Greater New York City Area
- Current
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- VP, User Experience Design at Schematic
- Past
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- Creative Strategist - Mobile, Social and Emerging Technologies at Icon Nicholson/LBi International
- Co-founder dodgeball.com (sold to Google in 2005) at Google
- Product Design Researcher at ecco Design
- Education
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- New York University
- Trinity College-Hartford
- Connections
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337
connections
- Industry
- Design
- Websites
Alex Rainert’s Summary
I've been working in the interactive industry for the past 10 years creating compelling products in a variety of mediums including wireless, broadband, web, product design, installation and application. In those 10 years, I have had the opportunity to work on all aspects of a product as an interaction designer, information architect, designer and developer working for clients including Nokia, Verizon Wireless, Target, IBM, HBO, Mastercard, Rainbow Media, 3COM, Hughes, and Nestle Waters.
I'm currently working at Schematic in New York as VP, User Experience Design, working with clients to efficiently design products that synthesize their needs with their users'.
On the side, I maintain everydayUX.com - a blog covering user experience design and innovation (with a smattering of mobile, gadgets, gaming, locative technology and other good stuff).
Prior to joining Schematic, I spent some time as an entrepreneur with dodgeball.com, a mobile social network, which was ultimately acquired by Google in May 2005.
A personal passion of mine has always been to soak in the culture and technology trends around me in an effort to keep the projects I work on current, as well as to better understand the users for whom I am designing.
In the Fall of 2002 I began a master's program at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. My work there focused on the intersection of community, social software and mobile devices to create applications that empower people to enhance the way they interact with their environments. Since then I have been driven to explore how technology can be used to change the way people behave socially.
Alex Rainert’s Experience
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VP, User Experience Design
Schematic
(Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Internet industry)
February 2008 — Present (11 months)
Oversees Schematic's User Experience Design group in New York. In close collaboration with the Creative and Technology teams, works to ensure that the company's vision for experience across multiple platforms is fully realized for a variety of clients in multiple industries.
- Manage growth and performance of 6 incredible UX designers
- Pitch potential clients on new work and identifying places where existing clients could extend their partnership
- Always working to refine and improve our Creative process
- Handle resourcing and scoping for projects large and small, occaisionally spanning multiple offices -
Creative Strategist - Mobile, Social and Emerging Technologies
Icon Nicholson/LBi International
(Design industry)
2007 — January 2008 (1 year)
At IconNicholson I got the chance to call upon my background in engineering, design and product development along with my experience working with various platforms. I help clients realize ways that they can leverage new technologies in their business in order to best meet their goals while providing a thoughtful and engaging user experience.
- Bring expertise in mobile, social and emerging technologies to existing and prospective clients
- Establish and lead new internal research and trendwatching initiatives -
Co-founder dodgeball.com (sold to Google in 2005)
Google
(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; GOOG; Internet industry)
January 2003 — April 2007 (4 years 4 months)
dodgeball began as a master's thesis project exploring the changes in social dynamics when you can empower users to use their mobile devices for more than just point-to-point communication. We received the "perfect storm" of press in the summer of 2004, and gave ourselves six months to take the product from project to business. After developing a business plan and talking to a variety of VCs, we decided that taking the product to Google would best allow us to realize our vision for the future of dodgeball.
- Pioneered the space that ultimately became known as Mobile Social Software
- Our close relationship with our users from day one established a loyal, helpful and strong user base that served as the foundation for our product
- Built a robust product using technology available to anyone and scaled it to 22 major metropolitan areas with a two person team and an almost non-existent budget
- Managed the UI that needed to constantly adapt to the rapidly evolving mobile/LBS space -
Product Design Researcher
ecco Design
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Design industry)
December 2003 — May 2004 (6 months)
After having spent years designing and building for digital interfaces, I wanted to get exposure and experience with the design process for the physical objects that often house them. Working as a researcher at ecco afforded me the opportunity to work on the intersection of form and function and get a glimpse at a part of the design process that was, until then, foreign to me.
- Client work included new product research for Virgin, Epson and Toyota/Scion -
Senior Interaction Designer
R/GA
(Internet industry)
November 2002 — August 2003 (10 months)
While attending graduate school, I worked on projects for IBM and Verizon Wireless that involved frequent interaction with, and presenting to, the clients.
- Through an iterative design process and extensive user research, developed the user interface for Verizon's next generation mobile phones -
Senior Interaction Designer
Gotham Broadband
(Internet industry)
February 2001 — April 2002 (1 year 3 months)
Introduced Interaction Design as a formal discipline into the Gotham process, serving as a liason between Technology, Design and Business Development for clients such as AOL Time Warner, Hughes, Much Music and Deutsche Telekom.
-Led the Interaction Design for a project to build a broadband consumer portal, creating six different content channels based on varying interests -
Information Architect (web, broadband and iTV)
Razorfish
(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; AQNT; Marketing and Advertising industry)
September 1999 — February 2001 (1 year 6 months)
Worked first as a developer and then as an information architect developing solutions for clients including HBO, Charles Schwab, Palm, KPMG, JPMorgan and Christie's.
- Architected an application for a wireless home internet appliance, working closely with industrial designers
- Created solutions for interactive television, taking into consideration the digital and physical interfaces and their limitations -
Interface Developer
Razorfish
(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; AQNT; Marketing and Advertising industry)
May 1998 — September 1999 (1 year 5 months)
Alex Rainert’s Education
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New York University
Master's, Interactive Telecommunications Program, 2002 — 2004
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Trinity College-Hartford
BA, Philosophy, 1994 — 1998
