User Experience Design Consortium

A group of Design Leaders learning about future User Experience Design trends

The User Experience Design Consortium (UXD) was founded by Carole Bilson and Stan Caplan in 2003 as a forum for user experience managers to have an ongoing relationship with each other. The Consortium meets twice a year and is managed by Stan Caplan who is guided by a clear vision and member expectations.

Vision

The User Experience Design Consortium is highly valued for its confidential environment where managers and executives in the areas of human factors, design, usability and related functions meet with peers in non-competing industries to learn and grow through ongoing relationships with each other and shared experiences in an atmosphere of trust and respect. Members share information regarding emerging industry and economic trends, organizational challenges and best practices, and get exposure to new theories, processes and technologies from external sources. Knowledge gained is brought back for use in their respective companies.

Person wearing a VR headset

Membership

The consortium manager creates opportunities for sharing information and insights among members and for discovery of useful information from external resources.  The basis of membership is for members to engage in face-to-face interactions and share experiences and knowledge in a supportive environment. Membership meetings are opportunities to discover new, advanced thinking in the domain of user experience design, from, for example, universities and other non-commercial institutions.

Members

profile image of Carole Bilson

Carole Bilson

President
Design Management Institute
(Boston, MA)

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Jim Hotary

Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Lilypad Labs, Inc. (Holland, MI)

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Kathryn Rieger

Senior Director, Human Factors and User Research
Intuitive Surgical (Sunnyvale, CA)

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Thomas Y. Yen, Ph.D

Sr. R&D Manager, User Experience Design (UXD)
Becton Dickinson (BD) Integrated Diagnostic Solutions (Sparks, MD)

TS Balaji profile image

TS Balaji

Vice President, Experience Design
Cox Communications (Atlanta, GA)

Laura Vennie's profile image

Laura Vennie

Director of Usability and Experience
Newell Brands (Kalamazoo, MI)

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Charu Ahuja

Director of Consumer Experience and Usability Research
Consumer Reports (Yonkers, NY)

Eric Bergman profile image

Eric Bergman

Director, Human-Centered Innovation
Fresenius Medical Care
(Waltham, MA)

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Adam Emfield

Former Director of User Experience
Cerence, Inc. (Burlington, MA)

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Les Meyer

Sr. Director, UX Research & Design Strategy
Northwestern Mutual (Milwaukee, WI)

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Zach Huber

UX Research and Strategy Lead
Trek Bicycle Corporation (Waterloo, WI)

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Sang Mark Chung

Associate Director of IxD
Bissell Homecare, Inc. (Grand Rapids, MI)

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Stan Caplan

President, Usability Associates, LLC
Founder & Manager UXD Consortium (Rochester, NY)

“The consortium provides a safe and energizing venue to discuss organizational issues associated with the design and usability function. It also has created a network that we can tap when we are executing our duties such as searching for new employees or sharing up-to-date best practices.”

Nelson Soken, System Strategist, Cardiac Rhythm Management Division, Medtronic

“It was great to see everyone again. I certainly came away refreshed and enthused. It is always great to see and hear what others are doing; it is inspirational.”

Clyde Heppner, Director, User Experience Design, Sprint Nextel

“I am a new member to the consortium but I have found it very valuable. My first meeting in Rochester really gave me some great ideas to think about and bring back to my company. I really liked the range of presentations at the meeting. … . It is very good to connect with a group of professionals from a variety of companies and backgrounds. We share many of the same challenges, albeit with different perspectives. I look forward to future participation in the consortium.”

George Hackman, Senior Director of User Experience, Oracle Corporation

“It was truly a welcomed event for me to spend the last two days with you all. I feel like I finally met my “tribe” at the crossroads of user-research and design as it stands in 2020!”

Diane Elabidi, UX Research Lead – Google Hardware Products

Interested in becoming a member?