Shelley Sather Email & Phone Number

New York, Ny, Us

Greater New York City Area

I use Qualitative, context-driven methods to bring people into the heart of the design process, shape early opportunity spaces and guide the expression of new things. I'm drawn to work that constructs the space to think deeply about human problems, cross disciplinary collaboration and projects that have a bit of bravery baked in.Client engagements range from sprawling, complex global studies to smaller research endeavors designed for organizations and projects close to my heart. What unites this client roster is a shared, earnest desire to meet people where they are.Specialities include+ Deep expertise in designing research intended to rethink human experience(s) in a future facing way and for the betterment of the world + A sharp antenna for where 'what people can tell you' breaks in Qualitative Research , and how to design around/through that+ Incisive & sensitively thought sample design

Greater New York City Area

As VSA's sole ethnographer-in-residence, I worked directly with strategists and designers on a wide range of engagements, to help rewire the thinking behind whatever VSA ‘makes’, based on a human-centered (vs 'aesthetes') approach to design.

Greater Chicago Area

Leveraged design principles to solve business problems, among a merry band of futurists who believe in designing for meaningful growth.Most of my work here was focused on the integration of mobile technology and the future of adult beverages, although there were forays intro revamping breakfast and Human-Computer Interaction paradigms.

Greater Chicago Area

Used traditional Qualitative methods to help companies understand the perceptual landscape their brands lived within, and develop strategies for creating deeper connections with existing or new users.I am grateful for the pattern recognition across almost every consumer category you can imagine, and the talented people who taught me how to do the job with smarts and aplomb.

Greater Chicago Area

The Green at Grant Park was backed by one of the first private developers to take a small tract of Chicago's vast scape of (then defunct) parkland, and turn it into something both usable + beloved. We built a little gem of an outdoor oasis, where you could knock around a few golf balls on professional putting greens, and more likely, have a really nice meal and a beer surrounded by a profusion of flowers and little white lights. I was responsible for crafting the public identity (a logo, a reason for being etc) for pitches to the City, but as the program moved from concept to reality, I moved into a more central design and execution role, retooling the business model by improving the restaurant offering, serving as the central liaison for the Department of Buildings, architects and contractors during buildout, and running point on all secondary revenue streams. I discovered here, at heart, I am probably a builder.

Greater Chicago Area

Fresh from having worked on the trading floor (30 Treasuries) as a college student, I was hired to help this London-based commodities software company tap into the American trading community, just as computerized trading platforms were being introduced into the Chicago markets. Essentially, I served as the universal translator for American sentiments around users’ identity as open out-cry ‘floor’ traders (yes, like the people yelling at each other and throwing paper around), and the immense change that technology had introduced into their lives. The goal here was to shape a digital interface that made sense to them. On a tactical level, I conducted end-user forums to gain insight into the current (and potential) behaviors, workflows and needs of EasyScreen's client base, and used those findings to work with internal teams on product development, marketing and sales.At the time, I didn’t know what wire frames were, but I was drawing them, and I didn't know what usability testing or behavior shadowing was, but I was doing those too. And I certainly didn't realize that this transition from trading floor to office would spark an attraction/fascination with designing amidst market disruption. But that's exactly what happened, and so here I am.