Avery Katz

Senior product designer with specialties in interaction design for software and hardware. Experienced in the entire design process from initial brainstorming to implementation and user testing. Enjoys learning and creating interactive experiences either as a team leader or contributor.

Work Experience

WeaveGrid

Senior UX Designer

2023 – Present

Design for WeaveGrid Utility Dashboard and Driver App Experience.

  • UI/UX interaction, specifications, and visual assets for admin dashboard and end-user products
  • Figma prototyping for internal and external demos
  • User research study design and execution
  • Video editing
  • Responsive design for transactional and marketing emails – co-branding with customer brand colors/logos, variable screen size, light/dark mode, and OS support
  • Designing and maintaining white-labelled webpages via Webflow

Accomplishments: 

  • Created a standard packet of all marketing websites, user interface screens, emails, SMS, and FAQ to be distributed to clients and easily commented on without needing to download anything or create an account.

Cisco Systems Accessories and Wearables

Senior Product Designer

2019 – 2023

Lead product designer for the Cisco 300 Headsets, Cisco 500 Headsets (520, 530, 560), Cisco 700 Headsets, B&O Cisco 980, Webex Desk Cam 1080p and 4k cameras- integration with Webex app, Cisco Headsets mobile app for iOS and Android, Cisco Accessories Hub for web, and embedded configuration app for Cisco desk devices. 

  • Provide visionary leadership and strategic direction with responsibility for end-to-end UX product ownership from ideation stage to shipping product. Lead in UX spec creation, UX support for the development process, user testing, and documentation/localization. Review all UX stories and give UX QA sign-off.
  • Responsible for button, LED, and sound design as well as Bluetooth and Webex App interaction for all Cisco headsets and cameras. Provide leadership in guiding, fact-checking, and approving all in-box and online end user documentation. Oversee first time experience from the packaging design to first time setup through Webex or Cisco Headsets app. 
  • Information Architecture, UI, and help content for Cisco Headsets app on mobile and Cisco Accessories web tool.
  • Designed headset workflows for call center agents, knowledge workers, commuters, and Webex users.   
  • Delivered UI, IA, and visual assets for headset and camera management on the Cisco Control Hub and Call Manager websites. 
  • Lead as Human Factors Researcher – testing and design validation for all headsets, cameras, and small desk devices.

Accomplishments: 

  • Designed and developed enterprise-grade headsets, utilizing competitive analysis, interaction design for common VoIP programs, and companion app development for iOS, Android, Mac, PC, web, Cisco Video Endpoints, and IP phones to upgrade and configure headsets, resulting in over 10 shipped products that sold over 1 million units in just 5.5 years.
  • Managed remote user testing during the COVID-19 pandemic for the design of headsets 720 and 320 by creating a comprehensive research test plan that included recruiting internal users, conducting qualitative interviews, and collecting data with a limited number of prototypes. Identified and corrected fatal design flaws in both products, resulting in improved quality.

Cisco Systems Endpoints

Senior UX Designer

2016 – 2018

Used product design roadmap and planning via a step-by-step approach for the Cisco 7832 and 8832 conference phones, Webex Share, and Desk Hub. IVR design for Cisco ATA 190 and 191. Gained experience in designing real-time video and call UI, conversational UI, VUI, and multi-modal UX (TV, conference phone, laptop, and mobile phone).

  • Was responsible for creating and maintaining the design specification which was used for implementation by engineering and story verification by QA. 
  • Managed work with visual design to ensure products were consistent with the rest of the Cisco portfolio while also adjusting to the latest visual design system. 
  • Conducted user testing with customer interviews, surveys, and field studies. 
  • Created HTML and Flash prototypes to determine design direction.
  • Designed and coded the Webex Share device details and management webpage. 
  • Worked with documentation and localization teams to ensure that final documentation was accurate and up to date.

Accomplishments: 

  • Efficiently managed the home screen and settings area of the Android-based embedded UI for Cisco’s DX70 and DX80 video endpoint devices, utilizing user research studies to determine optimal button and font sizes for user accuracy.
    • Successfully increased both the font size and button size to maximum proposed values, resulting in improved user experience during device testing.
  • Owned the first-time setup area of the Android-based embedded UI for Cisco’s DX70 and DX80 video endpoint devices, developing a high-fidelity interactive prototype that simulated the hardware in development with a working soft keyboard for user input.
    • Identified user experience issues with the SSO solution and made optimizations to the copy and behind-the-scenes configuration to simplify the setup process for average users, resulting in improved completion rates.

UX Designer

January 2013 – 2016

Led as interaction designer for custom Android platform (Cisco DX650, DX70, DX80) – three screen sizes. Worked on phone, contacts, call history, and settings apps as well as system level design on the home screen and navigation bar. 

  • Designed workflows for executive admins, executives, call center agents, and general knowledge workers across health, education, banking, and government verticals. 
  • Created and maintained UX design specifications for the DX series working with designers, engineers, and PMs across the US and Oslo.
  • Handled click-through prototyping for deciding quick design directions. Used medium fidelity prototypes on actual hardware for user testing.
  • Conducted user testing to validate and improve product design.
  • Manual QA work- stepped through the UI to find bugs, filed them, and followed up with engineering.
  • Addressed early field trial and alpha customer feedback and feature requests.
  • Administered UX team phones- updated daily loads, repaired, installed .apks, and changed settings so the team could verify feature updates.

Cisco Systems Chief Technology Office Group

Designer and Prototyper

July 2011 – January 2013

Understood the big picture for implementation of long-term initiatives while working on user experience and technical investigations for new technology relevant to Cisco’s collaboration products (WebEx, Telepresence, IP Endpoints, etc.).

  • Led the processes for interaction and visual design for CTO prototype projects inside Cisco (Collaboration Portfolio).
  • Drove initial design of multiple features from concept through production – designing and conducting user testing to validate and improve prototypes. Created videos, animation, click-through prototypes, and storyboards to illustrate next generation technology projects.
  • With 10 years hindsight, all of our projects eventually became products at Cisco. Some include Webex Board, Webex People Insights, and Desk Hub.

Skills

Languages in order of proficiency:

  • Flash/Actionscript
  • HTML/CSS/Javascript
  • Java
  • Python
  • C++

Favorite UI design tools:

  • Figma
  • Sketch
  • Photoshop
  • Adobe Animate (for prototyping)

Education

University of California Berkeley

BA Cognitive Science (concentration in Computational Modeling) 2011

Awards and Honors

  • Team Captain of the 2010-2011 Cal Women’s Gymnastics team
  • 2011 Pac-10 All-Academic Second Team
  • 2010 Second Team All-Pac-10 in the All-Around, NACGC Scholastic All-American, and honorable mention for Pac-10 All-Academic team.
  • 2009 NCAA West Regionals Representative on Floor Exercise

Volunteering

  • Cisco University Connection Team
  • RAFT