Ruta Shastri, Designer in Chicago, IL, United States
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Ruta Shastri

Verified Expert  in Design

Bio

Ruta is a creative and human-centered designer with two decades of experience working for agencies, startups, NGOs, and corporations. Creating thoughtful and meaningful experiences that help solve complex problems is her passion. Ruta aims to find a balance between business goals, user needs, and technical feasibility in all her projects and enjoys working on both the macro and micro levels of the customer journey.

Portfolio

Work Experience

Design Consultant

2016 - PRESENT
Freelance | Ruh Design
  • Consulted for corporations, startups, and design agencies in a range of industries and services: healthcare (Humana, Anthem), eCommerce (Walgreens), startups (GrowIt!), SaaS (GoSecure, Twilio, CrowdStrike), and education (UCLA).
  • Designed a new mobile app to enable members of Medicaid to complete healthy activities and earn rewards; the client was Go365 for Humana Healthy Horizons.
  • Created, for Walgreens, over-the-counter medicine concepts, led rewards points, product details enhancements, integrated search, and get-it-by-date experiences in partnership with UX, product managers, and visual designers.
  • Designed a portal for garden shop owners to add and schedule a garden tour experience that incorporated art exhibits and monuments on the app and managed the garden tour experiences given by park district staff members.
  • Designed a SaaS web portal for GoSecure that allows customers to see the value of GoSecure and support their security program by continually increasing their ability for visibility, analysis, correlation, and response.
Technologies: InVision, Adobe CC, Axure, Sketch, Figma, Miro, iOS, Android, Design Thinking, Healthcare Services, Digital Health, Interaction Design (IxD), Product Design, User Flows, UX Design, UI Design, Lean Startups, User Research, Journey Mapping, UX Wireframes, Product Strategy, Layout Design, App Design, B2C, B2B, Dashboard Design, Mobile App Design, Information Architecture (IA), Loyalty Programs, Loyalty Applications, Design Systems, User Journeys, Design Workshops, Discovery Workshops, Workshops, UX Workshops, Ideation Workshops, Interactive Prototypes, Collaboration, User Workshops, Mockups, Usability Testing, User Personas, Design Leadership, Digital Product Design, Human-computer Interaction (HCI), Component Libraries, Web App Design, Responsive Web Apps, User Experience Design, Data Visualization, Storyboarding, User Stories, SaaS Design, Scenarios, User-centered Design (UCD), Story Mapping, Visual Design, Agile, Usability, User Interviews, Complex Application User Interfaces (UI), System Design, UX Strategy, Stakeholder Interviews, SaaS, Rapid Prototyping, Web UI, Mobile App UI, Mobile UX Design, Web UI Design, Web UX Design, Mobile UI Design, Web UX, UX Research, Web App UI, Discovery, Web App UX, White Label Design, MVP Design, Dashboards, Gamification, UI Components, Best Practices in Design, Style Guides, Fintech, User Onboarding, Data-driven Dashboards, Analytics, Complex Web Systems, Web Design, Mobile Design, Competitive Analysis, Feature Prioritization, Interviews, Annotated Wireframes, Finance, Focus Groups, Qualitative Reports, Customer Research, Qualitative Research, Presentations, Modular Design, User Testing, Strategic Design, Design Strategy, Leadership, Stakeholder Management, Team Leadership, Responsive UI, Responsive Design, UI Prototyping, Enterprise Application Design, User Journey Maps, User Workflows, Medical Software, Consumer-facing Product Design, Human-centered Design (HCD), Product Discovery, Infographics, eCommerce UX, App UX, Enterprise, Enterprise SaaS, UX Audits, Microcopy, Product Detail Pages, Web Applications

UX Design Consultant

2023 - 2023
Colgate-Palmolive - Global Tech
  • Created an admin experience to monitor user activity, get real-time updates on the status of various systems, and provide quick actions to upload data and goals, change project owner, etc.
  • Redesigned the innovation project details page by highlighting the concept, key financials, project scope, and status. The inline page editing was changed to editing by sections for a better user experience.
  • Built data visualizations and worked on complex data tables and data estimators to help project managers monitor and track their innovation projects.
Technologies: UX Design, Data Visualization, Figma, Dashboards, Data-driven Dashboards, Analytics, UX Research, Web App Design, User Flows, UI Design, Complex Web Systems, eCommerce UX, Enterprise, UX Audits, Microcopy, Product Detail Pages

UX Design Consultant

2022 - 2023
CrowdStrike - Main
  • Moderated the research to validate the design solutions, did comparative testing, met with product groups to gather their design requirements, and looked at the use cases to extract patterns and similarities.
  • Ran ideation workshops and discovery sessions to iterate on aggregated data view components. Worked with engineers, UI design, QA, and content writers to iterate on the experience based on research findings.
  • Enhanced the workflow builder by allowing users to execute a task or sub-process repeatedly. Came up with analytics tags to measure the experience.
Technologies: User Experience (UX), User Research, User Flows, Design Systems, Product Design, SaaS Design, Wireframing, User Interviews, Complex Application User Interfaces (UI), System Design, UX Strategy, Stakeholder Interviews, SaaS, Discovery, Complex Web Systems, Competitive Analysis, Feature Prioritization, Interviews, Annotated Wireframes, Qualitative Reports, Customer Research, Qualitative Research, Presentations, Strategic Design, Leadership, Stakeholder Management, Enterprise Application Design, Product Discovery, Enterprise, Enterprise SaaS, UX Audits, Microcopy, Product Detail Pages

