Aaron Cooper

Current

• Senior Information Architect at Thomson Reuters
• Adjunct Faculty at Minneapolis College of Art and Design
• Sole Proprietor at People Are Interactive

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Past

• Senior Interaction Designer at bswing
• Senior Interaction Designer at Internet Broadcasting
• Art Director at CRC Marketing Solutions

• Senior Designer at Larsen Design + Interactive
• Web Specialist at HGA
• Interactive Designer at Brooks Stevens Design
• Web Designer at GS Design

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4 more...

Education

• Milwaukee Area Technical College
• University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
• Concordia University Wisconsin

• Concordia University-Wisconsin

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1 more...

Recommended

10 people have recommended Aaron

Connections

176 connections

Industry

Internet

Websites

• personal site
• my del.icio.us bookmarks

Aaron Cooper’s Summary

People are designed a certain way — to seek, connect, collaborate and change.

People are interactive.

Employing over 13 years of design experience in many contexts, I work within teams to vision, plan, architect and iterate experiences that connect people with information and other people. My background in industries ranging from architecture and product design to entertainment and professional services provides insight for alignment of vision with unmet needs.


// Focal Points

Passion for design of iterative, two-way brand experiences that effectively communicate via a range of channels to engage with and learn from interactions with people

Well-developed relationship management and collaboration skills suited for the research, design, development, deployment, and refi nement of products that achieve client goals and champion the user experience

Effective business goal prioritization, needs assessment and process development honed through freelance and full-time experience with a wide range of businesses and within a variety of design environments

Experience necessary to coordinate and conduct targeted design research to reveal and document audience behaviors, motivations and objectives toward creation of meaningful experiences that strengthen brand relationships

Expertise in the translation of research and domain knowledge into targeted, scalable architecture and interaction design combined with visual design that leverages appropriateness, balance and cleanliness

Constant drive to expand knowledge and experience, encouraging growth and knowledge-sharing throughout organizations via engagement in local and national organizations, workshops, conferences, and other offl ine and offl ine venues

Aaron Cooper’s Specialties:

New business development, design strategy, research, information architecture, information design, visual design, branding, art direction, Flash, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, content management system integration

Aaron Cooper’s Experience

• Senior Information Architect

  Thomson Reuters

  (Public Company; TRI; Information Services industry)

  November 2008 — Present (1 year 1 month)

  Currently working in new product development.

• Adjunct Faculty

  Minneapolis College of Art and Design

  (Educational Institution; 51-200 employees; Higher Education industry)

  November 2007 — Present (2 years 1 month)

  I guided students through the Understanding Contexts for Internet Communication course. The course focused on exploration of context, character, communication and technology tools toward planning and execution of engaging online experiences.

• Sole Proprietor

  People Are Interactive

  (Design industry)

  February 1996 — Present (13 years 10 months)

  Related website: www.peopleareinteractive.com
  
  Interactive and print design and development services for a wide range of clients, from record labels and architects to financial companies and non profit organizations. I've worked with Warner Brothers Records, The American Cancer Society, IOTA, EcoDeep, Willy Porter, Carrie Newcomer, AEI Fund Management, Electronics For Imaging, IKON, Thomas Register and many others. I began in 1996 with two clients, both travel agencies. My client base grew significantly as I created strategic partnerships with other development and design professionals. I continue to develop relationships that endure and solutions that succeed in their respective markets.

• Senior Interaction Designer

  bswing

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Internet industry)

  June 2007 — November 2008 (1 year 6 months)

  Worked with clients such as The University of Minnesota, Pentair, Children's Cancer Research, D'Amico, Datacard, EMPI, Iconoculture, iSeek, MPR Sound Learning, Old Republic, Oracle and others. Responsibilities included new business development, information architecture and visual/interaction design. I worked closely with in-house research professionals and the larger team to synthesize experiences to bolster brands — to design interactions that moved people. I worked with interns, providing direction and mentoring in support of client objectives. I introduced new methods of collaboration such as mental model development and worked to enhance competitive analysis and brainstorming techniques.

• Senior Interaction Designer

  Internet Broadcasting

  (Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Internet industry)

  February 2007 — June 2007 (5 months)

  I contributed to interactive product development for Hearst-Argyle, COX, NBC and others, working closely with product managers, project managers, business analysts, information architects, researchers, developers and other designers during toward strategic iteration. I was challenged to continually integrate user-centered design best practices, including iterative user testing and research, within an Agile development process toward enhancement of process and deliverables.
  
  I left InternetBroadcasting due to their relocation to St. Paul.

• Art Director

  CRC Marketing Solutions

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Graphic Design industry)

  September 2005 — February 2007 (1 year 6 months)

  Full-time Art Director within a collaborative team where high quality content and design are coupled with measured effectiveness to drive positive brand experiences and client success. CRC offers opportunities to direct design within multiple channels, including email communication, websites, targeted sitelets and print materials. We work with a variety of clients within businesses such as UnitedHealthcare, Thomson West, Homecomings Financial, and Ecolab. At CRC I work within a team to attract new business and maintain long- term client relationships by delivering exceptional quality and service. Clients continually comment positively on our fresh, creative, technically savvy approach to design challenges.

