Quit your job! Pick my brain about going independent
Session Title
Quit your job! Pick my brain about going independent
Presenter
Whitney Hess, Independent consultant
Session Type: Discussion
A year ago I decided to take the leap and quit my full-time job to be an independent UX design consultant. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. Come to this open session to pick my brain about how I did it and what I’ve learned along the way. We’ll touch on how to prep for self-employment, finding clients, self-promotion, selling UX, lifestyle changes, managing projects, running the business, finding inspiration, growth and scalability, and legal stuff. No question is off-limits and different approaches and perspectives are encouraged.
Biography
Whitney Hess is a user experience design consultant based in New York City. She helps make stuff easy and pleasurable to use.
Prior to going independent, she was on the design team at Liquidnet, an international financial software company that runs the leading electronic marketplace for wholesale stock-trading. Previously, she was an interaction designer at two marketing agencies, Digitas and Tribal DDB, where her clients included American Express, The New York Times, Allstate, Claritin, Tropicana, and EarthLink. Most notably, she helped to conceive, design, and test an innovative card search tool for American Express, and is named as a co-inventor on its U.S. patent.
Though she began her higher education in computer science, Whitney received a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing and a Master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University. For the Master’s capstone project, she was one of five HCI students to develop Roadcasting, a system that allows drivers to create and share their music playlists with other cars on the road. The project has received press from Wired, MIT Tech Review, Slashdot, BoingBoing, and more.
Whitney is a strategic partner with Happy Cog and UX consultant for boxee, among other startups, agencies, and major corporations. She writes about improving the human experience on her blog, Pleasure and Pain and can be anytime on Twitter @whitneyhess.
Discussions
Quit your job! Pick my brain about going independent
Session Title
Quit your job! Pick my brain about going independent
Presenter
Whitney Hess, Independent consultant
Session Type: Discussion
A year ago I decided to take the leap and quit my full-time job to be an independent UX design consultant. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. Come to this open session to pick my brain about how I did it and what I’ve learned along the way. We’ll touch on how to prep for self-employment, finding clients, self-promotion, selling UX, lifestyle changes, managing projects, running the business, finding inspiration, growth and scalability, and legal stuff. No question is off-limits and different approaches and perspectives are encouraged.
Biography
Whitney Hess is a user experience design consultant based in New York City. She helps make stuff easy and pleasurable to use.
Prior to going independent, she was on the design team at Liquidnet, an international financial software company that runs the leading electronic marketplace for wholesale stock-trading. Previously, she was an interaction designer at two marketing agencies, Digitas and Tribal DDB, where her clients included American Express, The New York Times, Allstate, Claritin, Tropicana, and EarthLink. Most notably, she helped to conceive, design, and test an innovative card search tool for American Express, and is named as a co-inventor on its U.S. patent.
Though she began her higher education in computer science, Whitney received a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing and a Master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University. For the Master’s capstone project, she was one of five HCI students to develop Roadcasting, a system that allows drivers to create and share their music playlists with other cars on the road. The project has received press from Wired, MIT Tech Review, Slashdot, BoingBoing, and more.
Whitney is a strategic partner with Happy Cog and UX consultant for boxee, among other startups, agencies, and major corporations. She writes about improving the human experience on her blog, Pleasure and Pain