An Overview of Me
I’m a Spunky Cheerleader
in a non-annoying way
My passion and energy has earned me a reputation as a team cheerleader, keeping the energy level high and my team motivated.
I’m an endless
IDEA GENERATOR
I’m always thinking
My mind runs on over-drive, and I'm constantly looking for connections between disparate things and coming up with theories, models and ideas.
I’m a Leader/ Facilitator
that MBA helped
My leadership skills emerge when the timing is right, and I make sure that my whole team is well-equipped to contribute and thrive.
What I Do
I am an artist, designer, and strategist hoping to improve lives through thoughtful design.
I am the Senior Design Lead at StumbleUpon, where I lead my team to create products, features and mobile applications that delight 25 million+ users. It's pretty great to know that my work directly impacts so many people, and that the products I work on make people smile. I'm moving along a career trajectory where I'm able to make an increasingly meaningful impact on a growing number of people, and that makes me very happy.
I have a degree in studio art from Skidmore College where I focused on painting, drawing and sculpture. I'm also a graduate of the MBA in Design Strategy program at California College of the Arts which blends design, sustainability and innovation with traditional business issues in a collaborative environment.
My Process
For most projects, I like to follow a multi-step process. First I assess the problem and define it as clearly as possible. I then research my users, clients, similar projects and anything else that will help me create sketches and prototypes of potential solutions.
I then test the things I've created to see if they effectively solve the problem defined in the first stage of the design process. Once I have an idea, prototype, or other creation, that meets the users' needs and the problem I have defined, I will refine the concept to a finished product.
My Work
StumbleUpon
Since September of 2010, I've been involved in nearly all changes to StumbleUpon's consumer-facing and business products, apps, etc. If it's awkward or not quite refined, myself or my team have likely not had a chance to work on it yet :)
I also do a lot of behind-the-scenes research, thinking and strategizing with my super smart colleagues.
Sketches
Sketches are my favorite way to communicate concepts quickly and clearly to engineers, executives and product managers. Although I love digital tools, there's nothing more satisfying than putting pen to paper.
Some of my sketches are simply starting points for projects, and in other instances the sketches function as a blueprint for development.
The Creative Q
The Creative Q is a project aimed to help creative people move past creative blocks. The concept is a subscription based service where members receive prompts, get inspired and share their work in a virtual studio.
I worked solo on this project and was responsible for primary and secondary research, concept ideation, prototyping and implementation. See thecreativeq.com for more info.
SmallSteps
I worked with a team of my MBA classmates to develop an innovative solution to "move the needle" on sustainability. For this team effort, I conducted primary and secondary research, participated in need-finding and ideation sessions, and developed illustrations, mock screenshots and nearly all print materials.
See rinseandwash.com/smallsteps/ for more info.
I have many additional work samples, so feel free to contact me at erica.meade [at] gmail.com if you'd like to see more.