Kelly Blackburn

A full system design for Salesforce

UX research, UX/UI design, lo-fi wireframing, Angular component design, HCD strategy, design systems thinking, customer journey mapping, Agile design strategy

Overview

As an Experience Design Lead at Cigna Evernorth, I was responsible for the research and design strategy for a high profile internal application. This application reported and compared program savings across various portfolios for tracking and calculating purposes. The main feature of this application gave users the ability to create standard and variable formulas comprised of known KPIs that could roll up into actual and forecasted savings numbers used by Cigna Evernorth executives. As a team, we were focused on creating a lo-fidelity MVP product that could demonstrate feasibility of concept.

Process

In the early stages I led user interviews and stakeholder focus groups—the results of which led to persona types and customer journey mapping exercises which helped form a service blueprint. Once the blueprint was in place, I began building out the essential framework of the application, including main features that were determined to be essential by stakeholders and users. While building out new design work, I conducted usability testing on existing work with users and iterated on designs in an Agile framework.

As a process, I enjoy working through multiple different user scenarios so that I can anticipate user errors, system errors, potential bugginess, and interaction design considerations.

For example, the main functionality of this application, “Formula Builder,” had 9 different user scenarios that would need to be accounted for in order to deliver the complex software. While designing, I thought through each possible scenario for how a user might interact with the software. I then mapped these out in the design work and partnered with an engineer to validate and begin solutioning. (I especially enjoy partnering with engineers on this work as I learn so much!)

Deliverables

I worked closely with development and product management on this project to deliver detailed specifications, research, and deliverables. Overall I created 8 new screens across two user groups.

I also contributed to many sprint grooming and planning sessions, and I led a few brainstorming sessions and retrospectives within the internal team.

Within the organization, I contributed to an accessibility work group to promote design compliance and create awareness within the business groups. I also partnered with an Angular team in the creation of a customized Angular library.

Filtering case study

Visual design, UI/UX design, interaction design, front-end development using Jira Forms GUI

Overview

The Budget Line of Business (BLoB, Dept. of Ed.) serves all government agencies by facilitating the sharing of resources, knowledge, and best practices when it comes to budgetary needs. As a facilitating agency, BLoB saw the need for a budgeting tool which would modernize the processing and apportionment of funds through the congressional approval system.

Challenge

-To provide enhanced functionalities and a cohesive visual design direction

-To modernize the apportionment system using third party technologies, and to integrate these technologies into the homegrown web application

Solutions

In partnership with my colleagues at TCG, I helped design and build a web application which would meet the extensive needs of stakeholders across dozens of agencies. To better understand the challenges of stakeholders, I participated in work group meetings, and I also studied the various cycles of the annual congressional apportionment process to better understand the tasks users would need to perform within the application.

UX/UI, Front-end Development, User Research, Business Consulting, Project Management

Overview

The Office of Government Ethics exists to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest in the federal government. As a part of this mission, the agency provides access to financial disclosure and tax forms of election candidates and appointed government officials. This website is highly visible during presidential elections, and is used heavily by government ethics officials, the media, and the general public.

To support the mission of transparency, the agency partnered with my employer TCG, and I was brought in to redesign and develop a wholly new website which would provide greater functionalities, a new site architecture, and new content. Additionally, the site would meet Section 508 standards, and would integrate the U.S. Web Design Standards.

Challenge

-To launch a newly designed/architected website before the 2020 presidential election

-To enhance search functionalities within newly architected research databases

-To adopt the US Web Design Standards and ensure Section 508 Compliance

-To determine logic/taxonomies for the search/filtering of large databases

Solutions

In collaboration with the lead programmer, and under the direction of the Chief Information Officer and the Chief of Staff, I worked within the agency to determine functionality requirements, user needs, technical restraints, and the overall scope of the project.

I then worked with the Lead Programmer to determine and achieve project milestones within an Agile framework.

For the design phase, I was able to glean an extensive amount of user and stakeholder research from several in-person workshops. This information was used in the creation of a new site architecture, new content creation plan, user journey maps, and ultimately, comprehensive wireframes. These wireframes were shared broadly and used to test assumptions, as well as to flesh out task flows and interaction states.

As a designer I was also responsible for the front-end coding, and worked closely with the lead programmer to learn the agency’s home-grown CMS. I implemented all front-end html/css, including the UI customization of third-party tools.

Outcome

-Generated high marks of satisfaction from the client, resulting in letters of appreciation from the Chief of Staff, Agency Director, and the Chief Information Officer

-Launched on time and within scope; a successful launch meant that the media and the general public had easier access to vital information before a presidential election

-The project was demoed to approximately 500 ethics officials at the annual OGE conference and received high marks of satisfaction through remote testing

UX/UI design, user research, wireframing, mobile application design (Android, iOS), visual design, consulting

Overview

The Consular Working Group at the Foreign Service Institute approached my team about a job performance tool for Foreign Service Officers. The proposed mobile app would help departing FSOs prioritize and schedule events and reminders in their phone operating systems. This work would help prepare the FSOs for success in their roles at foreign embassies abroad.

