Our collaborative approach brings together skills from the worlds of design, engineering, technical communication, and the social sciences.
Prior to co-founding Blink in the year 2000, Karen had over seven years of interactive application work to her credit, and had worked extensively in the telecommunications training industry with clients such as Nortel, Cox Cable and Bell Canada. Karen has also worked in the finance industry for Bowne & Co with Capital Stream and Rainier Pacific. Prior to that, she worked on many cultural and educational interactive programs, such as the National Archives of Canada. Karen is a graduate in Information Technology & Multimedia from Capilano College, Vancouver, Canada and holds a degree in Art History & Visual Arts from the University of Victoria. Karen also studied Design & Fine Arts at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada.
Understanding end-users and translating this understanding into targeted design recommendations, Kelly is clearly focused on creating the ultimate user experiences. Prior to co-founding Blink in the year 2000, Kelly had been working in the field of user-centered design for eight years, helping companies such as Netscape, Monsanto, Times Mirror, Whirlpool, WRQ, Nokia and Drugstore.com create solid user experiences. Kelly has a Master of Design degree, specializing in Human-Centered Design, from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He also has a Bachelor of Science in Design degree from Arizona State University. Kelly also writes the blog, Workarounds.
John has spent the past 15 years helping companies improve the usability of their software, web-based, and hardware products. John joined Blink Interactive in 2000 and has held senior usability positions at WRQ, Attachmate, and Microsoft. At Blink, John directs UX field research and usability lab testing projects and is committed to highly successful client outcomes. John holds a M.S. in Forest Products Marketing and International Trade from the University of Washington, where he also earned certificates in User Centered Design and Technical Writing and Editing.
Nick Finck is a user experience professional who has worked in the web industry for over a decade. He specializes in information architecture, interaction design, usability and user research. Nick has created web experiences for Fortune 500 companies including Adobe, Boeing, Google andOprah.com. Prior to working at Blink he was a founder of Blue Flavor, a user experience consultancy, where they launched one of the very first web applications for the iPhone. Nick was the publisher of Digital Web Magazine, an online publication for web professionals, for ten years. He is actively involved in the web community, helping as advisor to such events as SXSW Interactive, the Information Architecture Summit, InfoCamp Seattle and in the past, WebVisions. Nick has also judged The Webby Awards and theSXSW Web Awards.
Geoff has been managing creative services for Blink since 2003. The creative group specializes in Graphic Design, Flash and Web development with a user centered design approach. Before Blink, Geoff started the multimedia department at Modern Digital Seattle and continued on there as Creative Director for 9 years. He has been recognized for his work by being named a "Top 100 Multimedia Producer" along with numerous other project awards. Geoff has developed marketing communications content for Microsoft, Intel, Computer Associates, Weyerhaeuser, Alstom Esca, and Boeing. He has also created corporate training programs for Labor Ready, Oldcastle Precast and Savers. Since 2002, Geoff has been entirely focused on user experience consulting and has worked for many clients including Microsoft eHome, Premera Blue Cross, InfoSpace, Digital Control, MSN, and MSDN.
Geoff has bachelor degrees in graphic design and mass media management from Miami University in Ohio and a graduate certificate in user-centered design from the University of Washington.
Lauren came to Blink in 2008 with a background in business management, marketing and sales. Lauren attended Georgia Southern University before moving to Seattle in 2003. She holds a B.A. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and Management from University of Washington. During her time at UW she served on the Technology Fee Committee and volunteered for several organizations in the community. Prior to joining Blink, Lauren worked for The Northlake Group where she managed the sales, marketing, and acquisitions departments.
Sean is focused on Blink’s account management activities and growth strategies for the company. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise in client development, sales management, recruiting and company growth. Prior to joining Blink in early 2010, Sean held various business development roles at Ascentium (2003-2010) and Sitewerks (1996-1999), two notable digital agencies in the Pacific Northwest. From 2000-2003, Sean owned and operated a Telecom startup company called Real Time Communications. He has a bachelor of Finance Degree from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.
