including usability testing and interviews, to enhance the user experience of Nelnet’s K-12 and higher education financial services platforms. Translated findings into wireframes, prototypes, and interactive UI components, improving task efficiency and customer satisfaction.
  • Mobile & Web Design: Focused on mobile-first and responsive design for web applications, ensuring seamless cross-platform usability. Designed user flows and interfaces that improved user retention and reduced support queries.
  • Accessibility Champion: Led WCAG 2.0 compliance audits and implemented accessibility enhancements across digital products, ensuring inclusivity and a broader user base.
NTT DATA
9/2013 - 3/2015 (1 yr 7 mos)

UX/UI Designer

  • Built UX Practices from Ground Up: Established a UX team at NTT DATA, developing UX processes, creating reusable design assets, and driving the adoption of user-centered design (UCD) principles across client projects.
  • Integrated UX with SDLC: Worked closely with development teams to integrate UX/UI principles into the software development life cycle (SDLC), ensuring user feedback was incorporated iteratively into design and development.
  • Usability Research Leadership: Led numerous usability studies, surveys, and user testing sessions to enhance the functionality of security-focused applications for clients in various industries.
Northrop Grumman
7/1998 - 9/2013 (15 yrs 3 mos)

Software Engineer II

  • Software Development Leadership: Designed and developed high-profile, mission-critical applications for national security and defense systems, including the Tactical Communications Support Processor (TCSP) and Joint Targeting Toolbox (JTT).
  • User Interface Design for Secure Systems: Focused on developing secure and intuitive user interfaces for applications used by the Department of Defense, ensuring both ease of use and compliance with strict security protocols.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborated with diverse teams, including security experts and intelligence stakeholders, to deliver impactful software solutions for national defense, improving operational efficiency and mission success.

Research

Critical Thinking

95%

User Research

85%

Persona Development

75%

Journey Mapping

80%

Usability Testing

75%

Heuristic Evaluations

70%

Research Documentation

85%

Lookback

70%

Google Analytics

70%

Hotjar

65%

Design

Visual Design

90%

User-Centered Design

95%

Mobile-First Design

80%

Responsive Design

80%

Information Architecture

80%

Graphic Design

90%

User Interface Design

95%

Interaction Design

95%

Prototyping

95%

Design Systems

85%

Accessibility

70%

Adobe Creative Suite

85%

Axure RP

95%

Figma

80%

Development

Software Development Methodologies

75%

Debugging & Problem Solving

70%

HTML / CSS

80%

JavaScript

70%

Bootstrap

80%

React

50%

Python

50%

Design Systems

85%

WordPress

80%

VS Code

85%

Product Management

Market Research & Analysis

60%

Product Strategy & Roadmapping

75%

Cross-Functional Collaboration

80%

Data-Driven Decision Making

75%

Azure DevOps

60%

Confluence

65%

Jira

60%

Zoho Analytics

70%

Trello

90%
Download CV

Portfolio

My Work
Mobile Query Builder

Mobile Query Builder

Mobile
Perform Form

Perform Form

Web / Mobile
Pilot Watch

Pilot Watch

Concept
Form Builder

Form Builder

Web
Product Navigation

Product Navigation

Mobile
Snapshot

Snapshot

Web
User Profile

User Profile

Mobile
Design System

Design System

Web
Compliance Mobile

Compliance Mobile

Mobile

Contact

Get in Touch

Omaha, NE

info@caustindesign.com

(402) 881-2358

Freelance Available