Challenges

-Designed new functionalities that would enhance the capabilities of the mobile app team

-Determined logic for new functionalities, and designed high fidelity UI mockups to communicate and test the complex interactions required

-Wireframed and communicated how the designs would translate to iOS and Android; worked closely with multiple developers to test and refine designs

-Designed UIs/interactions for task completion, custom note additions, new task additions

-Presented designs to large group of stakeholders from various working groups comprised of project owners, users, stakeholders, contributors, and subject matter experts

-Determined and negotiated scope and technical constraints while juggling client needs and team needs

Solutions

-Delivered all desired functionalities within two mobile applications optimized for Android and iOS

-The project won an agency award as a break-through job performance app

Visual design, UX/UI design, high-fidelity wire framing, web/mobile design, interaction design, modular web design, creative direction

Overview

The Berman Institute of Bioethics is a graduate program within the Johns Hopkins University System. Berman approached my employer, SAI Digital, about creating a newly designed/built website which would help to distinguish Berman as the leading voice in bioethics.

Challenge

-To create a highly engaging website with minimal photography/graphics

-To give Berman a distinct visual brand and voice while also adhering to the styles of the larger Johns Hopkins brand identity

-To enhance search functionalities, to add taxonomies for event feeds, and to provide more opportunities for user engagement (callouts)

Solutions

After several rounds of testing wireframes with Berman executives, I created high fidelity mockups to demonstrate information architecture, content organization, visual design direction, interactions, and newly enhanced functionalities. Additionally, I created mobile frameworks to communicate interaction states and responsive behaviors to the development team.

I designed the new visual direction in accordance with the Hopkins brand style guide, and in conformance with WCAG 2.0 guidelines. Additionally, the new website was designed to be modular and easily managed by the customer upon transition.

Infographics for the National Cancer Institute

I designed and developed this site component for the National Institutes of Health. It is an interactive flowchart to guide users through the process of working with a cancer registry. I hand-coded and styled this piece to be fully accessible and responsive for tablet and mobile view.

Additionally I built out the rest of the section within which this component lives.

Live site: https://seer.cancer.gov/registries/cancer_registry/index.html

I wrote and designed these spreads for the Appalachian Trail issue of Vistas. This content was developed around the themes of hiking and community. 

Vistas is a nature journal with the tagline "better nature, higher humanity." I am inspired by nature, and hiking is a part of my creative process. When I feel creatively "stuck," I immerse myself in nature, I travel, or I seek out new experiences. This movement and activity helps me see things in new ways, and I come back to difficult projects feeling refreshed and inspired.

This journal is an ode to transformative nature experiences that provide perspective, creativity, and clarity. This first issue, dedicated to the Appalachian Trail, features stories and art from hikers whose lives have been changed by the trail in some way. 

Vistas Magazine is a passion project that I developed and produced. In addition to creating all brand identity elements and content, I also served as designer and producer. 

In the future I would like to develop Vistas further as a digital travel/lifestyle magazine. 

The need for this project is rooted in personal experience. It's not always easy to get a group of people together for a hike, so oftentimes I make the decision to go hiking alone. As a solo hiker, my hiking priorities and decisions suddenly become very different—and much more important without the safety that a small group provides. 

Information across a wide variety of reputable hiker sites/national parks is either overly specific or too vague to be of use to the solo hiker. Further, each source provides an extreme abundance of information, but mining this content for strictly practical information can be exhausting. 

I don't want the prospect of hiking alone to be daunting to anyone, so I've carefully curated the best online content available for my fieldguide. I've tested these hikes myself (some of them several times), and this firsthand experience has informed the custom maps as well as the sliding scale ratings for popularity, difficulty, and tranquility. 

This is a set of 8 hiking cards, front and back, which, in their branded packaging, would easily fit into a dashboard. Ideally, the hiker can grab the card and go. Having this information readily available in a lightweight form saves the hiker pack weight, time, and distraction. I created this concept, performed the research, wrote, and designed these cards—including custom maps created through careful curation and attention. 

I don't want to persuade anyone to go off into the woods alone if that's not their thing. But many people in the hiker community embrace the solo experience, and I want to help them find their way alone while still feeling safe and in community.

I would like to develop this concept across a variety of activities (i.e. a guide for solo travelers in various cities) to help people embrace solo experiences while still feeling safe, comfortable, and connected. 

This designed information tells the story of the global design company, IDEO—from their beginning in Silicon Valley, to their existence as an innovative company leading the industry in applied design thinking. 

This timeline was designed as a handout to supplement a presentation entitled IDEO: The Life of a Company. Core skills involved with this project include presentation design, information design, storytelling, research, and writing.