I create award winning solutions that work
I specialize in enterprise level platform applications and ecosystems, and I'm looking for a role as an Independent Contributor, where I may continue solving complex problems, or as a Director/Manager where I can further develop my skills in aligning designers with business goals, all while maintaining a human-centered approach. I've had the pleasure of leading small teams from an operational perspective. I've also led a small international team of designers during the global pandemic.
I view problems holistically in multiple modalities and form factors including mobile and integrated software. My 15+ years of experience spans wide in multiple industries at a global scale. While my most recent experience is in B2B and B2B2C corporate solutions, I am no stranger to B2C experiences in entertainment. In my last three companies I've earned 7 U.S. Patents and 6 corporate awards.
I'm an expert at breaking down large ambiguous problems, handling technology shifts, prototyping for clarity and user testing, and integrating emerging technologies like AI, IoT, AR/VR, and wearables.
What is my favorite or most interesting design?
GREAT QUESTION! I'm going to have to cut across all my designs here. My favorite thing about design is discovering those EUREKA moments!
That's when I dig into the root problems, identify patterns, and evolve insights into a design solution. Sometimes they may be small but they have an enormous impact and they delight with their elegance.
Identifying hidden personas
After presenting a first pass design with customer stakeholders, I organized a site visit to validate the design and learn more about how real users handle the current problem.
What I discovered was there were actually two significant personas involved which changed the nature of the design.
Two branching experiences were made with tailored experiences to optimize the flow for each persona's experience with the same application. This is why research and observation with real users is important.
WCAG you see is not what you get (pun intended)
In the Honeywell Design System (HCUI), using the WCAG guidelines and tools for contrast were not enough.
After investigating complaints of the badges being illegible on dark theme, I discovered that for small artifacts, the overall background contrast must be taken into account for determining readability for real users.
What happens is that the entire component is read as one value against the overall background thus making the internal text illegible. The solution for this was to break WCAG standards, and have the internal text match in value contrast with the overall background. This small break from standards restored legibility.
Game inception UI
For the startup social media game with a player versus environment gameplay using the Battleship(TM) game mechanics, it would have been too easy and uninspired to use health bars to represent the player and the opponent.
My eureka moment here was to emulate the game mechanics in the UI! I did this by creating health blocks made of cartoony skeumorphic wood that would represent each weapon. As weapons were hit and damaged, the UI would catch fire, get damaged, turn to ash, and eventually crumble to pieces.
The UI added a whole new dimension of drama and excitement to the game with storytelling through presentation, motion design and animation.
The building is alive
For the Microset4 building control, like my work with the game inception UI, I wanted the wall mounted building control to reflect the idea of the building.
To enhance the across-the-room readability, I had the idea to provide dim lighting underneath the control to communicate when the system is in cooling, heating, or eco mode.
Providing an additional layer of function and motif, the light "breathes" getting dimmer and brighter to mimic life.
Engineers initially pushed back on what they thought was frivolous, but after an initial prototype, everyone was delighted by its effectiveness. It turns out the ambient shadow underneath the device provided enough darkness to make the light visible in almost every environment.
Sometimes UI is just a bandage -or- end product
is what matters
Deep into production, someone realized that some of the environments and modelling work connected with each other incorrectly (see Tier 2 to Tier 3) with respect to a player's experience of travelling through the different maps.
Too costly to redo all that work by multiple teams and with the studio pressured by a corporate time crunch, I created a UI map that made sense to a player and their travelling experiences within the virtual world.
UX and UI saved the day!
If you asked me what my most impactful design was, that is a different story...
The design profession is for the most part all about one's approach to problems. My most impactful designs are produced with just the rigor of the day-to-day design process...
• understanding requirements,
• understanding the value for users,
• understanding the value for business,
• ideation, and
• validation.
This basic process has allowed me to create high profile and impactful products like the EA Sports line from 2003 to 2008, and the Alerton product line, Ascent, for the company's 30th anniversary. ❤️
Udie Chima
Sr Product Designer
“Albert is one of those people who immediately puts you at ease helping you feel like you made a lifetime friend. He is kind, thoughtful, and supportive to not only his coworkers but anyone he meets. I call him the 'happy camper'.
Now, down to his skills. Albert comes with high firepower design skills! Gifted in his abilities in interactions and visuals design, he also has massive is an incredible illustration. I always felt encouraged to bounce ideas off him, and he was always ready with helpful suggestions on how to improve whatever design I was working on at the time. I hope we can work together for a long time."
Lana Voynova
UX Lead
"Albert is the ultimate team player. Not only does he complete all his projects with a wonderful attitude and unabated curiosity, he will always step up and help wherever he is needed. He is patient, reliable and calm no matter what the situation.
Albert always considers the client, project and fellow co-worker's needs in both his work and feedback. His advice and analysis is always incredibly well thought-out, balanced and necessary. He is able to gleam insight and offer solutions which may not always be obvious, and I am constantly impressed by this ability. I know that when Albert is involved on any project, big and small, he brings the full breadth of his experience and abilities from design to research, but also fearless and thoughtful insight while being the ultimate cheerleader for everyone else on the team."
Andrew Finnell
Sr Lead Engineer
“I have worked with Albert for 4 years at GE Vernova. My team was responsible for a grass roots project for which we needed a new vision for UX. Albert was able to take in customer requirements and technical challenges to deliver a beautiful yet focused user interface and experience for the customers.
When Albert was presented with technical challenges that arose while implementing the UX, he was able to quickly and adeptly modify the User Experience to take into account these technical challenges. This allowed our team to continue creating a modern and unified vision for the product.
Whether your company is looking to create a brand new User Experience and Presence for your customers or update and modernize an existing one, Albert is an incredibly valuable person to have on your team.”
Drew Pusey
Global Studio Lead
“Albert is a pleasure to work with! He knows his craft, he's extremely thoughtful, and has a steady, amicable approach when working with teams. Albert is a master at communicating ideas visually to bring much needed clarity to the design process..”
