Darren W. Hood Curriculum Vitae
Education
Northcentral University, San Diego, CA In progress Ph.D., Educational Leadership
Kent State University, Kent, OH 2015 M.S., Information Architecture & Knowledge Management Major: User Experience Design
Cooper Professional Education, San Francisco, CA 2014 Design Leadership Practicum
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 2013 Graduate Certificate, Educational Technology
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 2011 M.S., Information Management Master’s Certificate, Federal Executive Competencies Specialization: User Information Needs (Magna Cum Laude, GPA 3.83)
Capella University, Minneapolis, MN 2006 B.S., Information Technology (Summa Cum Laude, GPA 4.0)
Langevin Learning Services, Manotick, Ontario, Canada 1999 — 2003 Certified Master Trainer (8/2003) Certified E-Learning Specialist (8/2003)
Relevant Experience
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 11/2020 — present Senior Learning Experience Designer
United Wholesale Mortgage, Pontiac, MI 4/2019 — 10/2020 Senior UX Designer
Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MI 10/2017 — present Adjunct Professor
Kent State University, Kent, OH 8/2015 — present Adjunct Instructor
Ryder Systems, Novi, MI 6/2018 — 3/2019 UX Designer
Quicken Loans, Detroit, MI 9/2017 — 6/2018 UX Specialist
Siemens PLM, Livonia, MI 6/2017 — 9/2017 UX Designer Grand Circus, Detroit, MI 11/2013 — 6/2018 UX Instructor & Seminar Leader
Bosch, Warren, MI 5/2015 — 6/2017 Manager, User Experience & UX Champion for AA-AS
Unisys Corporation, Troy, MI 1/2015 — 5/2015 Customer Experience (CX) Manager
Cengage Learning, Farmington Hills, MI 12/2013 — 1/2015 Senior UX/UI Designer
DigitasLBi, Detroit, MI 10/2012 — 9/2013 Lead Experience Designer
Covisint, Detroit, MI 6/2012 — 1/2015 User Experience Architect
IBM Corporation, Detroit, MI 10/2011 — 6/2012 UX Architect & Interface Designer (Software Advisory Engineer)
MRM Worldwide, Birmingham, MI 4/2010 — 10/2011 User Experience Architect
Team Detroit, Dearborn, MI 6/2007 — 4/2010 User Experience Architect/Information Architect
Impact New Media Studios, Southfield, MI 1/1995 — 4/2010 Freelance Web Designer/Creative Director/Information Architect/ User Experience Architect/Usability Testing Manager/ E-Commerce Coordinator/Project Manager
Comerica Bank Incorporated, Auburn Hills, MI 10/2005 — 6/2007 Senior UX/UI Designer
OnStar, Detroit, MI 9/2004 — 10/2005 Curriculum Manager/Knowledge & Information Architect
Fiserv GalaxyPlus, Troy, MI 6/2002 — 9/2004 Webmaster/E-Learning Developer
Minacs, Farmington Hills, MI 6/1997 — 9/2002 Technical Training Consultant
Key UX/HCI-Related Design & Consulting Project Engagement Alumni Distinguished Project Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI Burgess Design Sprint Management Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI First-Year Student Experience Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI UserTesting.com Vendor Acquisition & Management United Wholesale Mortgage: Pontiac, MI Event Registration Management Website Redesign United Wholesale Mortgage: Pontiac, MI Event Registration Management Mobile Redesign United Wholesale Mortgage: Pontiac, MI Underwriter Digitization Innovation Process Design United Wholesale Mortgage: Pontiac, MI Unnamed Accounting Site Redesign United Wholesale Mortgage: Pontiac, MI APEX Retirement Redesign United Wholesale Mortgage: Pontiac, MI FindAMortgageBroker.com Redesign (Heuristic Support & Competitive Analysis) United Wholesale Mortgage: Pontiac, MI Bucketing Conditions Digital Project United Wholesale Mortgage: Pontiac, MI Internal UX Certification Curriculum and Course Design United Wholesale Mortgage: Pontiac, MI Me2You Site Redesign United Wholesale Mortgage: Pontiac, MI DocHub Digital Project Research United Wholesale Mortgage: Pontiac, MI RyderShare Ryder: Novi, MI Project Liftoff Quicken Loans: Detroit, MI LOLA Interface Redesign Quicken Loans: Detroit, MI CRM Consultation Quicken Loans: Detroit, MI Single Sign-On Redesign Siemens PLM: Livonia, MI Cloud Console Design Siemens PLM: Livonia, MI Connected Workshop Suite 2.0 Bosch: Warren, MI UX Check Tool Heuristic Analysis Bosch: Warren, MI Dealer Equipment & Services Website Redesign Project Bosch: Warren, MI Website Heuristic Analyses (OTCTools, Robinair, Actron, Bosch EV) Bosch: Warren, MI & Owatonna, MN
Confidential Handheld Diagnostic Touch Screen Redesign Project Bosch: Caterpillar, Peoria, IL & Kalamazoo, MI Confidential Automotive Service Cart Redesign Project Bosch: Warren, MI & Owatonna, MI U-Scan Mobile Application Heuristic Analysis & Redesign Project Actron: Brook Park, OH Confidential Collaborative Social Mobile Project Bosch: Warren, MI & Kalamazoo, MI Confidential Automotive Project Bosch: Karlsruhe, Germany Confidential Automotive Diagnostic Project Bosch: Owatonna, Minnesota Creator and Manager of UX Autobahn: Global Intranet-Based UX Educational Resource Bosch: Warren, MI New Employee Onboarding Form Redesign Delphi: Mexico MyELT Platform Redesign National Geographic Learning (Cengage Learning): Boston MA ed2Go Redesign ed2go (Cengage Learning): Temecula, CA & Farmington Hills, MI
Mindtap Redesign Cengage Learning: Boston, MA
New Owner Onboarding: Mobile Design & Usability Testing Management General Motors Corporation: Detroit, MI
OnStar Activation Process Redesign General Motors Corporation: Detroit, MI
Buick.com Search Redesign General Motors Corporation: Detroit, MI
Duracell B2B .com Redesign Duracell: Bethel, CT
Project Fusion Covisint: Detroit, MI Tivoli Productivity Center & Tivoli Storage Manager Interface Redesign IBM: Tuscon, AZ Chevrolet.com Heuristic Analysis General Motors Corporation: Detroit, MI m.Chevrolet.com General Motors Corporation: Detroit, MI Cadillac New Standard Tablet-Friendly Microsite General Motors Corporation: Detroit, MI Owner Center Foundations, Prototype Creation & User Testing General Motors Corporation: Detroit, MI Build Your Own (BYO) Redesign General Motors Corporation: Detroit, MI Consumers Energy Intranet Redesign Proposal Consumers Energy: Jackson, MI Ford Taurus Launch Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI Ford Taurus Reveal Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI
Ford SYNC Persona-Driven Microsites Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI RagingMonk42 version, targeted at younger drivers and gamers, was award-winning
Ford.com Next Generation Redesign Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI
Lincoln.com Next Generation Redesign Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI
Ford/Lincoln/Mercury Video Player Best Practices Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI
Ford Super Duty Reveal Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI
Ford “Race to the Dream” Contest Site Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI
Ford/Lincoln/Mercury Intercept Survey Analysis & Synthesis (Weekly) Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI
Ford/Lincoln/Mercury Monthly Analytics Reviews Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI
MWES-Driven Ford, Lincoln, Mercury Redesign Efforts Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI
Light ‘Em Up Dyno Mobile App for iPhone Bosch: Managed in Dearborn, MI
White Shadow: Chasing the Shadow Online Role Playing Game Ford Motor Company & USA Networks: Dearborn, MI
Ford Taurus: Cake Boss Interactive TV Segments Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI MercuryVehicles.com Redesign Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI
MercuryVehicles.com Promo Redesign Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI
Mercury Milan Microsite Ford Motor Company: Dearborn, MI
