Robin Silberling
Austin, TX

Objective

A position as a Senior User Experience Designer or Architect within a multidisciplinary team delivering compelling, web-based products and services that support business objectives and enhance how people live, work, and communicate.

Professional Experience

A senior user experience designer, I have a history of driving the design of software user experiences from concept through completion. I have…

  • Over ten years of experience designing solutions for complex web-based business applications, plus another decade designing for a variety of innovative desktop software products.
  • Contributed to all levels of the user experience and in all phases of the product development lifecycle, from defining a product’s overall architecture and structure, to iterating, specifying, and polishing the interaction details for specific features.
  • Experience using user-centered design techniques, and creating high-quality deliverables that communicate the intended user experience.
  • Experience working in collaboration with product development teams using Agile/Scrum and waterfall software methodologies.

Senior User Experience Designer  - Open Text Corporation/ Vignette Inc., Austin, TX
Feb 2008 - Present

  • Senior designer for Web Experience Management (formerly Vignette Content Management 8.0), a web application focused on the needs of business users who create and manage web content and rich media for enterprise web sites.
  • Defined the overall user experience framework and architecture. Designed user interfaces for features such as different workspace consoles, content creation and editing, metadata, complex data tables, and publishing.
  • Produced sketches, story boards, wire frames, diagrams, mockups, prototypes, and high-fidelity visuals to specify designs. Guided external vendors on development of visual design and icons.
  • Created HTML prototypes for rapid user feedback cycles. Collaborated with usability researchers on usability test design and findings.
  • Functioned as an embedded member of the front-end development team. Collaborated with a geographically-dispersed core team of developers, as well as an extended team of product managers, technical writers and other designers.
  • Helped establish internal best practices for better integrating user experience design within Agile/Scrum methodology. Participated in Agile sprint and release planning. Facilitated design sessions and reviews with key stakeholders and customer users.

Self Employed – Austin, TX
Freelance Designer
2004 to Present

  • Part time freelance web design for a variety of small and pro bono projects including wordpress sites, brochure web sites, plus graphic design and production of printed booklets and posters. 
  • Half-time courses in photography at St. Edward’s University from 2004 through 2007.
  • Freelance and student photography projects, including studio portraiture, editorial photography, large format camera work, and photographing artists works for reproduction. Produced high-quality digital prints using a color-manged workflow.

Senior User Interface Designer – Allegis Corporation, San Francisco, CA
September 1998 to August 2002, then contract through 2003

  • Lead UI Designer for Allegis eBusiness Suite, a web-based PRM application with over 30 configurable components.
  • Designed application framework, appearance, interaction conventions, and many business features. Created custom product skins to match customer web sites.

Senior User Interface Designer – Netscape Communications, Mt. View, CA
November 1995 to September, 1998

  • Designed features for Netscape server products (HTML and Java-based) for Netscape SuiteSpot 3.0 through 4.0 beta. Lead designer for a cross-product server administration framework, newsgroup administration, and access control management, as well as end-user oriented sever applications.
  • Lead Designer for cross-platform web page editor for Netscape Navigator Gold 2.0 and 3.0. Contributed to early design of Composer and Navigator for Communicator 4.0.

Senior User Interface Designer  - BAM! Software, Inc., Mt. View, CA & New York, NY
September 1993 to June 1995       

  • Lead Designer for Prentice-Hall's Writer's Solution CD-ROM, an multimedia product suite providing a writing curriculum for grades 6-12.
  • Prototyped and designed application framework, lesson flow and navigation, product appearance, graphic assets, and interaction conventions. Hired contract visual designer and usability testing consultants.

Senior User Interface Designer – Taligent, Inc/Apple Computer, Cupertino, CA
January 1991 to September 1993

  • Senior member of a very interdisciplinary iterface design team exploring new user experiences intended for a new object-oriented operating system.
  • Designed and prototyped new visual appearance and interaction conventions for windows, dialogs, controls, icons, direct manipulation, and linking. Collaborated with usability researchers.

Interface Designer & Quality Engineer  - Apple Computer, Cupertino, CA
February 1987 to January 1991

  • Lead designer for a suite of out-of-the-box example programs for HyperCard 2.0.
  • Responsible for quality assurance testing of HyperCard and HyperTalk features.

Education

St. Edward’s University
Photo-Communications, 2004 – 2007

UC Santa Cruz Extension
Certificate in Graphic Design & Production, 1987

Independent Studies
UC Berkeley Extension, 2001 – 2003; Foothill College, 1981 – 1984, 1996 – 1999; Ohlone College, 1984

Brief Bio

My education and then early empolyment as a graphic designer coincided with the introduction of the Macintosh. I worked as a print designer in the pioneering days of the "desktop publishing" industry (anyone remember PageMaker 1.0?) , but my interest shifted toward designing software interfaces when I accepted an opportunity to join the HyperCard team at Apple in 1987.

At Apple and then Taligent in the early 90's I was fortunate to work on innovative products that explored (pre-internet) concepts of hypertext and linking. In the mid '90's I joined Netscape Communications (just after its IPO, unfortunately), and worked on both Client and Server products. I left Netscape to join a B2B web startup, Allegis, where I designed the user experience for a CRM-type web application.

Upon moving to Austin, Texas, in 2003, I took a break from corporate work for a few of years to study photography while freelancing part time as a designer. I returned to full time work with Vignette in early 2008 as a lead designer for their industrial strength content management product.

Resume in PDF