Brooks Eakin

Experience

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  TCG, a HUB International company

  Jun 2011 - May 2014

  Business Analyst

  I handled general tasks pertaining to information technology and process/UX optimization, including:- Implementation of Salesforce CRM for top-down reporting and pipeline analysis; - Development and testing of internal productivity tools, including user studies and iterative feedback;I also produced, narrated, and edited a series of videos designed to guide individual TRS participants through the process of initiating their retirement.Additionally, I assisted in the production and administration of foreign language curriculum materials for the daughter company, Proximity Learning, Inc. Show less

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  Keystone Language Center

  Jun 2014 - Jun 2016

  Teacher

  I taught English to Taiwanese students, aged from early elementary into adulthood. I also worked as an editor and copywriter.

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  KPMG China

  Jun 2016 - Sept 2017

  Editor

  I handled general editorial tasks, primarily in translation, including business analysis, marketing, industry reports, and thought leadership publications, among others. I was responsible for guaranteeing consistency of style, grammatical accuracy, readability, and faithfulness to the Chinese original documents in translation.

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  Avid.ly

  Sept 2017 - Nov 2018

  Research & Design

  At Avid.ly, I was responsible for user experience (UX) design and content strategy for a number of mobile apps. Being a startup, work was fast-paced and diverse. Based in China but primarily targeting western users, this position required that I work flexibly between cultures and languages.During my time at Avid.ly, we coordinated the development and release of the following apps: 1) Tasty Recipes, an aggregation app for short-form video recipes;2) Feel the Burn / Fit O'Clock, health & fitness apps with an emphasis on positivity and non-judgement;3) Quarry, a cryptocurrency wallet and blockchain news aggregator, including the launch of a tokenized curation reward system called ROX.My responsibilities included:- UX research, including usability studies, user interviews, and survey design- Wireframe design and page layout for our apps and product websites- UX writing on the macro and micro levels, both for marketing materials as well as in-app tone and style- Spanish and French localization- Marketing analysis using Google Analytics, Sensor Tower, Flurry Analytics, and various SEO tools- Iterative design studies- Music composition and production (in-app electronic music to be played during workouts)- Video production (model demonstrations of various exercises) Show less

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  JLL

  Nov 2018 - Oct 2021

  Manager, REIS China (Research)

  REIS (Real Estate Intelligence Services) is JLL's quarterly subscription-based research service designed to provide up-to-date real estate intelligence and analysis for investors and other stakeholders in the commercial real estate industry.Highlights:- Served as UX Lead (research and UI design) for City Snapshot, a data visualization product which doubled our subscriber count within two quarters. Methods included user interviews, task analysis, card sorting (information architecture), wireframing, high-fidelity prototyping, and A/B benchmark testing.- Contributed analysis to global publications- Designed and conducted on-the-ground research and data analysis for key commercial real estate markets.- Managed a distributed team of 15-20 researchers.- Supported the development of new and innovative research products, particularly pertaining to UX in our data visualization/analysis tools, including ArcGIS and Tableau. Show less

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  UrbanFootprint

  Feb 2022 - Mar 2023

  Senior UX Researcher

  UrbanFootprint is the world's first urban intelligence platform — a comprehensive urban, climate, and community resilience data system that serves mission-critical insights to the institutions that are rebuilding, financing, and insuring the world's physical and social infrastructure. As Senior UX Researcher, my chief responsibility was to identify and represent the needs of our users, informing product development efforts with insights gleaned from intensive anthropological studies of current and potential customers. Highlights:- Led an in-person ethnographic study of government users in Louisiana, resulting in substantial usability improvements to Explorer.- Orchestrated remote co-design workshops with key clients in finance, prompting the development of new features and contract renewals.- Conducted 100+ remote interviews and usability studies, leveraging UserInterviews and UserTesting platforms.- Coached colleagues and provided design-thinking resources, empowering product managers, designers, engineers, and data scientists to contribute to research and design initiatives. This work served to inform vertical-specific product managers, designers, and marketing professionals in their efforts to better understand and serve our users. I also established best practices for data/PII retention, accessibility, and a research repository using Dovetail. Show less