Our people
Our usability and design specialists hail from backgrounds as diverse as industrial design, business strategy, product development, government policy, cartography, web design, interaction design, and information architecture. We even have a physicist on board!
Adeline Salkeld-BlearsAdeline Salkeld-Blears
Designer & Consultant
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 605 047
- Phone: +64 9 973-1863
- Linkedin: adelinesalkeld
- Twitter: #webdesigngirl
The professional
Originally from the UK, Adeline comes from a creative design background and has applied that creativity to a broad range of design disciplines, from web and graphic design, to information design and cartography. Adeline's previous roles have been focused on creating well informed, usable designs that are also pleasing to the eye.
Most recently, Adeline has created the new visual design style for ASB's FastNet Classic, conducted user testing for Wises and Yellow maps and has created both interaction and visual designs for ASB's Professional Trust. Adeline is also the designer behind the new Optimal Usability website.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Communication
Annika NaschitzkiAnnika Naschitzki
Usability Consultant
- Email: annika.nasc[email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 021 334 38
- Phone: +64 4 498 5742
The professional
Annika has a web usability and interaction design background. She worked on developing websites for eBay, LG and Sony and conducted international studies in Russia, Norway, Korea and the Czech Republic. Her strong suit are eye tracking studies. For years she has been observing and analysing what draws the user’s attention and is passionate about applying that experience in New Zealand.
In the last years, Annika has conducted interviews on vineyards (for NZTA), in metal workshops in the presence of hot molten metal (for ACC) and on remote farms (PGG Wrightson) – what better way is there to create kick-ass experiences and discover the beauty of this country?
Qualifications: MA in Sociology, BA in Journalism and Communication Science
The person
In her off-time, Annika sings in a Javanese Gamelan group, plays the ukulele or looks for other creative outlets. In fact, everything with music or moving pictures in it provides perfect entertainment to Annika. Her goals for her second year in New Zealand is to pick up a wetsuit and learn to windsurf in Wellingtons smooth breezes.
Bridget McSherryBridget McSherry
Senior Consultant
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 737 271
- Phone: +64 4 498 4457
The professional
Bridget's background is in web and interaction design, focussing on user experience design. She likes figuring out what works for people, and what will make their experience super, using techniques like interaction mapping, storyboards, user observation and testing. Bridget is experienced in using web analytics and online marketing to create frameworks to evaluate website performance against organisational and user objectives. Over the last 4 years with Optimal Usability, Bridget has worked with clients including Telecom, KiwiBank, Westpac, The Parliamentary Service, Powershop, The Quit Group, The Reserve Bank, Ministry of Social Development, Ministry for Culture and Heritage, NZ Post and Parliamentary Counsel Office.
Bridget enjoys communicating the idea of user experience design as a crucial part of business-as-usual activity. Showing organisations the benefits of great design helps generate enthusiasm and a commitment to making sure that every project has user input.
The person
Bridget spends most of her spare time playing with lego, enjoying Wellington’s top playgrounds, visiting the scary pig at Te Papa, and generally indulging in the things that make life fun with her family and friends, including her two little kids.
Dave O’BrienDave O’Brien
Senior Consultant
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 273-7271
- Phone: +64 4 498-4458
- Linkedin: Dave O'Brien
- Delicious: dobrien
The professional
Dave’s 15 years of user-centered design experience has taught him that the key to delivering a great product is up-front, unbiased user research - moving past preconceptions, folklore, and the competition to find out who the users really are and what they actually need.
His past work, as a UI designer for Qualcomm and Intuit, includes B2B web apps and consumer desktop software, as well as intranets, workflow automation, and knowledge management.
Since coming to Optimal, Dave has designed a call-centre system for Air New Zealand, created web personas for ACC, designed a loan-application system for BNZ, and conceived our Treejack tool for testing site structures. He also teaches courses in design and usability.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Arts; 25 years in the software industry
The person
If the weather’s good, Dave’s out riding a user-centered bike and planning his next cycling tour. When it gets cold and wet, you’ll find him carving stone, juggling, or playing poker (not at the same time).
Jodine StodartJodine Stodart
Senior Consultant
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 460-420
- Phone: +64 9 359-9404
The professional
Jodine is enthusiastic about how great design and excellent usability can come together to create a holistic experience that delights customers.
Based in Melbourne for 7 years, Jodine’s last role was as User Experience Researcher and Interaction Designer for online job search SEEK Ltd. Jodine has also worked with a range of clients and products under her own web design and development business Liquorice Media.
