Sylwia Kusiak
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Chicago, IL, United States
Toptal member since December 7, 2021
Sylwia is a UX strategist and creative problem solver keen on helping enterprise and startup companies improve their digital experiences. With a background in UX design and intercultural communications, she combines a diverse range of expertise to enhance digital experiences and cultivate clients' business goals. Sylwia uses a human-centered design process rooted in solid user research and innovative visual principles that boost engagement between customer and product to create a lasting impact.
Portfolio
Workflo — Cloud Collaboration Software
Insurance Product Cart for Agents
The Duplex Website Design
Work Experience
Product Designer
State Farm
- Acted as the lead UX designer across several internal products. Created user flows, wireframes, and customer journey maps based on user research and interactive prototypes in Figma and InVision.
- Contributed to building an internal enterprise design system library of typography styles, icons, and branding best practices across all user experiences.
- Led several design thinking workshops with business partners to outline user stories and develop insurance agent user personas.
- Conducted focus group usability testing using interactive end-to-end prototypes to gain feedback and prioritize product enhancements.
- Managed a team of junior UX designers on two internal projects, conducting weekly UX reviews and documenting all design iterations and changes.
- Contributed to writing micro-copy for error messages, proactive notifications, navigation, and in-app labels.
- Mentored newly hired UX designers to ensure a successful onboarding experience. Reviewed resources and design processes across product teams.
Freelance UX Consultant
Independent
- Designed and developed responsive web and mobile designs for various clients.
- Facilitated design workshops to identify business goals and customer personas to maximize creative direction in brand identity.
- Created and documented digital design style guides to enable collaboration across internal teams.
- Conducted market research and competitive analysis and organized user interviews to prepare user flows and wireframes.
- Delivered design iterations and interactive prototypes in Figma and Adobe XD.
Business Development, Product Enhancement Representative
Hireology
- Worked with current customers and prospects to collect data focused on improving ATS product capabilities for new markets.
- Interviewed a customer base in the healthcare market to identify needs and increase business growth opportunities through new product features.
- Collaborated effectively with product partners, engineers, and the marketing team to define and develop product roadmaps.
Digital Marketing Specialist
Freelancer
- Created personalized marketing plans for many small business clients, from non-profit organizations to restaurant and hospitality businesses. Researched each client to gain a full understanding of the company’s purpose and impact within the market.
- Designed and created all digital collateral, including email newsletters, advertisement campaign content, print and web content, and sitemaps.
- Created and delivered brand style guides, including logo development, typography, and color palette, and wrote mission and values to define the brand story.
- Developed the brand voice and tone across the company’s digital presence, including website copywriting, social media marketing and content writing, and digital newsletters.
Education
Associate Degree in Art and Design
DePaul University - Chicago, IL, USA
Bachelor's Degree in Intercultural Communications
DePaul University - Chicago, IL, USA
Certifications
Certified Usability Analyst (CUA)
Human Factors International
UX Design Certification
Thinkful
Skills
Tools
Sketch, InVision, MURAL, Adobe Experience Design (XD), Miro, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe, Mailchimp, Sprout Social, Google Analytics
Platforms
Figma
Other
Communication, Wireframing, User Flows, Information Architecture (IA), Iterative Design, UI Design, UX Design, Research, UX Research, International Marketing, Sociology, Content Strategy, Usability Testing, User Interviews, Prototyping, Mobile UX Design, Responsive UI, UI Branding, Enterprise Systems, Mobile UI, Virtual Reality App Design, Cloud Storage, Tablet UX, Desktop App Design, Landing Page Design, Landing Page Optimization, Web UX, Art, Illustration, New Media, Graphic Design, Insurance APIs, P&C Insurance, Billing Systems, eCommerce UX, Customer Experience Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Mobile UX, Mobile App UI, Local SEO, Local Listings, Small Business Design, Story Mapping, Design Systems, Product Branding, App UI, Interactive UX, User Research, Mobile UI Design, Web UI Design, Sitemaps, Enterprise System Design, Product Design, Digital Product Design, Consumer-facing Product Design, Software Design, Usability Analysis, UX Frameworks
Experience
- User Flows - 5 years
- Prototyping - 5 years
- Information Architecture (IA) - 5 years
- Wireframing - 5 years
- Responsive UI - 5 years
- UX Design - 4 years
- UI Design - 4 years
- Product Design - 4 years
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