* What I do *
In 2002 I completed my Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley. I'm currently doing a post-doc at Ricoh Innovations in Menlo Park where I'm researching image communication in the workplace.

You can download pdfs of my dissertation,Computational Support for Sketching and Image Browsing During the Early Phase of Architectural Design.

* What I'm interested in *
I'm interested in applying user-centered design methods to studying human behavior and designing computer tools to support it. A designer by training, I'm particularly interested in supporting the exploratory nature of creative decision-making. My dissertation is an exploration of the early phase of architectural design and an evaluation of prototype tools to support it. The project consists of:

• Work practice study - What happens in the early phase of design?
  Ethnography, interviews, artifact walk-throughs, and task analysis
• Prototyping hardware for design for sketching and image sorting
  A comparison of user interaction with a digital desk and tablet display
• Prototyping user interfaces for image search
  An exploration of how metadata can help architects find images
• Evaluating the fit of these prototypes with practice
  Qualitative feedback and a quantitative usability study working with architects
  

* Who I worked with *
I worked with Marti Hearst from SIMS (School of Information Management and Systems) and Jean-Pierre Protzen from Architecture. I'm an alumna of GUIR (Group for User Interface Research) and the Design Theory and Methods group of the Department of Architecture. I was also involved with the Human-Centered Computing consortium.

* More about me *
My background
View my resume