I am a user experience designer and certified usability analyst living and working in the Minneapolis area. I am employed full-time by Assurant, a specialized insurance products company. I work as part of a cross-site web development team. I conduct user research and analysis to ensure an experience for the user that is not only intuitive, but both effective and pleasurable. I am passionate about elegant design and the technological innovations that make those experiences possible.
Professional Bio
I have been working with web technologies since 1997, mostly creating personal sites but I have also been doing this as a profession since 2002. In mid 2000, I attended the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, where I studied Management in Information Systems. I didn't learn anything about web design but I gained tremendous knowledge in how people, technologies, and procedures are collectively used to solve business problems. I studied the methods tied to the automation and support of human decision making. I've made it my career to apply that knowledge to create intuitive and usable interactions and experiences.
In late 2002, I started my professional career working as a web designer for the Chippewa Falls School District (herein referred to as the "District") where I designed and developed their websites and web applications. I was involved with the redesign of their public website and intranet. I also led a project to design and build a custom work order application, called QuickFix, that met the special needs and requirements of employees of the District.
In late 2004, I joined Fastenal, Inc., one of the largest industrial supply distributers in the country. There, I started working as a designer on a home-grown warehouse management application. I quickly shifted from that project to Fastenal.com, where I joined a great team and was involved with a project to lead the overhaul of the the user experience of Fastenal.com. We rebuilt the site from the ground-up, utilizing web-standards best practices including lean and degradable code, but also paid special attention to the accessibility and usability of the site. I also was involed with the design and development of Fastenal's employee recruiting site, Fastenal Recruiting.
In mid-2006, I left Fastenal and joined a great team at Assurant. There I have been able to continue advocating for web standards and practicing user-centered analysis and design. I have been able to work on many varying projects including their corporate intranet and other internal websites and web applications.
Personal Bio
I grew up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin before moving a few miles to Eau Claire, Wisconsin while attending college. I've since lived in the Minnesota cities of Winona, Woodbury, and Cottage Grove where I now enjoy my domestication with my wife Christina. I have a passion for many activities ranging from jet skiing to frisbee golf.
I also love photography. I am a published photographer... ask me about it sometime.
A Bit of Self Promotion
"Chase has been a huge asset to us. He's done a lot to lead the team in leveraging new UI techniques and technologies like jQuery, AJAX, RSS and REST. His participation makes everyone better. It has improved the perceptions of the applications he's been involved in and increased the functionality of the other team members' designs. He has great usability knowledge and instincts and has enhanced that with the HFI Usability Certification study he has started this year. As he is perceived more as a web leader and gains more authority from his successes, he'll have to direct some of his attention outward. There are substantial opportunities for Chase at Assurant. He is likely the most talented web developer we have."
— Craig Smith, Manager at Assurant, Inc.
"Chase's analytical skills and usability expertise are second to none. His innovative ideas, along with his "less is more" design approach brought about some of the most attractive and usable designs I've ever encountered. He is an agile designer and developer, and I highly recommend him."
— David Malone, Consultant at SDG
"Chase makes informed, calculated design decisions for every project he works on. He has a very effective way of exploring multiple design concepts and his ability to explore new technologies is second only to his problem solving abilities."
— Jon Hadden, Senior Visual Designer at Yahoo!, Inc.