Nicholas Paredes

Experience

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  Nicholas Paredes Studio

  Jan 1991 - now

  Design Consultant

  Lead a multi-disciplinary design practice focusing on experience design, research, Design Thinking, strategy, and business design projects with a focus healthcare and financial industries.Key projects include:• Contracted by Dentsu to lead the user experience design for portions of a new Business Banking website for U.S. Bank. Working with the Dentsu/Merkle team and client stakeholders, I designed page templates and examples to support the development of web pages in Adobe Experience Manager. This work (2024) will launch in the second quarter of 2025.• Contracted by American Family Insurance as an Experience Strategy Consultant in 2024 to implement a user-centered strategy supporting the newly formed Enterprise Product Business Intelligence (BI) team in creating data dashboards that enhance user navigation, data filtering, and access to consistent dashboard experiences across the organization for all product lines (Auto, Home, Commercial).• Lead strategy and research for CarePact, an electronic health record (EHR) startup, with physician innovators and patients in a primary care setting to understand longitudinal care and the use of care plans to support the design of innovative AI-driven experiences and product strategies.• Led the Osteoarthritis Patient Reported Outcomes (OA PRO) project, collaborating with the Feinberg School of Medicine, Tapestry 360 Health, and students from the Institute of Design, with findings presented to leadership in 2023 Show less

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  The Lincoln Park Zoo

  Jan 1993 - Jan 1995

  Designer

  Designed numerous collateral pieces, signage, and publications for their Membership programs, as well as the annual report.

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  Simple interfaces*

  Jan 1995 - May 2005

  Partner

  Co-founded Simple Interfaces, a design office specializing in high-end educational publishing for the primary education market, rapidly building a reputation for design excellence in the industry.Key achievements include:• Managed the client relationship and design of the Pearson Reading Street Program (2005), leading the consulting office for the $100M program, resulting in the nation’s most popular reading program and earning multiple design awards

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  Walgreens

  Jun 2010 - Apr 2011

  Lead Mobile Experience Designer

  Recruited to manage the offshore design and development of Walgreens’ first mobile apps, including the iPhone and iPad apps, and an iPad app for pharmacists.Key achievements include:• Led the design and development of the Walgreens iPhone app, collaborating with an offshore development agency (Photon), resulting in exponential growth, with Refill-by-Scan becoming 90% of all online refills within 6 months

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  W.W. Grainger

  Aug 2011 - Feb 2014

  Manager, User Experience, Mobile

  Recruited to manage the reseatch and design of Grainger’s mobile ecosystem, including mobile web, iPhone, Android, iPad, and mobile sales appsKey achievements include:• Launched the Grainger iPad e-commerce app, which included new order management capabilities, resulting in mobile revenue growth and increases in Average Order Value (AOV), ultimately influencing the design of the new website

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  Manifest LLC

  May 2015 - Aug 2016

  Director Of User Experience

  Recruited as a consultant to lead Design Sprints for BMW, focusing on new business pitches, improving design culture, and leading an Agile product and design transformation for esurance.Key achievements include:• Directed Design Sprints for BMW, supporting new connected car experiences, resulting in final features and app designs introduced at CES in January 2016

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  GetBetty, Inc.

  Nov 2015 - May 2019

  Co-Founder

  GetBetty, an on-demand beauty service incubated at 1871 in Chicago, where I co-created the business strategy and designed iOS and Android apps.Key achievements include:• Developed iterative business tests to establish market viability for an on-demand blowout service, using marketing tools and a scheduling platform prior to designing and developing mobile apps and back-end services

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  Design for America

  Jun 2016 - Dec 2020

  Mentor

  I supported design thinking programs through Design for America. I also assisted DFA staff in creating content for use in lectures and workshops. Most importantly, I coach student teams at major universities throughout the United States to apply the design thinking process to social challenges.

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  © CEDIM Innovation Programs

  Jan 2017 - Jan 2020

  Visiting Professor

  I supported the CIDT program at CEDIM in Monterrey and Mexico City as a Visiting Professor. The program is divided into four modules—Strategy, Research, Ideation, and Prototyping. My primary focus was on Module 4: Prototyping, but had also taught Module 2: Research. Community lectures were provided to support the school and its programs.

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  The University of Chicago

  Oct 2017 - Dec 2018

  User Experience Lecturer

  This appointment supported a new User Experience class in the University of Chicago’s cross-curricular Masters Program in Computer Science (MPCS). My approach was to provide a full breadth of the design process from research and problem identification, through sprint planning and implementation.

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  Vokal

  Oct 2017 - Oct 2018

  Experience Design Director

  Developed and led a role focused on merging design and development into a Lean/Agile product offering targeting connected home and health markets.Key achievements include:• Led the research, design, and presentation of the Omron HealthGuide app strategy, creating an app ecosystem that supported the HeartGuide smart watch, resulting in a business design with revenue projections

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  American Family Insurance

  Mar 2020 - Jul 2022

  Principal Experience Strategist/Team Lead

  Recruited to establish a new customer-focused UX team within the Marketing department, leading efforts to create exceptional digital and agent experiencesKey achievements include:• Managed UX design for mobile and web platforms, contributing to American Family’s highest ranking in the J.D. Power 2021 Insurance Shopping Satisfaction Study• Developed an Omni-Channel Sales Experience strategy across digital and agent channels, securing executive support and funding for digital initiatives• Directed the 2025 Vision initiative, focusing on a mobile-first strategy for digital experience improvements, which secured new funding for internal design efforts and renewed the organization’s commitment to experience design• Launched AmFam’s customer experience design system and created a Design Thinking Playbook to support cross-functional collaboration. Show less

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  IIT Institute of Design

  Aug 2020 - now

  Adjunct Professor

  Develop and teach a new class focused on the history, skills, and future of design practice for new graduates students in the Foundation Program. The intention is to increase the vocabulary and develop a design dialog and reflective practice.

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  JPMorgan Chase & Co.

  Aug 2022 - Mar 2024

  Executive Director User Experience

  Led three teams within Global Technology’s Engineer’s Platform and Integrated Experience organization, transforming engineer experiences through the creation of an Integrated Engineer’s Portal, enhancing efficiency and satisfaction.Key achievements include:• Spearheaded the development of a new Build & Release software pipeline management module, reducing engineers’ toil and touch-points by 50%• Guided the research and design of Developer 360, resulting in a more intuitive dashboard and enhanced productivity for General Manager and Executive personas• Led and supported the customer listening strategy for the Application Integration and Streaming product line• Co-created an AI roadmap through surveys and co-design sessions with engineers, with results presented at the JPMorgan Chase Co. AI Summit 2023• Facilitated workshops on Ethical AI and Transparent AI, and contributed to JPMC’s UX of LLM workgroup.• Mentored employees through diversity programs, Leap, and DevUp, presenting talks, developing content for sharing, and facilitating workshops Show less

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  CarePact

  Apr 2024 - now

  Co-Founder: Product & Experience

  CarePact helps physicians and patients collaborate on care plans using AI tools to improve efficiency and clarity, resulting in improved health outcomes.Key achievements include:• Lead research with physician innovators in the primary care space and designing innovative experiences and product strategies to support future development and potential partnerships