Elsie Samson

Current

Freelance UI Designer at self

Past

Project Manager and UI Specialist at Esurance
Product Manager at imeem
Teacher's Assistant at Rochester Institute of Technology

News Section Editor at Reporter Magazine
User Interface Designer at MITRE
Web Designer at The Creative Think Tank Agency

see less...

3 more...

Education

Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology

Recommended

1 person has recommended Elsie

Connections

417 connections

Industry

Internet

Elsie Samson’s Summary

Experience
• Freelance UI Designer (on/off 2002 – Present)
• Esurance – Project Manager + UI Specialist (Jan – Nov 2009)
• imeem – Product Manager (Apr – Oct 2008)
• MITRE – UI Designer (July – Nov 2005)
• RIT – Teacher's Assistant (Mar 2005 – May 2007)
• The Creative Think Tank Agency – Web Designer (May – Nov 2004)

I want to create quality work and spark change.

Elsie Samson’s Specialties:

user interface, visual design, rapid prototyping, design documentation, product liaison, usability testing, branding, PR, writing, editing, web standards, web accessibility, XHTML, CSS, Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.), sexy Powerpoints

Elsie Samson’s Experience

Freelance UI Designer

self

(Internet industry)

January 2008 — Present (1 year 11 months)

• Designing interfaces and consulting on usability
• Working on jobs ranging from logos to Facebook applications
• Creating user experiences that encompass the client's brand while maintaining a clean and visually aesthetic design
Project Manager and UI Specialist

Esurance

(Privately Held; Insurance industry)

January 2009 — November 2009 (11 months)

• Translating insurance requirements into UI for internal and user services
• Managing projects, milestones and documentation within a timeline
• Balancing usability with marketing objectives
• Working with teams to improve customer experience and support brand
• Creating ideas to improve: value, usability, brand awareness, the bottom line and company innovation
Product Manager

imeem

(Privately Held; Internet industry)

April 2008 — October 2008 (7 months)

• Led usability testing and defined its goals, user tasks and timeline
• Analyzed testing and prioritized usability issues into reports
• Designed digital prototypes for potential site features
• Critiqued site weekly to identify improvements and potential features
• Performed weekly competitive research with notes and screenshots
• Represented the company at music and tech conferences
Teacher's Assistant

Rochester Institute of Technology

(Educational Institution; Higher Education industry)

March 2005 — May 2007 (2 years 3 months)

• TA for three classes (one each quarter): (1) Programming for New Media, (2) Intro to Multimedia, (3) Web Site Design & Implementation
• Helped students through exercises during labs
• Assisted the professor in explaining classroom concepts and in grading
• Met and helped students with exercises and projects outside of class
News Section Editor

Reporter Magazine

(Newspapers industry)

September 2006 — November 2006 (3 months)

• Communicated with section writers and e-board throughout the week
• Assigned and edited articles
• Worked with writers during the writing process
• Led weekly section meetings and managed section deadlines
• Helped with the magazine's promotional activities
User Interface Designer

MITRE

(Non-Profit; Information Technology and Services industry)

July 2005 — November 2005 (5 months)

• Worked with the design team to evaluate internal web services
• Designed visual and front-end mock-ups for internal web services
• Implemented designs into web on the front end using XHTML + CSS
• Acted as a liaison between designers and coders
• Assisted in teaching web standards to co-workers
• Presented to the department and brought in a Tech Talk speaker
Web Designer

The Creative Think Tank Agency

(Marketing and Advertising industry)

May 2004 — November 2004 (7 months)

• Worked with the Creative Director on branding and identity for jobs
• Worked with the lead graphic designer on jobs
• Implemented designs into sites on the front end using XHTML + CSS
• Taught lead designer how to use certain Photoshop tools and FTP
• Acted as office assistant to the CEO/Creative Director with tasks such as budgeting, invoicing and client communication

Elsie Samson’s Education

Rochester Institute of Technology

MBA , Tech Management , 2006 — 2007

Activities and Societies:

Reporter Magazine, Engineers for a Sustainable World
Rochester Institute of Technology

BS , New Media Information Technology , 2002 — 2006

Activities and Societies:

Phi Sigma Pi, IT Student Organization, PUB (digital printing club), Reporter Magazine, WITR (campus radio station)