luis gonsalez

I founded Gonsalez Design as a human-centered design company. The mission; create digital experiences that place the user at the forefront of every design decision. As the Chief Experience Officer (CXO), I aim to ensure our designs are both incredibly useful and engaging throughout every user experience. If you wish to reinvigorate your brand, grow your digital footprint, and ensure your users walk away with a memorable experience, don't hesitate to contact luis@gonsalez.design for your user experience, brand identity and/or web design needs.

* As a consulting Program Manager at the Digital Media and Learning division of the Seattle Public Library, I have the opportunity to work on, among other responsibilities, the following: * Assist the Digital Media and Learning Program Manager with the design of programs including * research of community needs, writing curriculum, developing lesson plans, testing workshop * plans, troubleshoot technology, and prepare materials for use in program workshops and staff * training. * Create and iterate upon programs that are deeply rooted in the needs of given communities across the Seattle region. * Advocate for the adoption of Design Thinking practices within low-resource communities to * empower these communities with the resources and knowledge to ultimately demystify * technology.

* Through this internship, I had the opportunity to: * Iterate through the user-centered design process to redesign the company’s existing website. * Interviewed various company employees and stakeholders to identify company core values and their target user population. * Conducted target user research, evaluated current website’s information architecture, created a sitemap and wireframes, and ultimately designed the functional, aesthetically vibrant site.

As a research assistant for the University of Washington's Applied Physics Lab, I had the opportunity to: Elicited user requirements for new submarine design, sketched concepts and created three-dimensional SolidWorks models of designs to a high level of detail. Obtained user requirements for new sled lift to be used by the University of Washington's Applied Physics Lab's Antarctic research team. Sketched designs and created three-dimensional parts and assembly of the lift attached to a research sled, I also recreated in SolidWorks to a high level of detail. Conducted preliminary research and UI design of an autonomous research quad-copter.

* Throughout my role as a User Research Assistant, I had the opportunity and pleasure to, among other duties, complete the following: * Prepared and executed playtest studies * Worked with Usability Managers to determine what products will need testing * Recruited the necessary amount and associated participant profile for each study * Submitted nightly notes/observations for each test * Administered and moderated each playtest in a non-biased manner * Developed and evolved the playtest recruitment database

In addition to co-founding the Delta Mu chapter of Lambda on the University of Washington campus, I was also the visual designer for the organization during my time as a student. As the visual designer I was responsible for the following: Creating promotional material for all our events including posters, Facebook banners, graphic t-shirts and other promotional graphics. Creating a consistent brand and design language for our chapter while also following the standards set by the national board. Led the PR and Social media teams to ensure our promotional materials adequately engaged our community and represented our brand to the best of our ability.

As a mechanical engineering intern, I was able to gain industry experience and accomplished the following: Through two consecutive summers, I obtained the experience and knowledge a mechanical engineer needs to be successful, thinking critically and analytically to arrive at the best design solutions. Specific skills gained included SolidWorks 3D modeling, part analysis, assembly creation, detailed part drawings and stress analysis of parts and assemblies. Instilled within me a strong detail-oriented perspective and practical engineering team problem-solving experience. The video below has Terry Litke, director of mechanical engineering, speaking to some of the work I did as the first intern at Thermoforming Systems LLC.

Activities and Societies: Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc.