Stephen (Stef’n) Ellis

Stephen (Stef'n) Ellis has extensive work experience in the field of product design and user experience. Stephen (Stef’n) is currently working as a Principal Product Designer at Uplevel since March 2023. Prior to this, they worked as an Adjunct Professor of Art & Design at Portland State University, where they taught an advanced course in Interaction Design Principles.

Stephen also has experience as a Principal Product Designer at Double Blind Design from April 2017. Stephen (Stef’n) served as the Head Of Design at Fauna Inc. from May 2021 to March 2023, where they owned the research and product design process.

In addition, Stephen worked as a Design Instructor at the Interaction Design Foundation (IxDF) from August 2021 to July 2022. Stephen (Stef’n) has also held roles at New Relic, Inc. as a Lead Product Designer and Sr. Product Designer, Avinode Group as a UX/UI Manager and Sr. UX/UI Designer, Moda Health as a UX Designer, AltSource, Inc. as a UX Designer, and Forix as a UX Designer.

Throughout their career, Stephen has demonstrated expertise in various aspects of product design, including research, user experience, design, and language. Stephen (Stef’n) has worked on redesigning user experiences, creating design systems, conducting user research, and collaborating with stakeholders and executive leadership to align business strategy with customer needs. Stephen is also experienced in teaching and mentoring students in product design and user research.

Overall, Stephen (Stef'n) Ellis has a diverse and comprehensive work experience in the field of product design, demonstrating a strong focus on user-centered design and delivering holistic experiences to users.

Stephen (Stef'n) Ellis has a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Digital Arts from the University of South Florida, which they obtained from 2010 to 2013. Prior to that, they earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Digital Arts from Central Washington University, where they studied from 2003 to 2008.

In addition to their formal education, Stephen has obtained several certifications related to User Experience (UX) and Interaction Design. These include a UX Certificate from Nielsen Norman Group, obtained in January 2020, and various certifications from the Interaction Design Foundation (IDF) between November 2017 and June 2018. These certifications cover a range of topics such as UX management, information visualization, usability testing, design thinking, and psychology of interaction design.

In 2015, Stephen attended Portland Code School for a Fullstack JavaScript Immersion program, although no degree was obtained from this institution.