Christopher Avore

Current

User Experience Designer at Library of Congress (via CACI Inc. and Erova Studios LLC)
Workshop Rebel Rouser at UX Show and Tell
User Experience Consultant at Erova Studios LLC

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Past

Sr. Interaction Design Consultant at Hillcrest Labs
Director, User Experience at FOLIOfn
User Interface Consultant at CC Pace (via Erova Studios LLC)

Information Architect and UI Designer at FINRA (formerly NASD)
Information Architect and UI Designer at American Chemical Society (via Erova Studios LLC)
Usability Specialist at National Geographic and EightShapes LLC
Adjunct Instructor at Corcoran College of Art and Design
Consultant at InfoReliance
Consultant at Collaborex

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6 more...

Education

University of Maryland Baltimore County
University of Maryland College Park

Recommended

14 people have recommended Christopher

Connections

331 connections

Industry

Information Services

Websites

Christopher Avore’s Summary

I'm a user-experience consultant specializing in user interface design, information architecture, and assessing the usability of new and existing systems.

I provide design and implementation services, often utilizing standards-based semantic xHTML, CSS, and javascript to build the most elegant, efficient and usable web site or web-based application on time and on budget.

I'm familiar with enterprise-level task-centric application design and complete end-to-end web site design, and frequently work as an independent sub-contractor to design and technology studios.

Recent clients include: Hillcrest Labs, Folio Investing, FINRA, American Chemical Society, US News and World Report, Georgetown University, University of Maryland, National Geographic, the National Park Service, and many more.

Deliverables include: wireframes, user-interface specifications, interaction flows, hi-fidelity mockups, functional prototypes, site maps, and dynamic web sites.

Christopher Avore’s Specialties:

sectors: financial services, entertainment, federal government, consumer, mass-media, non-profits and associations, higher education

specialties: interaction design, information architecture, user interface design, web design, Flash, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX

located in the Washington DC/Baltimore area in Germantown, MD

Christopher Avore’s Experience

User Experience Designer

Library of Congress (via CACI Inc. and Erova Studios LLC)

(Information Services industry)

July 2009 — Present (5 months)

Design the structure and interaction models of multiple Library web properties.

Interview and observe stakeholders and users to understand behavior and expectations.

Evaluate the usability of existing Library properties and recommend changes where necessary.

Use white boards, sketches, and paper prototypes to communicate early design strategy.

Present findings to non-technical senior leadership and stakeholders

(note: this is not a graphic or web design role.)
Workshop Rebel Rouser

UX Show and Tell

(Information Services industry)

2009 — Present (less than a year)

Coordinate and organize workshops for user experience designers of varying levels of experience to share work, deliverables, strategies and feedback among helpful colleagues.

Learn more at http://www.uxshowandtell.com
User Experience Consultant

Erova Studios LLC

(Information Services industry)

August 2000 — Present (9 years 4 months)

Erova Studios LLC was formed in 2000 to meet increased demand and workload for Chris Avore's consulting services. The company has adapted from operating almost exclusively as a web design studio to a specialized user experience practice.

Most clients turn to Erova for expert advice in:

* user interface design (particularly task-based web applications)
* user research
* information architecture
* presentation-layer web development (XHTML, CSS, JavaScript)
* usability audits
* task and process analysis
* wireframes, sitemaps, interaction flows

Deliverables often range from fully functional web sites, prototypes and multimedia presentations to reports and documentation.

Erova often works directly with a client's in-house design teams, local or off-shore development staff, and senior management.
Sr. Interaction Design Consultant

Hillcrest Labs

(Privately Held; Computer Software industry)

August 2008 — March 2009 (8 months)

Develop new gestural and pointing design patterns to access digital media via interactive television platforms.

Design and enhance user interfaces of software products and third-party software applications, such as movie, music, photo, podcast services, and e-commerce systems.