• Senior Designer

  Larsen Design + Interactive

  (Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Graphic Design industry)

  January 2005 — September 2005 (9 months)

  Larsen Design + Interactive website: www.larsen.com
  
  Full-time responsibilities as an Interactive Designer and new business team member entailed design and development of interactive solutions, including websites, presentations, CD ROMs, online advertising, email marketing and more. Responsibilities included requirements gathering, consulting and design for clients such as GMAC-RFC, Twin Cities Public Television, AOL and others. While at Larsen, I exercised every creative, interpersonal and analytic muscle within a team of experienced design professionals.

• Web Specialist

  HGA

  (Privately Held; 501-1000 employees; Architecture & Planning industry)

  June 2002 — January 2005 (2 years 8 months)

  HGA's web site: www.hga.com
  
  Full-time position entailed project management, art direction, design and development of interactive solutions, including the HGA external web site, “H!P” Intranet, opt-in email marketing and more. Interactive projects leveraged Flash, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, JAVA, iDoc Script, top notch design and content management technologies such as Stellent Content Server. I was also a founding member of "co.Lab," a group of architects, graphic designers, interior designers and others. co.Lab perpetuated a design dialog, including design critiques, galleries, off-hour gatherings and more. The group elicited increased excitement and more effective, sensitive internal and external communication.

• Interactive Designer

  Brooks Stevens Design

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

  February 2000 — February 2002 (2 years 1 month)

  Brooks Stevens Design website: www.brooksstevens.com
  
  Full-time interactive, print and product design position. Responsibilities included project management, art direction, interactive design and development, identity graphics design, direct mail and magazine advertising, product design, kiosk development, product interface design, studio photography, high bandwidth Internet access and TCP/IP network maintenance, and other deliverables and endeavors. I was the design lead for projects related to interactive and print design for clients within medical, consumer, and commercial markets. Contributions increased sales through leads in response to web and targeted print marketing.

• Web Designer

  GS Design

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

  February 1999 — February 2000 (1 year 1 month)

  GS Design's web site: www.gsdesign.com
  
  Full-time interactive and print design position. Entailed concepting, critique, and production of a wide variety of design solutions including catalogs, ads, direct mail, promotional items, magazines and interactive projects. Clients included Harley Davidson, Repel, Buell and others. The GS team worked together to deliver top notch design and client service that fully utilized critique of creative work, constant communication, mentoring, and a high level precision. I learned more about great design and customer-focus during my time at GS Design than in all my years of schooling.

Aaron Cooper’s Education

• Milwaukee Area Technical College

  CAND , Commercial Art , 1996 — 1998

  GPA 3.89/4.0

• University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

  CAND , Counseling Psychology , 1995 — 1997

  GPA 3.9/4.0

• Concordia University Wisconsin

  BS , Psychology , August 1991 — June 1995

  Magna Cum Laude, GPA 3.7/4.0

  Activities and Societies:

  Honor Society, ESL

• Concordia University-Wisconsin

  Psychology , Psychology, Social Work, Seminary , 1991 — 1995

Additional Information

Aaron Cooper’s Websites:

• personal site
• my del.icio.us bookmarks

Aaron Cooper’s Interests:

Design (in the broad sense), ethnographic research, social media/passion-centric experiences, interactive design collaboration, skiing, camping, biking, enjoying time with my family

Aaron Cooper’s Groups:

Usability Professionals' Association - Minnesota Chapter
SIGCHI (Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction)
Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association
Board Member - Trinity Lutheran Church, Waconia, Minnesota

•    Interaction Design Association
•    UsabilityMatters.Org
•    Front End of Innovation
•    Refresh - Promoting design, technology,and usability.
•    Social Media Today
•    User Experience
•    FWA
•    User Experience Group
•    Information Architect, IA
•    Industrial Design
•    Design Research
•    Concordia University--Wisconsin Alumni
•    Adaptive Path
•    User Experience Professionals Network
•    Usability and Web 2.0+
•    Usability Practitioners
•    Architecture & Design Global
•    UX Thought
•    e-LEGAL
•    Usability Professionals' Association of Minnesota
•    UX Gov
•    ACM SIGDOC

Aaron Cooper’s Honors:

- 2006 SIAA Silver – US Airways Employee Benefits Campaign
- 2006 SIAA Bronze – Homecoming Financial "The Perfect Match" Game
- 2005 One Show Interactive – American Cancer Society, walkingtimebomb.com
- 2005 Graphis Interactive Design Annual 3 – IOTA Architects, inlandoffice.com
- 2005 Art Directors Annual 84 – American Cancer Society, walkingtimebomb.com
- 2004 AIGA Exhibit A Interactive Showcase – HGA, hga.com
- 2004 Entablature - Notable Site, hga.com
- 2004 HiByte, LTD - “Using Hibyte backend scripts to power a Flash site”
- 2002 MAC ADDY Award - Gold, wpcbrands.com
- 2001 MAC ADDY Award - Silver, wellbaby.com

Aaron Cooper’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch