Megan Huston

www.meganhuston.com
206.349.8900
mch@meganhuston.com

Art Director / Senior UX Designer

"Megan is a creative, enthusiastic designer with an eye for detail. As UX Manage
r, she
effectively guides other creatives in her role as an Art Director. She has a gif
t not only for
great design, but for using design to drive business strategy. As primary design
er for the
site experience Scrum team, Megan is invaluable."
Alex O'Neal, UX Manager, Product Owner, Classmates.com

Resourceful, self-motivated, and results-oriented Art Director, Graphic and User

Interface
Designer with 18 years of experience in integrated software development, require
ments
analysis, and user experience design. Demonstrates solid artistic capabilities i
n graphic
design, with impressive record of achievements of software application developme
nt,
interactive web pages, web-based training, multimedia, and CD-ROM products. Tran
slates
abstract concepts into practical solutions using computer graphics and artistic
design
complemented with solid background in graphic and presentation design. Independe
nt and
cooperative team player with the ability to multitask in fast-paced environments
. Acquire
articulate interpersonal and communication skills.
- Knowledgeable in advertising, page layout, pre-press, and all aspects of
printing
procedures for corporate marketing; executed in-house usability studies
- Expert at sketching, workflows, wire frames, prototyping, and final prod
uction quality
mockups, storyboard and design specification development for websites, software
applications,
online training, and multimedia programs
- Proficient in print layout design for packaging, advertisements, flyers,
 brochures,
manuals, and book covers; designed technical and illustrative graphics for multi
media, web-
based, and CD ROM courses
- Generated 2D animations for CD ROM and the web, created photo manipulati
on and touch
up for various programs and print media, and developed superior rendering skills
, painting,
and portrait artist skills

TECHNICAL SKILLS
Adobe Photoshop | Adobe Image Ready | Adobe Illustrator | InDesign | Macromedia
Dreamweaver |
Fireworks | Freehand | CorelDraw | Adobe PageMaker | Fractal Design Painter | Mi
crosoft Word |
PowerPoint | Microsoft Visual InterDev | Microsoft.Net Visual Tools | Flash | AJ
AX | Java |
C++ | XML | HTML | DHTML

EXPERIENCE SUMMARY
Classmates.com ~ Renton, WA Jul 2005-Nov 2009
Art Director
Streamline highly flexible, prize-winning team of design talent, coordinate scop
e, schedule
and results with business owners and utilize resources to meet deadline in style
and within
budget. Lead entire conceptualization, design, and functionality of the user exp
erience across
all featured products. Oversee, deliver, and provide rock-solid solutions for vi
sual and
functional UI challenges at all levels, from the design foundation of products t
o brand
presentation.
- Creates concepts and designs across multiple media including user interf
ace design,
online advertising, direct response marketing, and sales promotions
- Works collaboratively with Agile development environment and assisted in
the growth of
paid member subscriptions by 20% year after year
- Effectively trained several senior and junior designers in creating and
presenting
high quality products within budget and intended business needs
Microsoft Corp ~ Redmond, WA Aug 2004-Jul 2005
Product Designer (UX) and Art Director
Product designer for Real Time Collaboration (RTC) team; led, designed, and exec
uted visual
designs for Live Meeting 8 and Mobile communicator. Functioned as Art Director f
or the Live
Meeting 7 for sales and marketing and product designer in the MSN Customer Desig
n Center.
Created initial concepts, sketches, flows, wire frames, final production-quality
mockups,
modification, and assets as well as completed graphical user interface design.
- Designed and utilized visual and interactive design for MSN’s communication
products
including MSN mobile messenger, Hotmail, and Windows Live Spaces
- Served as lead designer for Windows Live Spaces themes and generated 50
themed designs
- Art directed three out of the state and International vendors to generat
e 150
different engaging and rich visual themes for millions of users of Windows Live
spaces
- Played a pivotal role in art directing Flash intensive motion sales and
marketing tour
for Live Meeting 7
Envision Telephony, Inc. ~ Seattle, WA May 2002-Jul 2004
Art Director, GUI/UX Designer, and Graphic Designer
Improved call center technology and workforce management software as well as sup
ported the
Marketing Department with print design and pre-press duties for packaging of pro
ducts. Oversaw
user interface design, information architecture, prototyping, functionality, and
visual design
for all Envision products and corporate website. Supervised sketching, work flow
s, wireframes,
and final production quality mockups; led engineers in developing user interface
design and
effectively designed and maintained style guides.
- Significantly contributed as the key designer at Envision Telephony resp
onsible for
the UX/UI design from ground up creating Envision’s successful Workforce Management
software
for call center technologies
- Successfully managed triage meetings for rapid improvement and designed
hundreds of
icons used in the product
- Designed print materials for the product and assisted with the design of
the corporate
website
Apex Learning Inc. ~ Bellevue, WA Dec 1999-Oct 2001
Lead Designer, Art Director, GUI Designer and Web Developer
Enhanced and improved online advanced placement courses and online community for
high school
students as well AP Exam Review, Professional Development, and Course Tools. Pro
vided
assistance to the Marketing Department with print design and pre-press assignmen
ts for
marketing and sales collateral. Set up and performed in-house usability studies
and
coordinated with the Marketing Department to lead, design, and improve interacti
ve sales
presentations and demonstrations.
- Created and lead design for information architecture, prototyping, user
interface
design, and visual design for several online courses and corporate website
- Maintained Apexlearning.com and company Intranet, web designed and cours
e designs for
Apex learning’s partner branding
- Coordinated with engineering to guarantee superior educational experienc
e of customers
- Designed graphics and icons to support learning concepts