JiffyLube.com Redesign JiffyLube: Houston, TX
Compuware.com Redesign Compuware: Detroit, MI
Comerica.com Site Maintenance Comerica Bank: Auburn Hills, MI
Comerica.com: Consumer Protection Center Comerica Bank: Auburn Hills, MI
Comerica Intranet Design (COIN) Comerica Bank: Auburn Hills, MI
TurnerandTurner.com Redesign Turner & Turner: Southfield, MI
RuthRiley.com Redesign Ruth Riley (Detroit Shock): Southfield, MI
GalaxyPlus.com Redesign Fiserv GalaxyPlus: Troy, MI
Methodist Hospital Federal Credit Union: Site & Logo Design Methodist Hospital Federal Credit Union: Dallas, TX
T&I Credit Union: Site Design T&I Credit Union: Clawson, MI
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Texas Credit Union: Site & Logo Design T&I Credit Union: Clawson, MI
Wee Federal Credit Union: Site & Logo Design T&I Credit Union, Clawson, MI
Courses/Seminars (Designed, Taught, and/or Facilitated)
Intro to Human-Computer Interaction Lawrence Technological University: Southfield, MI Information Architecture I and II Kent State University: Kent, OH Researching User Experience I and II Kent State University: Kent, OH Interaction Design Kent State University: Kent, OH Usability I and II Kent State University: Kent, OH UXD in Practice Kent State University: Kent, OH UXD Leadership Kent State University: Kent, OH Content Strategy I and II Kent State University: Kent, OH Topics in User Experience Design Kent State University: Kent, OH UX Hands-On Workshop Grand Circus: Detroit, MI UX vs UI: What’s the Difference? Grand Circus: Detroit, MI UX vs UI: What’s the Difference? (Alumni Support Session) Grand Circus: Detroit, MI UX vs UI: What’s the Difference? (Advanced Session) Grand Circus: Detroit, MI OnStar 360 OnStar: Detroit, MI Customer Service Management Introduction OnStar: Detroit, MI Supported customer service attrition management initiatives Loan Plus Computer-Based Training Fiserv Galaxy Plus: Troy, MI Lotus Notes Fundamentals Minacs: Farmington Hills, MI Introduction to Excel Minacs: Farmington Hills, MI Excel Hands-On Workshop (H.O.W.) Minacs: Farmington Hills, MI Dynamic Excel Minacs: Farmington Hills, MI
Introduction to Power Point Minacs: Farmington Hills, MI
Power Point Hands-On Workshop (H.O.W.) Minacs: Farmington Hills, MI
Introduction to Visio Minacs: Farmington Hills, MI Dynamic Visio Minacs: Farmington Hills, MI
Reacquired Vehicles Fundamentals Minacs: Farmington Hills, MI Supported Ford Motor Company’s Lemon Law administration
New Employee Orientation Minacs: Farmington Hills, MI
Conference & Seminar Presentations
Delta CX: Ask Us Anything (Multiple Episodes) Delta CX Live Webcast (Remote) UX Maturity Levels & You: The CX Edition CXM Best Practices, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (Remote) Heuristics: The Holy Grail of UX World IA Day, Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI (Remote) UX Bubble Busters (Multiple Sessions — Talk Series) Students of UXD, Texas (Remote) UX Design Q & A DevFest 2020, Tunisia (Remote) Career Pathways in IT Tech Elevator, USA (Remote) Microexperience Awareness Global Experience Summit, Tech Circus, England (Remote) Navigating the Whirlpool: Guidelines for Successful Recruiting and Career Advancement Delta CX Concentric Conference, Online Conference (Remote) The Four Pillars of UX UX Talks, India (Remote) UX Strategy Masterclass UXJoburg Meetup, Johannesburg, South Africa (Remote) Long Live Information Architecture — The Social Media Version TechCircus, England (Remote) Microexperience Awareness: Going Beyond the Touchpoints CXM Best Practices Symposium, Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI Value in Accessibility Accessible Learning Conference, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI UX Maturity Levels & You World IA Day, Kent State University: Kent, OH Managing the World of UX