Minnar Xie Email & Phone Number

Los Angeles, Ca, Us

Los Angeles, California, United States

Part of the Safety Net Innovation Lab, partnering closely with State governments to help rebuild America's social safety net.

Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

I specifically:- Lead service design on a multidisciplinary project team that partners with a state government to improve the delivery of their safety net programs. I help research the client journey through a program, (re)design core moments of a service, help evaluate the impact of what we've helped implement, and support planning and engagement in the overall partnership - Help facilitate a bi-monthly convening of our Safety Net Innovation Lab government partners to help them forge a community of practice and share knowledge between each other- Support internal design team initiatives to mature our Service Design practice

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Blueprint is a non-profit, mission driven research organization dedicated to improving the social and economic well-being of Canadians by helping our partners research and evaluate programs that upskill, reskill, and improve job prospects for historically excluded groups of people. Using human-centered design methodology, I worked with community-based non-profits, civil society organizations, and multiple levels of govt to design, iterate, and evaluate programs, tools, and services by understanding the people they serve and the frontline folks who play a role in delivery. In my time I...- Coached and mentored 5 project teams to integrate an HCD approach including re-framing research questions, helping teams build plans and protocols to execute design research and/or participatory methodology, and scaffolding team members' growth through guidance and feedback- Led end-to-end design research on 3 projects, including designing and executing creative qualitative research approaches, visualizations of insights (e.g. journey maps, personas), co-design workshops to identify opportunities and prioritize amongst changes, and compelling final presentations for partners- Developed organizational resources on qualitative analysis, including a business case for licensing a collaborative qualitative analysis software and creating training for staff

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Co-taught "Design Management," a 45-person course for 4th year undergraduate students in the York/Sheridan Program in Design (YSDN). Students are introduced to approaches and skills necessary to apply design in society at-large through weekly lectures on a range of topics (e.g. design thinking, design processes, design research, design facilitation), invited guest lectures, group assignments, and in-class exercises.

Toronto, Ontario

Artery aims to build social infrastructure in cities and neighbourhoods through artistic experiences. Artery empowers people to co-create all types of live performances in intimate spaces. We connect artists to people willing to open their living rooms, backyards, and private spaces for a showcase shared with friends and strangers. You're welcome to check out what people are doing in Toronto, NYC, and LA: https://artery.is/

Toronto, Canada

Collaborate on interdisciplinary teams of visual designers, social scientists, and business strategists to help clients steer the future of their organization from a human-centered lens. Doblin is the design-led innovation practice within Deloitte's strategy consulting group, Monitor. Here in the Toronto office, we tackle some of Canada's most complex issues with an eye towards thinking about how we can build better means for participation. In my role, I specifically...- Lead qualitative / generative design research on client engagements with a focus in the public sector and topics of social services, innovation capability building, and diversity & inclusion- Collaborate across Deloitte service lines (including Public Sector Transformation, Data & Analytics, Customer Strategy, and Human Capital) to integrate our approaches through the lens of human-centred problem solving- Advocate for the role of design and sound research practices in shaping project scope and workplans

Toronto, Canada

- Support generative, qualitative, and ethnographic research- Analyze and synthesize qualitative data into insights and opportunities that reveal underlying user needs, aspirations, and mental models- Support innovation strategy projects and internal innovation capability building initiatives at large private and public sector organizations - Lead visual design of design research activities or client deliverables whether it's decks, books, posters, creating illustrations, or generally designing other print collateral- Design and facilitate participatory design workshops, considering both data-gathering needs and the experience design of the event- Contribute to strategic planning for client engagements

Greater Pittsburgh Area

Hired to continue my design class project with my collaborator, Hannah Salinas. We co-designed "Teen's Guide to Medical Transition," to empower youth with disabilities to start the conversation about transitioning from pediatric to adult medical care. I specifically:- Scoped and led design research to develop content for the guide, including interviews with clinicians and support staff, shadowing clinics, and conversations with youth with disabilities and their families- Illustrated the guide and was responsible for layout, typography, and visual design

Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania

Supported client strategy projects ranging from planning and conducting design research, synthesizing insights, illustrating concepts and storyboards, creating wireframe mockups, and assembling report deliverables.

Bangalore, India / Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania

Worked for a Carnegie Mellon University Robotics lab in partnership with the Mathru Educational Trust for the Blind in Bangalore, India. I was embedded in our partner schools in India for a summer: leading observational research in classrooms, contextual inquiry of teachers using the hardware devices, and interviews to understand uses and perceptions of braille tutor devices. Led interviews with teachers and staff at the School for the Deaf in order to uncover needs. Collaborated with engineering interns to translate those insights to develop two new educational technology tools for classrooms: 1) Speak Up!, a voice-powered game to encourage students to control the volume and pitch of their voices; 2) SignBook, a web-app that allows students and teachers to generate a local sign language repository. Managed the IRB consent form process and collaborated on reports and presentations.

Los Angeles, Ca

Worked on a Google Glass storytelling project. Wrote and recorded a location-based story, and a literature review on non-linear, location-based media projects.

Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania

Wrote exploratory surveys researching the psychology of color, analyzed data in SPSS, and designed/coded data visualizations in R for research publications