Mark joined Blink in 2010 as the IT Manager and creative technologist. Prior to joining Blink, Mark worked as a photojournalist, art director for Getty Images, technologist in various industries, and teaches computer graphics and photography. Mark earned a Bachelor's degree in photojournalism from The Ohio State University. He has lived in various parts of the United States, Korea, and the Philippines before moving to the Seattle area in 1994.
Dan joined Blink in 2010 with backgrounds in statistics, measurement, computer science, and applied programming. He has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of South Dakota. Before earning his doctorate, Dan worked as a programmer and database lead at Animation Factory, where he lead the automation of a profitable internet start-up's online offerings. Dan now works on creating and validating original measures of customer-friendly design using nontraditional data sources. In his spare time Dan recently edited a handbook on stability operations.
Heidi joined Blink in 2001 and has over 20 years of software development experience working with large-scale system implementations. Prior to Blink, her experience included requirements analysis and interactive design, working with established companies such as AT&T Wireless and Microsoft. Heidi has a Masters in Human Centered Design and Engineering and an MBA from the University of Washington. She has a B.A. in Anthropology from Colorado State University and an Associate of Applied Arts in Web/Multimedia Design from the Art Institute of Seattle.
In 2006 James graduated with a Ph.D. in Psychology: Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Oregon where he researched the underlying mechanisms of perceptual decision making and visual attention. Prior to joining Blink in 2010, James consulted at Microsoft, working on numerous front-end user research projects to help identify unmet user needs and discover potential business opportunities. His primary emphasis is on survey development and computational analysis, using a variety of research techniques such as choice-based-conjoint analysis, maximum difference scaling, gap analysis, and perceptual mapping.
Jen joined Blink in 2007 with a background in experimental psychology and education. She has a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and over 10 years of experience conducting laboratory and field research. Before coming to Blink, Jen was a research fellow at the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, where she studied reasoning and decision-making processes in children and adults. Jen's other prior projects have included: evaluating middle-school science curricula and educational software, designing medical decision aids, and using eye-tracking methods to study pattern recognition in infants. Her research has been published in scholarly journals such as Child Development, Cognition, and Judgment and Decision-Making.
With over 12 years of applied graphic design experience, Adam brings the visual touch to Blink's user experience projects. His work is driven by a belief that visual design enables effective communication, and the most useful tool is one you actually want to use. Starting with solid information architecture, Adam organizes complex tasks into simple, satisfying interfaces. Before joining Blink in 2006, Adam worked in a range of disciplines including print advertising, online publishing, email marketing, social media, and brand development. He holds a BFA from The University of Michigan, with concentrations in graphic design and photography.
Yi-Min joined Blink in 2010 with over 8 years of research experience in teaching and learning, program evaluation, decision making and product research development. She has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Washington State University and worked as a Research Scientist in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington where she studied engineering faculty’s and students’ decision making processes. Prior to joining Blink, Yi-Min worked as a User Experience Research Consultant at Microsoft, where she assisted in driving all user research efforts for the Microsoft mouse product line. Specifically, she studied concept desirability and uncovered user needs in hardware peripherals with an emphasis on building solid end-to-end hardware-software interaction experiences. In her spare time, Yi-Min enjoys traveling, camping, photography and reviewing proposals for the National Science Foundation.
Behnosh joined Blink in 2010 and draws on her extensive research background to create useful technology products and enjoyable end-user experiences. Her doctoral research at the University of California, Santa Cruz (PhD, 2006) examined variation in how children across cultures engage in collaborative activities. Shortly after her graduate studies she served as a Society for Research and Child Development Fellow in the Department of Health and Human Services. As a Fellow her efforts primarily focused on developing federally funded programs of research for young Dual Language Learners. Behnosh has also worked as an independent research consultant abroad, contributing to the development of the Abu Dhabi Environmental Atlas.