With a varied background in design and project management for e-business sites, large company and government intranets, online event calendars, staff training DVD’s, SEO strategies and brand development, Jodine enjoys applying the principles and methodologies of user experience design to solving a range of business problems. Her latest fascination is how her experience in Persuasion Architecture may be applied to the non-profit sector.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Social Science, 11 years in the IT industry
The person
Jodine enjoys discovering unique fusions of musical styles from around the world, lives on an island in the Hauraki gulf, volunteers at a community cinema, breaks out the bad eighties tunes on occasion and is not afraid of the odd costume theme party.
Julie WatsonJulie Watson
Consultant
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 0714651
- Phone: +64 4 909 7246
The professional
Julie has a love of all things learning-related and enjoys supporting users through processes of discovery and exploring new ways to make online learning and collaboration fun and engaging, while ensuring successful outcomes for learners and organisations alike. She is fascinated by the possibilities offered through combining sound learning design with emerging technologies.
Julie was a lecturer and educational technology consultant before joining Optimal Usability in late 2010. At Optimal Usability she’s worked with clients such as the University of Auckland, Rabobank, Massey University and the Open Polytechnic.
Qualifications: BCA in Commercial Law, Management and Information Systems, BCA (first class Hons) in Information Systems, PhD in Information Systems.
The person
Julie’s dogs keep her entertained as well as fit, and she has rekindled an interest in sport through cycling with her husband, Ross. She’s also attempting to coax a vege garden to life in the Wellington wind.
Kimberley EdgellKimberley Edgell
Office Manager & EA to Kris Nygren
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 884-938
- Phone: +64 9 359-9407
The professional
Kimberley has extensive experience in education and leadership through her previous role as a primary school teacher. Kimberley comes to Optimal Usability with many relevant skills. She has facilitated school-wide programmes and provided mentoring for teacher trainees. Generally, she has excellent organisational, time management and problem solving skills.
Kimberley has embraced the challenge of managing the Auckland office and providing consultants with support on a range of projects. Kimberley also organises the Auckland training courses and events. She is enjoying the experience of working for a company that puts people first and the challenge of incorporating the company ethos of usability in her work.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Education (Teaching)
The person
Kimberley loves being active and heading to the gym for a good workout. Her favourite class is Les Mills’ Body Combat. In the summer weekends she supports her partner and family with their motor racing passion at race tracks around New Zealand. Kimberley enjoys Auckland’s café culture and regularly meets friends for a catch up at one of these spots. She enjoys a good book and going out to watch a range of movies.
Kris NygrenKris Nygren
General Manager Auckland
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 555 172
- Phone: +64 9 3599 407
- Linkedin: krisnygren
The professional
Kris heads up Optimal Usability’s Auckland office. He has a “colourful” professional background leading innovation, strategy, marketing and business growth in ecommerce, global dairy and financial services industries in New Zealand and Europe.
Kris loves to help new exciting ideas grow! He is a resident adviser in leading New Zealand start-up incubator The Icehouse and is a hands-on director in multiple start-ups including a biotech R&D company based in Sweden. Kris can be trusted to lead creative and strategic problem solving workshops… or arrange air freight from Chicago O’Hare to Port Lome in Togo depending on what you require!
Qualifications: BCom (Hons)
The person
Kris was born, raised and educated in Stockholm. He has lived in NZ off and on with kiwi wife Janine and two kids for the past 15 years and is now well and truly settled on a lifestyle block in Albany.
He is passionate about spending a kiwi summer camping and fishing the far north. He loves experiencing new cultures while travelling with his family – the last trip took them across China and next they are aiming for Thailand. A perfect balance!
Leif RoyLeif Roy
Wellington Manager
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 27 286-2511
- Phone: +64 4 498 5743
The professional
With a background in industrial design & user centric research, Leif has a specific interest in understanding how we as humans relate to the products and environments around us. What are our unmet latent needs, how can we design products to meet these needs and in doing so improve the relationships that we have with the stuff around us.
In the last decade Leif has worked on an exciting range of projects for companies including; Formway Furniture, Knoll, Herman Miller, Bernhardt Design, Colebrook Bosson & Saunders, Virgin Atlantic, and Air New Zealand.
Qualifications: BDESN (Industrial)
The person
Everyone has their vice. Leif’s is anything with 2 wheels and a set of pedals. Most of his spare time is consumed by; riding bikes, fixing bikes, or writing about bikes. He also enjoys any other excuse to explore and travel.
Maria SauerMaria Sauer
Interaction Designer
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 563 621
- Phone: +64 9 359-9404
The professional
Maria is an interaction designer with a strong passion for good design. Her objective is to create highly usable products that people love to use. To achieve this, she believes that the utility of a product is the basis, but there is much more to it. Compare to a building, you would never admire the architecture of an ugly building with great framing and plumbing. Likewise a beautiful building that caves in after five minutes is not admired either.
Maria's previous role, based in Munich, was as interaction designer for a software development company where she was responsible for the concept and design of several software-as-a-service products. Working in multi-disciplinary teams she has experience in the complete product design process and is able to take designs from pie-in-the-sky ideas to a working proof of concept. As a designer in an agile development environment, Maria worked closely with the developers to communicate her design ideas. With a degree in Media Technology she has a solid technical and analytical understanding.
Since joining Optimal Usability Maria has been involved in a variety of projects, including conceptual design, wireframe design, expert reviews and user testing.
The person
At weekends, Maria loves to go tramping. With New Zealand as her new home, there are plenty of treks waiting to be explored. You will find her accompanied by her husband and her camera. In the evenings - especially during wintertime - she enjoys reading good crime novels.
Martin BulmerMartin Bulmer
Senior Consultant
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 916800
- Phone: +64 4 498 5741
- Linkedin: martin.bulmer
- Twitter: OptimalMartin
- Delicious: OptimalMartin
The professional
Martin has been working in the digital industry since before the web started (he once told the editor of the British Weekly Telegraph that there was this thing called ‘the Internet’ he might like to consider putting his paper on). Starting his career at BT Research Laboratories Human Factors Unit, he worked on projects as diverse as the interaction design of collaborative virtual environments, the world’s first TV on demand service, the development of interaction design standards for BT products and the specification for the stripy red and yellow tents you see on streets that telephone engineers sit inside and drink tea.
Qualifications: BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences, MA Design for Interactive media (dist)
The person
Martin is a recent émigré from the United Kingdom having arrived with Heather, his partner and Kenan, his young son. When not working he spends a significant amount of time playing Star Wars Lego with his son or getting involved in the committee of the Society of Beer Advocates (www.soba.org.nz), a not for profit organisation set up to campaign for a greater appreciation of craft beer. An important contributory factor in Martin’s employment at OU is the fact that in his spare time he makes beer, although since he joined, Trent has commented that there has been a suspicious absence of any free, foaming cold ones.
Michelle MacdonaldMichelle Macdonald
EA to Trent Mankelow & Financial Operations
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 254 6804
- Phone: +64 4 498 4452
The professional
Michelle is an experienced Administrator with a background in customer service, HR, event management, finance, payroll and PA skills. She enjoys the variation that her role brings, especially the finance side.
After her tertiary studies, Michelle fell into an Office Manager role at a branch of an international scaffolding and machinery firm, and has since worked for a variety of industries including Online gaming based in Ireland, different branches of government in New Zealand and now usability.
Michelle loves to learn new things, and finds that learning on the job is the best way to go about it.
Qualifications: Advanced Diploma in Tourism, Travel and Business, Certificate in Small Business Management, Certificate in Project Management
The person
Michelle loves to meet new people and travel the world as much as she can afford. Friends and family are an important part of Michelle’s life, with a large extended family and friends all over the world! She loves her iPod and has a wide range in music taste. She enjoys reading and watching movies, dancing and learning new things.
Nicole KaufmannNicole Kaufmann
Consultant
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 460 850
- Phone: +64 4 498 4454
- Delicious: nicolekaufmann
The professional
Nicole is passionate about practical user interfaces and design solutions. One of her key philosophies is “Use creates design, so good design creates good usability and vice versa.”
Nicole has a background in cartography and GIS Engineering and worked as a Data Visualiser for 4 years. After a 2 year stint in 3D animation and film making, she joined Optimal Usability in 2005. Since then she worked with a wide range of clients and on a variety of projects, including conceptual wireframing, wireframe design, information architecture design, expert reviews and user testing.
Since working for Optimal Usability, Nicole has completed expert reviews for over 50 clients.
Nicole is currently working part-time after coming back from maternity leave.
Qualifications: Dipl.-Engineer of Cartography and Geomatics
The person
In her previous life, Nicole enjoyed movies, playing games, baking, tramping and indoor soccer.
These days, Nicole’s spends most of her time on being a mum to her two little daughters, Helena and Emilia.
Ruth BrownRuth Brown
Practice Manager
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 490-776
- Phone: +64 4 498-4453
The professional
Ruth started her work career as an engineer until she realised that studying people was much more interesting than studying maths (well, most of the time).
It never fails to amaze her just what an impact companies can have when they put their customers at the centre of their thinking. In saying that, lots of the fun for Ruth is taking all of the business constraints and working together to come up with the optimal experience for the business and their customers.
