Sylwia Kusiak, Designer in Chicago, IL, United States
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Sylwia Kusiak

Verified Expert  in Design

Designer

Location
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

Work Experience

UX Architect

2020 - PRESENT
State Farm
  • Acted as the lead UX architect across several internal products. Created user flows, wireframes, and customer journey maps based on user research and technical constraints.
  • 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 processes across product teams.
Technologies: Sketch, InVision, MURAL

Freelance UX Consultant

2019 - PRESENT
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.
Technologies: Figma, Sketch, Miro, MURAL, InVision, Adobe

Business Development, Product Enhancement Representative

2020 - 2021
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.
Technologies: Figma, UX Research, Story Mapping

Digital Marketing Specialist

2013 - 2021
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.
Technologies: Mailchimp, Sprout Social, Google Analytics
2012 - 2016

Associate Degree in Art and Design

DePaul University - Chicago, IL, USA

2012 - 2016

Bachelor's Degree in Intercultural Communications

DePaul University - Chicago, IL, USA

SEPTEMBER 2020 - PRESENT

UX Design Certification

Thinkful