Chris Farnum

Current

• User Experience Consultant at ProQuest

Past

• Senior Information Architect at Enlighten
• Information Architect and Usability Design Product Manager at ProQuest
• Information Architect at Compuware

• Information Architect at Argus Associates
• Librarian at West Bloomfield Township Public Library

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Education

• University of Michigan School of Information and Library Science

Recommended

13 people have recommended Chris

Connections

208 connections

Industry

Internet

Websites

• My Website

Chris Farnum’s Summary

Core Values:
-Investigating user needs and incorporating those insights into your project is the best path to a successful site strategy.
-Make information easier to find by organizing content, utilizing metadata and providing key access points.
-Understand key objectives and organizational context, then design to maximize return on investment.

Chris Farnum’s Specialties:

Information Architecture, Usability and User Research, User Experience Design, Interaction Design, prototyping, site search, taxonomies, controlled vocabularies, blueprints, wireframes, web site navigation

Chris Farnum’s Experience

• User Experience Consultant

  ProQuest

  (Privately Held; Publishing industry)

  August 2009 — Present (4 months)

  - Working as part of an Agile team to define and enhance the user experience of the ProQuest search interface.

• Senior Information Architect

  Enlighten

  (Privately Held; Internet industry)

  May 2005 — August 2009 (4 years 4 months)

  -Designed interactive user experiences for a broad range of Web-based brands including PPG, TCS, The John Frieda Collection, and The Hartford
  -Performed user needs analysis, contextual research, business process analysis and organized complex content
  -Developed user interface functional specifications
  -Collaborated within multidisciplinary teams as part of an award-winning interactive professional services company
  -Contributed to the sales process by assisting in RFP responses, project scope estimates, and on-site presentations
  -Assisted in mentoring and training junior IA staff

• Information Architect and Usability Design Product Manager

  ProQuest

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; PQE; Online Media industry)

  September 2002 — April 2005 (2 years 8 months)

  -Responsible for improving and evolving the search interface and user experience for the company's flagship ProQuest product line of aggregated databases.
  -Conducted user research, testing, and user experience design for a major re-release of the ProQuest search interface in Summer 2003.
  -Led projects to add new custom databases, search tools, and methods of browsing.

• Information Architect

  Compuware

  (Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; CPWR; Staffing and Recruiting industry)

  April 2001 — August 2002 (1 year 5 months)

  -Consultant and web development team member with one of the leaders in global technology consulting.
  -Developed wireframes and blueprints for projects including corporate marketing portals and enterprise web applications.
  -Developed and conducted usability tests as a key part of my design methodology.

• Information Architect

  Argus Associates

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

  December 1997 — March 2001 (3 years 4 months)

  -Senior consultant in a pioneering information architecture firm.
  -Clients include Fortune 500 companies and Web leaders such as AT&T, Bell & Howell Information and Learning (formerly UMI), Egreetings.com, and SGI.
  -Produced a variety of high impact deliverables including site blueprints, wireframes, controlled vocabularies, navigation systems, search interfaces, meta data strategies, and content management policies.
  -Integrated groundbreaking user research techniques into the design process including task analysis, card sorting, and paper prototyping.

• Librarian

  West Bloomfield Township Public Library

  (Government Agency; 11-50 employees; Libraries industry)

  May 1995 — December 1997 (2 years 8 months)

  -Served as a reference librarian and then as automation librarian for an institution that was one of the early leaders in connecting patrons to the Web.
  -Site coordinator for the Innovative Interfaces Inc. library automation system.
  -Web design for special projects including the library catalog web interface.
  -Technical support and account management for Internet dial-in access.
  -Direct public service including answering questions and teaching classes on using the Internet, databases, and the library catalog.

Chris Farnum’s Education

• University of Michigan School of Information and Library Science

  MILS , Library Science , September 1993 — May 1995

  During graduate school I was part of the class that founded the Internet Public Library web site. I also managed a residence hall library including a staff of student assistants and worked in the department's computing center.

Additional Information

Chris Farnum’s Websites:

• My Website

Chris Farnum’s Interests:

Information Architecture, Usability, User Experience Design, Interaction Design, Site Search, Enterprise Search, Rich Internet Applications, Taxonomies, Thesauri, Kites, Skiing, Canoeing, Kayaks, Family Fun, Sci-Fi and Fantasy, English Lit and Drama

Chris Farnum’s Groups:

ASIST SIG-IA, Information Architecture Institute (IAI), A2B3

•    LA2M - Lunch Ann Arbor Marketing
•    Information Architecture Institute (IAI)

Chris Farnum’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• expertise requests
• reference requests
• getting back in touch