Senior UX Designer

2013 - 2016
Redbox
  • Researched and designed a text to speech experience for visually impaired users.
  • Developed concepts, user flows, and wireframes for Redbox digital experiences.
  • Created experiences for several initiatives such as the loyalty program, payment options and search experiences for mobile app, web, and kiosk.
Technologies: Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Prezi, InVision, OmniGraffle, Axure, Workflow Diagrams, Interaction Design (IxD), Loyalty Programs, Loyalty Applications, Design Systems, User Journeys, Pitch Decks, Presentations, Product Discovery, eCommerce UX, App UX, Enterprise, UX Audits, Microcopy, Product Detail Pages, Web Applications

UX and UI Design Lead

2011 - 2013
Media Chaperone
  • Designed a parent engagement platform for parents to help connect with their child's digital experiences.
  • Created a group gifting experience as a white label service.
  • Designed a shared wallet experience that can be used by parents to allot money and set permissions for their child's game play.
Technologies: iMovie, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Balsamiq, Design Systems, User Journeys, Pitch Decks, Product Discovery, Product Detail Pages

Design Consultant

2010 - 2011
Viewpoints Network
  • Collaborated with product managers, marketing team, and developers to come up with visual and interactive design solutions for JC Whitney, Inc., MySears, MyKmart, and Viewpoints community sites.
Technologies: Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Loyalty Programs, Loyalty Applications, Design Systems, eCommerce UX, Product Detail Pages

Senior Designer

2008 - 2010
Sears
  • Created interactive and visual experiences for Sears, Kmart, and mygofer websites.
Technologies: Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Loyalty Programs, eCommerce UX, Enterprise, Product Detail Pages

Art Director | Designer

2001 - 2008
Killian Branding
  • Developed creative concepts and designed campaigns for clients like Peapod, U.S. Foodservice, OneAmerica Financial, and Dell | LTG.
  • Integrated brand development, corporate identity, print collateral, and website design.
  • Created multimedia experiences, animations, and corporate videos.
Technologies: Adobe After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Branding, Pitch Decks, Presentations
1998 - 2001

Master's Degree in Film, Video, and Animation

University of Illinois - Chicago, Illinois, USA

1991 - 1997

Master's Degree in Communication Design

National Institute of Design - Ahmedabad, India

JANUARY 2024 - PRESENT

Generative AI Fundamentals

Google Cloud

JANUARY 2024 - PRESENT

Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals

IBM SkillsBuild | via Credly

Tools

Sketch, Figma, Miro, Adobe Photoshop, OmniGraffle, Prezi, Adobe InDesign, Balsamiq, iMovie, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects, Balsamiq Mockups, Axure RP Pro, InVision, Adobe CC, Final Cut Pro

Platforms

iOS, Android, Axure

Industry Expertise

Healthcare, Film & Television, Education

Other

Mobile Apps, eCommerce, Chatbots, Product Design, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Prototyping, Design Thinking, UX Strategy, Wireframing, Design Workshops, Mobile Design, App UX, Web UX, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Information Architecture (IA), User Flows, UX Design, UI Design, Web App Design, Interaction Design (IxD), UX Research, UX Wireframes, Journey Mapping, User Research, Layout Design, App Design, B2C, Dashboard Design, Mobile App Design, Design Systems, User Journeys, Discovery Workshops, Workshops, UX Workshops, Ideation Workshops, Interactive Prototypes, Collaboration, User Workshops, Mockups, Usability Testing, User Personas, Design Leadership, Digital Product Design, Human-computer Interaction (HCI), Component Libraries, Responsive Web Apps, User Experience Design, Data Visualization, Storyboarding, User Stories, Scenarios, User-centered Design (UCD), Story Mapping, Visual Design, Agile, Usability, User Interviews, Complex Application User Interfaces (UI), System Design, Stakeholder Interviews, SaaS, Rapid Prototyping, Web UI, Mobile App UI, Mobile UX Design, Web UI Design, Web UX Design, Mobile UI Design, Web App UI, Discovery, Web App UX, White Label Design, MVP Design, Dashboards, Gamification, UI Components, Best Practices in Design, Style Guides, User Onboarding, Data-driven Dashboards, Analytics, Complex Web Systems, Web Design, Competitive Analysis, Feature Prioritization, Interviews, Annotated Wireframes, Finance, Focus Groups, Qualitative Reports, Customer Research, Qualitative Research, Pitch Decks, Presentations, Modular Design, User Testing, Strategic Design, Design Strategy, Leadership, Stakeholder Management, Team Leadership, Responsive UI, Responsive Design, UI Prototyping, Enterprise Application Design, User Journey Maps, User Workflows, Medical Software, Consumer-facing Product Design, Human-centered Design (HCD), Product Discovery, Infographics, eCommerce UX, Enterprise, Enterprise SaaS, UX Audits, Microcopy, Product Detail Pages, Web Applications, Loyalty Programs, Logo Design, Accessibility, Research, Consumer Services, Mobile UI, Digital Health, Healthcare Services, Startups, Lean Startups, eCommerce Web Design, Mobile eCommerce, Workflow Diagrams, Health IT, Mobile Mockups, Interactive UI, Product Strategy, B2B, Branding, Loyalty Applications, SaaS Design, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Artificial Intelligence as a Service (AIaaS), Gardening, Social, Community, Web Portals, Bluetooth Beacons, Parenting, Apps, Websites, Facebook, Animation, iPad, Conceptual Design, Digital, Pitch Presentations, Digital Kiosks, eCommerce Design, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, User Scenarios, Mobile UX, Fintech

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