Deliverables include:
wireframes, task analysis, high-fidelity Photoshop mockups, Flash prototypes, UI and style specifications, and more
Director, User Experience

FOLIOfn

(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Financial Services industry)

January 2008 — August 2008 (8 months)

Directed all elements of the user experience of existing and potential clients of this financial products provider and online brokerage service.

In addition to architecting online strategy and information findability, I also assessed the usability of new and existing systems based on heuristics and user-testing.

Responsible for design and implementation of browser-based user interfaces.
User Interface Consultant

CC Pace (via Erova Studios LLC)

(Financial Services industry)

August 2007 — January 2008 (6 months)

Design wireframes, mockups, and prototypes of a personal financial management web-based application.
Information Architect and UI Designer

FINRA (formerly NASD)

(Non-Profit; 1001-5000 employees; Financial Services industry)

October 2005 — November 2007 (2 years 2 months)

• Interpret use cases and technical requirements to deliver a working site map, wireframes, and functional prototype for the securities regulator’s mediation enterprise application.
• Provide user interface specification documents to establish nomenclature, color, and interaction guidelines.
• Design the user interface of a Microsoft Sharepoint 2007 (MOSS) portal system to share knowledge management across FINRA. Also provided process documentation for developers. NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SHAREPOINT DEVELOPER JOB AND I HAVE NO EXPERIENCE DEVELOPING SHAREPOINT APPLICATIONS AND ALL JOB REQUESTS WILL BE CONSIDERED SPAM.
• Design the user-experience strategy and interface elements for an AJAX-enhanced web application.
• Examine an inventory of legacy Java Server Pages and make UI enhancements, provide streamlined semantic markup and compliant CSS to prepare for re-launch.
Information Architect and UI Designer

American Chemical Society (via Erova Studios LLC)

(Non-Profit; Chemicals industry)

May 2007 — October 2007 (6 months)

Provide wireframes, mockups and prototypes for new web-based applications to promote ACS membership and interests.

Identify and recommend enhancements or changes to the user interface or interaction flow to optimize the user experience.

Code, test, and document xHTML, CSS, and JavaScript implementations throughout the ACS.org re-launch lifecycle.
Usability Specialist

National Geographic and EightShapes LLC

(Privately Held; Entertainment industry)

February 2007 — April 2007 (3 months)

Conducted a series of user-testing sessions to determine whether new design prototypes enhanced the National Geographic user experience.

Sessions included conventional usability techniques such as contextual inquiry, think-aloud protocol, cognitive walkthroughs, and standard heuristic evaluations.

Provided written summaries, recommendations, and observations based on the tests. In coordination with Dan Brown and Eight Shapes LLC.
Adjunct Instructor

Corcoran College of Art and Design

(Educational Institution; 201-500 employees; Higher Education industry)

August 2005 — June 2006 (11 months)

Taught Web Design I and II where students studied and practiced new media design principles and technology. Curriculum included interface design, layout, CSS, typography, imagery and graphic optimization, design trends, and usability norms.
Consultant

InfoReliance

(Computer Software industry)

October 2004 — November 2005 (1 year 2 months)
Consultant

Collaborex

(Information Services industry)

August 2000 — May 2001 (10 months)

Designed the user interface for various web applications for clients such as Dupont, Johnson & Johnson, and WebMethods.

Christopher Avore’s Education

University of Maryland Baltimore County

Human Computer Interaction & Human Factors 2007 — 2008
University of Maryland College Park

BA , English , 1996 — 1998

concentration: Rhetoric & Communication (focuses on professional copywriting and editing)

significant coursework in multimedia and interactive design using HTML, Toolbook, and Director

significant coursework in Shakespeare

Activities and Societies:

Theta Chi Fraternity

Additional Information

Christopher Avore’s Websites:

Christopher Avore’s Interests:

modern fiction, photography, golf course architecture, triathlon, interaction design theory

Christopher Avore’s Groups:

Usability Professionals Association
Information Architecture Institute
Association of Computer Machinery (CHI)
DC Information Architects
American Society for Information Science and Technology (HCI and IA)