Ben Cerezo
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
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
Pickup and Delivery Application
NCA Learning Management System
Work Experience
Founder and Principal
Self-employed
- 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.
Principal Consultant/Strategy Manager
Formula Monks
- Supported high-value, global clients at executive and operational levels to clarify needs, establish strategic direction, and connect them with the broad diversity of services that Media.Monks offers.
- Developed product vision and led strategic discovery efforts, resulting in a novel and proven method for more successfully assessing learning in K–12 education. This resulted in $11.2 million in continued investment and acquisition.
- Established methodologies for product discovery and innovation, and collaborated with colleagues to implement and refine our approach with multiple clients.
- Initiated and led purposeful, AI-powered transformation for multiple enterprise organizations.
- Trained over 100 employees at a Canadian Crown company on design thinking methods and processes over multiple sessions.
Director of Design
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.
Founder, Principal Creative Director
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.
Communication Design Faculty
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.
UX/UI Designer
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.
Education
Bachelor of Science Degree in Graphic Design
Oregon State University - Corvallis, Oregon
Diploma in Manufacturing
Benson Polytechnic - Portland, Oregon
Skills
Tools
Adobe CC, Slack, Google Docs, Adobe, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Sketch, OmniGraffle, Apple Keynote, InVision, Airtable, Adobe InDesign, Principle, Zeplin, Trello, Miro, Jira
Platforms
Figma, iOS, Android, Web, Mobile, MacOS
Industry Expertise
Healthcare, Health & Wellness, Telecommunications
Other
App UI, Web UI, Discovery Workshops, UX Design, UI Design, Product Delivery, Web UX, Web UI Design, Usability Testing, Agile, User-centered Design (UCD), Workshop Facilitation, App UX, Interaction Design (IxD), User Interface (UI), iOS UI Design, Design Systems, Product Design, SaaS Design, Web Applications, WYSIWYG Web Builders, Prototyping, Web App Design, High-fidelity Mockups, Web App UI, Web App UX, Wireframing, Interactive UI, Messaging, Unified Communications, Dashboard Design, B2B, Dashboards, Data Visualization, Software Design, Mobile Design, Mobile App Design, Mobile UI, Mobile UX, Web Design, Visual Design, App Design, High-fidelity Prototypes, UX Prototyping, Web UX Design, Usability, UX Flows, User Stories, Team Leadership, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Cross-functional Collaboration, Discovery, Ideation Workshops, Digital Product Design, Web & Mobile Applications, Business to Business (B2B), Mobile Web, Mobile Apps, Responsive UX Design, Rich User Interfaces, UI Prototyping, Web Dashboards, User Workshops, Web Usability, Design Leadership, Personas, Project Estimation, User Flows, User Personas, Task Flows, Information Architecture (IA), Digital Creative Direction, User Experience (UX), Branding, Graphic Design, Slack App, Touch Design, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Software as a Service (SaaS), Android UI Design, Future State Vision (FSV), Heuristic Evaluation, UI Branding, Smart City Technology, Strategic Partnerships, Emerging Technologies, UX Documentation, Screen Recording, UI Animation, Social, Social Networks, Typography, Chatbots, Fintech, Logo Design, Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), Enterprise SaaS, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Mobile GPS, GPS, Analytical Dashboards, Internet of Things (IoT), Cross-functional Design, Design Thinking, Leadership, User Research, Adobe Acrobat Pro, WordPress Design, Elementor, Agile UX, Android Design Guidelines, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Artificial Intelligence as a Service (AIaaS), Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), Platform Design, Asset Management, React, React Native, Trucking, Learning Management Systems (LMS), Employee Training, Recruiting, SaaS, Blockchain, Live Chat, Gamification, Illustration, Consumer Banking, Smart Grid, Internationalization, Environmental Design, User Journeys, Music Production, Design, Layout, Collaborative Design, Collaboration, Experimental Design, Photography, Screen Printing, Fabrication, PCB, Welding, Plastics, Machining
Experience
- User Experience (UX) - 16 years
- Discovery Workshops - 11 years
- Design Thinking - 10 years
- Leadership - 10 years
- Usability Testing - 10 years
- Agile UX - 10 years
- Figma - 6 years
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) - 2 years
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