Experience from 1991-1999

Art Director, GUI Designer and Web Developer ~ Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, W
A
Art Director, GUI Designer, and Web Development Consultant ~ Mediapro, Inc., Bel
levue, WA
Art Director, GUI Designer, and Graphic Designer ~ Oracle Corporation, Northern,
CA
Art Director and GUI Designer ~ Cerplex Instructional Technologies, Redmond, WA
Art Director and GUI Designer ~ Courseware Technologies Inc., San Diego, CA
Graphic Designer and GUI Designer ~ Penton Overseas Inc., Carlsbad, CA
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATION
Undergraduate work toward Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design
~ San Diego State University / Palomar College, San Diego, CA
Graphics Communication Certification ~ Palomar College, San Diego, CA
Graphics Communication Certification ~ University of California, San Diego
The Science and Art of Effective Web Design ~ Human Factors International
Fine Arts Certification ~ The Academy of Realist Art, Seattle, WA
Fine Arts Mentoring Program ~ Illona Rittler’s School of Fine Arts
Service Innovation Design ~ Shelley Evenson
Other courses on communication, hiring rights, and project and people management

ACHIEVEMENTS
Envision Performance Suite with Envision Business Intelligence
2004 Product of the Year Award Customer Inter@ction Solutions
2005 Product of the Year Award Call Center
2004 Product of the Year Award Customer Inter@ction Solutions
Envision Performance Suite
Best Performance Management Solution in the Americas ContactCenterWorld.com ~ 20
05
Business Product of the Year WSA 2005
Envision Performance Suite
2005 Global Excellence in Technology of the Year Award
Frost & Sullivan
Envision Performance Suite with Envision Business Intelligence Portal
Best Product of Call Centre Expo 2004 European Call Centre of the Year Awards
Envision Business Intelligence Portal Business Applications with Envision Busine
ss
Intelligence
Best of ACCE 2004 Call Center Magazine | Contact Center Performance Management
2004 Users Choice Awards CRMAdvocate | Product of the Year 2003
Envision Workforce Management Customer Inter@ction Solutions
Best Recording/Monitoring Solution in the US
2003 ContactCenterWorld Members' Choice Awards
Apex Learning Inc.
2001 Codie Award for Best Education Administrative Product ClassTools(TM)

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Member, Puget Sound SIGCHI
Volunteer, The Outdoors for All Foundation
Volunteer, Mountain to Sound Greenway