In Ruth’s 5 years at Optimal Usability she has worked on over 120 projects including strategy, personas, information architecture, interaction design, expert reviews and user testing. Lots of Ruth’s time now is spent doing management-y stuff but she still likes to find any excuse to get stuck into real projects.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Engineering (with First Class Honours) majoring in Operations Research
The person
Most of Ruth, and her husband Jonathon’s, time is spent with their two school-aged kids. In winter they head to Mt Ruapehu to go skiing and in summer can be found at Riversdale Beach in the Wairarapa.
When Ruth gets time to herself she manages to fit in some vintage shopping, running with friends and pilates.
Sharon CartwrightSharon Cartwright
Usability Consultant
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 585-559
- Phone: +64 9 359-9404
- Linkedin: Sharon Cartwright
- Twitter: OptimalSharon
- Delicious: sfcartwright
The professional
Sharon is passionate about designing systems and services that meet user needs and delight the user. In particularly she has a strong interest in human behaviour and how information is designed and communicated most effectively.
Since joining Optimal in 2008 Sharon has facilitated hundreds of User Testing sessions, including international remote testing and in-car testing. Sharon has also been applying her strong research, analytical, and communication skills to Expert Reviews and Information Architecture projects as well as project managing several Design projects. Sharon has worked on a wide range of project across a wide range of industries including Telecommunications, Banking, Government, Education, Not for Profit and Retail.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Social Science majoring in Psychology, Graduate Certificate in Social Science Research.
The person
Sharon likes to make the most of the kiwi outdoor lifestyle - tramping, camping, beaching, running, gardening and kayaking.
When not feeling quite so adventurous Sharon pursues more urban activities, spending time with family, socialising with friends over good wine or coffee, reading and cooking.
Suzanne CrossSuzanne Cross
Senior Consultant
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 274-991-522
- Phone: +64 9 359-94044
The professional
Suzanne is an experienced marketer, with a particular focus on marketing change driven by technology. Naturally inquisitive and curious by nature, and with a complementary background in market research, Suzanne loves to get answers to questions.
She joined Optimal Usability in July 2010 from Telecom NZ where she spent the previous 9 years building up an in-depth knowledge of the Internet and telecommunications industry. Across four different roles she had extensive experience in delivering operational outcomes with minimal customer impact, and balancing customer and business needs. Since joining Optimal Usability Suzanne has applied her varied experience to strategy, service design, user testing, expert reviews, and change management projects.
Qualifications: MA (First Class Honours) in History, Postgrad Certificate of Management
The person
Becoming a mother for the first time in February 2011 has been occupying most of Suzanne’s waking (and sleeping) hours! When she has the time (!) she continues to hang out in the garden trying to reach her goal of not having to buy any vegetables, and trying to beat her husband at Scrabble!
Favourite sites
www.youtube.com
(for watching all those old music videos)
www.cuisine.co.nz
www.ohbaby.co.nz
Thea MyersThea Myers
Interaction Designer
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 706-166
- Phone: +64 9 359-9403
- Twitter: theamyers
The professional
Thea is a dedicated interaction designer with a real passion for understanding a system or issue fully before proposing solutions. She loves the range of different industries and clients she’s exposed to in her role as a consultant at Optimal Usability, and prides herself on providing clean, invaluable deliverables. She really enjoys discovering subtle, effective interaction solutions that make users happy.
Thea comes from a web design background, having studied digital art and collage, interface design, and multimedia. She got a BA from Bennington College in Vermont, and has also studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Scuola Lorenzo Di Medici in Florence.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Arts
The person
Thea had a sweet little baby girl in June 2010, so it doesn’t really feel like she has any free time anymore – however her non-work time is somehow fuller and more enjoyable than it used to be. She still reads comics whenever possible, and still very much enjoys her fine food and wine… but more and more, these things get prioritized AFTER hanging out with the husband and making the baby giggle.
Trent MankelowTrent Mankelow
El Capitan
- Email: [email protected]
- Mobile: +64 21 389-494
- Phone: +64 4 498-4456
- Linkedin: trent.mankelow
- Twitter: trentmankelow
- Delicious: nastymcfly
The professional
Trent Mankelow is the CEO and co-founder of Optimal Usability. He started out as a technologist, with a degree in computer science, but quickly found that his passion was in the intersection between people and technology. These days he spends a lot of time with New Zealand organisations trying to understand their customer experience challenges, and setting Optimal Usability’s strategic direction.
Trent regularly writes and speaks on customer experience, service design, and usability. He also helped to found the New Zealand chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association, and served on its international board from 2008 – 2010.
Qualifications: BCMS in Software Engineering (with First Class Honours)
The person
Trent speaks relatively fluent Spanish after 11 months in Northern Argentina on a student exchange when he was 16. He enjoys playing with his daughter, the occasional game of tennis and the odd cigar. He’s addicted to The Moth and kind of can’t be bothered with long walks, unless it involves going tramping.