Ben is available for hire
Hire BenBen Cerezo
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Location
Portland, OR, United States
Toptal Member Since
February 4, 2020
Ben has been described as a polymath with broad interests and the ability to quickly identify connections and synthesize solutions. Today, he uses his diverse skills and knowledge of human behavior to support high-performing, inclusive teams that deliver highly usable technology solutions to some of the most challenging problems.
Portfolio
Work Experience
Founder and Principal
2019 - PRESENT
Self-employed
- Fully designed and conducted qualitative usability testing for a new, innovative social music sharing and discovery app for Crushroom, Inc., a US-based startup.
- Worked with an accomplished US-based product design firm, leading a team of designers and researchers to uncover consumer needs, and design a feasible 5-year strategic vision that articulates the future of digital healthcare in the US.
- Co-founded IN.VOLVE, a group of UX professionals in Portland, Oregon, USA to promote social equity and inclusivity in the UX design profession.
- Co-founded a startup focused on using existing technology to support one-to-one personal trainers working remotely with their clients.
Technologies: Slack, Figma, Principle, Adobe CC, Sketch, InVision
Director of Design
2017 - 2019
Pop Art, Inc.
- Established research and design functions, processes, and standards as part of executive leadership.
- Quickly ramped up to lead the design of a mission-critical, high-value business application for electrical engineers and customers of Daimler Trucks North America, while rectifying and growing the client account.
- Established product design direction and created the design system for BAM! — a sales enablement platform for industrial OEMs, comprised of a digital asset management (DAM) web application, and accompanying mobile sales tool.
- Managed and contributed to the work of a team of designers and researchers across marketing, product design, and legacy service clients.
- Set standards for usability and design quality while creating opportunities for cross-collaboration and professional growth of direct reports.
Technologies: Principle, Airtable, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Zeplin, Figma, InVision, Sketch
Founder, Principal Creative Director
2010 - 2017
Clearform, LLC
- Founded a full-service usability and experience design company, serving boutique agencies, Fortune 100 businesses, and startups across multiple business verticals.
- Led user research and design for a web-based application interface for controlling various smart city technologies.
- Conducted multiple rounds of usability testing and design improvements for the online bill pay system of a large regional bank.
- Designed the first mobile application to support full P2P message encryption and bitcoin payments.
- Provided design support to multiple companies within a startup accelerator, in partnership with Nike and Techstars.
- Designed key portions of an application for UAV operations within US airspace.
- Designed a platform for tracking global, high-value shipments using the Verizon network.
- Designed a proprietary application for Honeywell to monitor and streamline forklift operations in warehouse environments.
- Designed an application for delivery drivers to monitor their bill of lading, coordinate with dispatchers, capture photos of damaged goods, and collect delivery signatures.
Technologies: Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), Principle, Airtable, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Zeplin, OmniGraffle, InVision, Sketch
Communication Design Faculty
2014 - 2016
Pacific Northwest College of Art
- Designed and instructed a 16-week collaborative course, teaching undergraduate students basic design thinking exercises and user-centered design methodologies.
- Taught an end-to-end mobile app design process, including requirements definition, user research, information architecture, wireframe design, UI design, prototyping, qualitative usability testing, presentation, and teamwork.
- Taught students basic use of Sketch, Principle, and InVision.
- Established grading standards to incorporate peer assessments in a balanced way.
- Coached students on presentation skills.
Technologies: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Sketch, Apple Keynote
UX / UI Designer
2008 - 2009
Pinpoint Logic
- Designed the UI system for the corporate intranet at Cisco Systems.
- Collaborated with a team of UX designers and engineers to establish enterprise-class usability patterns and implement UI updates.
- Designed the information architecture for Nike Vision and Nike Golf web properties.
- Helped conceptualize and integrate UX design into an Agile/SCRUM workflow.
- Participated in and led design-thinking exercises for client projects.
Technologies: OmniGraffle, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Education
1998 - 2004
Bachelor of Science Degree in Graphic Design
Oregon State University - Corvallis, Oregon
1994 - 1998
Diploma in Manufacturing
Benson Polytechnic - Portland, Oregon
Experience
Tools
Collaboration That Works
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