UX Lab Presentation, Quicken Loans: Detroit, MI Heuristics: The Holy Grail of UX Rock Ventures 2017 UX Summit: Detroit, MI World IA Day 2017: The Call to UX Leadership Kent State University: Kent, OH UX Hands-On Workshoip Grand Circus: Detroit, MI World Usability Day 2016: Optimizing UX Culture & Maturity Levels Michigan State University: East Lansing, MI “Bosch Talks” Live Webinar: What is UX? Bosch: Farmington Hills, MI UX Link Recruiter Bootcamp: Square Pegs in Round Holes? UXLink TryMyUI Monthly UX Webinar: How to Build a Powerful UX Team TryMyUI UX Link Virtual Conference: Beyond the Interface UXLink UX vs UI: What’s the Difference Grand Circus: Detroit, MI UX vs UI: Hands-On Workshop Grand Circus: Detroit, MI UX Strategies Summit: “The quest for excellence in UX Leadership” San Francisco, CA (June 2015) Vitamin T Digital Rendezvous Q1 2014: Top 10 UX Lessons from 2013 Royal Oak: Michigan, MI Developer’s Bootcamp (Guest Speaker) Grand Circus: Detroit, MI
Applications
• Productivity & Collaboration: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Keynote • Creative & Graphic Design: Acrobat Professional, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Dreamweaver • Agile Tools: Confluence, JIRA, VSTS • Diagramming: Omnigraffle, Visio, MindnodePro • Prototyping: Adobe XD, Axure, iRise, UXPin, Figma, Justinmind • Audio/Video: Audition, Premiere, Camtasia • Social Media & Blogging: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, WordPress, Tumblr, Slack • Miscellaneous: Authorware, Camtasia, Captivate, SnagIt Awards, Professional Associations & Affiliations
• Member of CX of M (Promotion Team and Speaker) • Member of Kappa Delta Pi Honors Fraternity • Former Director of Interaction Design Foundation (Detroit Chapter) • Member of Detroit User Experience Meetup Group • Member of User Experience Professionals Association • Member of SIGCHI, the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction • Member of American Association of University Professors • Member of The Information Architecture Institute • Member of Content Strategy Alliance • Member of Society for Information Display • Member of AIGA Detroit • Member of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) • Member of Customer Experience Professionals Association • Manuscript Reviewer for Morgan Kaufmann Publishing • Former Member of The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) • Member of Golden Key Honor Society • Member of Phi Beta Kappa • Phi Theta Kappa Alumni (Vice-President in Charge of Leadership)
Advisory Board & Beta Team Participation
• Member of Intel Basis Peak Beta Team • Member of MyFitnessPal Beta Team • Member of Adobe Photoshop CS5 Beta Testing Team • Former Member of Macromedia Captivate/RoboDemo Advisory Board • Former TechSmith Camtasia Studio Beta Tester
Miscellaneous Accomplishments & Engagements
• Manager of Quicken Loans’ UX Lab educational sessions • Established the “UX Autobahn” for Bosch to serve as a supplementary educational resource, supporting global organizational transition to being a design-led company • Extremely engaged in social media (@darrenhood, @dhoodkent) with over 1,500 followers as of October, 2015 • Providing on-demand mentoring, career, and education support for those interested in user experience and human-computer interaction • Elsevier Manuscript Reviewer for “There’s Not An App For That” • Served on MercuryVehicles.com MWES team that vaulted the site to the #12 on J.D. Power’s MWES rankings in 2008 and maintain a Top 15 ranking from 2008 to 2010 • Recipient of Comerica’s ROAR Award for Outstanding Service • Developed OnStar simulation and web-based course enabling company to train customer service representatives and launch first off-shore call center (Philippines) • Created web design department and design processes for Fiserv GalaxyPlus