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Amit Deshpande
Experience Architecture. Brand positioning. Product Strategy.
FOCUS
Innovating Products by providing strong direction around UX, Product Design and UI Engineering
SUMMARY
With over 12 years of experience at the intersection of User Experience, Product Design and UI Engineering, I
have strong experience leading techno-creative processes and people, and setting roadmaps and milestones to
raise the bar for teams in terms of learning and for products in terms of excellent experiences.
Having worked with some of the leading global multinational organizations like ESPN, Yodlee, McAfee and
Sapient and across products for Bank of America, British Petroleum, GE Money, Capital One Bank, including but
not limited to Mobile Apps, Web Product development, Mobile Web, Sport Media and Entertainment, Financial
White-label products, I find myself confident of driving design and product innovation which can scale.
With experience in driving processes and people and setting roadmaps to raise the bar higher, I see myself at
the helm of radical roles demanding forward-looking ‘product experience’ leadership and direction.
EXPERIENCE
Head of UI Engineering and Design Strategy
Senior Manager, UI Engineering / Senior Manager, Design Strategy
Nov 2010– Present | ESPN, Inc. | Bangalore, Karnataka
 The ‘face’ of International Design and Engineering teams providing go-to leadership and stakeholder
interface
 Managed all of ESPN’s International Digital Media offerings
 Built modular HTML5 based framework with accommodation for Responsiveness
 Devised standards compliant, contemporary interpretations of ESPN properties and sub-sites
 Utilized ‘quick and dirty’ usability testing mechanisms to keep the budget lean and still drive great value from
the effort
 Brought about economies of scale by building frameworks in order to execute standards in design and faster,
predictable turnaround time for engineering
 Produced 3 excellent book designs for ESPNcricinfo and Disney (Rahul Dravid’s book has been well
received)
 People Management – currently managing two distinct teams, one of UI Engineering and other of Design
comprising of a total 20 people including but not limited to intensive training, mentoring, goal setting,
appraisals, compensation and benefits
Manager, Product Management – User Experience Architecture and Design
May 2007– Nov 2010 | Yodlee, Inc. | Bangalore, Karnataka
 Working on high-key Agile and Skunkworks styled projects for quick functional pseudo-prototypes simulating
the real application (closely working with core group of (and reporting to) SVP Products, VP Products and
Director User Experience)
 Brought about a process of implementation of Unobtrusive JavaScript, adapting to progressive enhancement
techniques and Hijax. Brought about the implementation of StyleGuides, JavaScript CoreLib and xHTML
component library.
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 Information Architecture, Interaction Design, UI Design, UI Architecture, Usability Critiques and Reviews,
Click-thru Analysis, Beta-user Interactions
 Color Psychology, Visual Design, Interface Design, Iconography, Typography, Metaphors and User Mental
models, XHTML, CSS, Javascript, Cross-Browser Compatibility
 Advocate of Accessibility with strong hands-on experience working to build markup compliant to WCAG
guidelines containing the interests of American Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
 Strong understanding of quirksmode, differences in parsers and user-agent layout engine differences
 Leading a team of 7 UI professionals and mirroring the Director of User Experience from the company's US
Office in terms of responsibility and leadership.
User Interface Development Engineer
Dec 2005– May 2007 | McAfee, Inc. | Bangalore, Karnataka
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Design, WebStandards, Localization.
Created the overall User Experience for McAfee’s consumer web site.
Collaborated as a team member for locales associated with McAfee's consumer segment.
Initiated an effort called McTalk which brings together designers and developers.
Associate, Creative Design
Mar 2005– Dec 2005 | Sapient Corporation | Gurgaon, Haryana
 Worked on the successful implementation of design methodologies and aligning them to power brands like
British Petroleum (http://www.bp.com), Arco (http://arco.com) and Colt (http://www.colt.net).
 Moved designs from primary stages of Information Architecture through Visual Design and final XHTML and
CSS deliverables.
 Worked closely with Cuban Council and Ogilvy to create a state-of-the-art experience for Hotels.com
(http://ie.hotels.com/hotel-htdocs/ie/index.htm) and GE Money, UK (http://gemoney.co.uk).
 Devised Style guides and User Interface Specifications Kits.
User Experience Architect
Mid 2004– Mar 2005 | Omniquad Ltd. | Bangalore, Karnataka
 Enhanced products’ persuasion factor via ethnographic research.
 Handled Product concepts through Information Architecture, Interaction Design and Visual Design.
 Reiterated several concepts on basis of color theory for maximum User-centric design.
Interaction Designer
Late 2003– Mid 2004 | Omniquad Ltd. | Bangalore, Karnataka
 Devised optimal Human Computer Interactions by minimizing dialogue and reducing ambiguity in various
project screens.
 Designed content/multimedia for web-based applications.
Web/Multimedia Designer
2001– 2003 | Rachana InfoTech | Belgaum, Karnataka
Worked part-time and freelance on various projects. Provided highly interactive Web Multimedia Solutions
developed using Macromedia’s Shockwave Technology.
EDUCATION
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Post Graduation
Masters in Computer Applications (Distinction Grade)
2001-2003 | Vishweshwaraiah Technological University, Karnataka
Graduation
Bachelor of Science
1997-2000 | Karnatak University, Dharwar, Karnataka
SKILLS
Technical
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Information Architecture, Interaction Design, UI Design, Usability Magnitude Evaluation Testing
Color Psychology, Visual Design, Interface Design, Grids
Iconography, Typography, Strong understanding of Metaphors
HTML5, CSS, Cross-Browser Compatibility
Photoshop, Premiere
Other
 Editorial Board Member, User Experience Magazine, a unique print initiative by the Usability Professionals
Association (http://www.upassoc.org). Have worked closely with Editor-in-chief Aaron Marcus and Managing
Editors, Susan Fowler and Alice Preston.
 Spoke at Momentum India Design Summit 2012 – Digital Media and Responsiveness
 Founding Principal, World Usability Day, Bangalore Edition (http://wudbe.com). Instrumental in instituting a
Local Leader and bringing together a kick-start group for the effort.
 Regional Liaison, World Usability Day 2006, India and Middle East. Helped steer WUD2006 events across
India and the Middle East in the capacity of Regional Liaison, working directly with Elizabeth Rosenzweig
(Director, World Usability Day) and Rick Cecil (Regional Liaison Chair).
 Local Ambassador, User Experience Network Intl. (http://www.uxnet.org). Worked closely with Dirk
Knemeyer, Founding Principal and Pabini-Gabriel Petit in the past.
 Florence Biennale Nominee
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