Jennifer came to Blink in 2010 with a background in psychology, mathematics and engineering. As a National Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow, she earned a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics and a PhD in Experimental Cognitive Psychology at the University of Washington. Her experience includes research and mathematical modeling in attention, memory and perception. At Cantametrix, Jennifer researched and modeled perception of music as part of the development of a music search engine. Focusing on early learning research, she compiled findings and translated them into tools for parents and caregivers at the Talaris Institute in Seattle and as an independent consultant. Jennifer learned Spanish while living in Central America. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree, summa cum laude, in Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado Engineering School at Boulder and started her career working on Spacecraft Navigation Systems at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Joel has a background in human factors psychology and software usability. He holds an M.S. in Psychology with an emphasis in Human Factors from the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, where he studied visual perception. He started his professional career as a research scientist at Battelle’s Center for Human Performance and Safety, where he conducted government-funded transportation research on in-vehicle information devices, symbol evaluation, mass transit information systems, and driver inattention. Prior to joining Blink in 2010, Joel worked at Microsoft, leading user experience efforts for Windows Media Center and Microsoft’s customer support website. He has extensive experience in all facets of usability research, including lab tests, field studies, and surveys, with proficiency in data mining and statistical analysis.
Tom came to Blink in 2010 with 10 years of research experience on learning, interaction, and technology use in a variety of settings. In 2006 he graduated from the Ph.D. program in Learning Sciences at the University of Washington. Prior to joining Blink, Tom held positions as a visiting lecturer in the Museology (museum studies) Graduate Program at the UW and as an Assistant Professor in the Learning and Performance Support Laboratory at the University of Georgia. His past work includes ethnographic studies of how young people learn to play video games and use digital media as well as research on the integration of technology into educational settings. Tom has extensive experience conducting field-based observations, interviews, and cognitive walk-throughs.
Amit joined Blink in 2010 with more than ten years of experience in learning, media arts, and design. Previously, he worked as a Research Associate and a Research Assistant in various departments at the University of Washington where he conducted technology research in India and the United States. Amit's focus has been to understand how people use technology in their daily routines of work and life. Amit has a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from the University of Washington, and a M.F.A. in Digital Arts from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Nika came to Blink in 2008, bringing 6 years of experience in user experience design and research. Prior to Blink, Nika served as a user experience researcher for Google, where she led research efforts for the Gmail, Calendar, and Reader teams. Specifically, she studied how people use socially-mediated technology to communicate, express their personalities, and manage personal information and privacy settings. Nika has also served as an information architecture and interface design consultant for organizations including Ford Motor Company, the US Department of Education, the American Society for Information Science & Technology, and Intel. Nika holds a Master of Science in Information from University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from RIT.
Rachel joined Blink in 2010 after receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Western Washington University. During her undergrad program, Rachel focused specifically on the marketing research aspect of her studies. In addition, she received an internet studies certificate in web development which allowed her to gain skills in coding, web design, web usability and usability testing. Her past work as a Marketing and PR Assistant for Bellingham Tourism and as a web designer for Fire Mountain Solar has given her a wide range of experience.
Jeny Staiman joined Blink in November 2009, after leading the usability research for Windows Home Server at Microsoft for 5 years. Jeny holds a Master of Science in Industrial Design and a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology from Arizona State University. Her graduate work focused primarily on adult learning motivation and the causes and effects of learning vs. performance orientations.
Damon joined Blink in 2008 with 9 years of experience in Interaction Design & Usability. Before moving to the US in December 2005, he was an Interaction Designer for a user experience consultancy in The Netherlands, working for clients like ING, Vedior Europe, Delta Lloyd Insurance, KPN Telecom, @Home Internet and the Rotterdam Port Authorities. In Seattle, he helped Alaska Airlines improve conversion and loyalty on alaskaair.com, including the acclaimed Award Finder. Damon has a Masters degree in Industrial Design, with a specialization in User Interface Design, from Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.
Paula Wood is an Information Architect and User Experience Designer with more than a decade of experience in business, consumer, and enterprise applications on desktop and mobile systems. Prior to joining Blink in 2010, Paula has worked with major organizations including Microsoft, IBM and T-Mobile, where she received patents for advance voice controls. She is also a founder of Seattle Innovators, a local organization which designs and builds tools for cross-sector collaboration in Seattle’s innovation ecosystem. She holds a bachelor’s degree in visual design from The School of Visual Arts, New York City.
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Blink has done an amazing job on quite a complex application and now we have a great roadmap and visual/interaction design... I applaud the team for being highly collaborative, accommodating, thoughtful and responsive."
Anupam Gupta, VP Product Marketing, Mixpo Inc.