Search Pleasure and Pain
Hi, I’m Whitney Hess
Whitney Hess is a user experience consultant, writer and public speaker based in New York City. She believes empathy builds empires.
Client inquiries: inquiries@whitneyhess.com
Speaking engagements: speaking@whitneyhess.com
Friendly emails: whitney@whitneyhess.com
Please Donate to FarmAid
Client Testimonials
"From the very first time I spoke to Whitney, I felt as thought she understood not only what we were trying to build, but why we were so passionate about building it. She helped us realize our potential by helping us hone our client personas and align the functional and the emotional benefits of our offering. She is part advisor, part cheerleader, part critic. I can honestly say that our app would not be what it is today without Whitney Hess."
Erin Newkirk
CEO and Co-Founder, Red Stamp
"Working with Whitney was not just a pleasure, but a transformative business experience. Our site and our consumer engagement approach was tired, and mired in old thinking and clunky, ineffective concepts. Whitney spent 8 weeks with us, diving into both the strategic thinking behind our re-design, as well as the aesthetic and UX considerations, many of which we never would have considered without her fresh, thoughtful, current thinking. Our launch was enormously successful and the whole team credits Whitney with a considerable portion of the success."
Kitty Kolding
CEO, House Party Inc.
"Great day - @ReadingPlus spent it w/ @whitneyhess, her user research, amazing insights, & #personas. #ux #juiced" [tweet]
Rick Cusick
CIO, Reading Plus
"Sat in on a UX talk with @whitneyhess. THAT WAS SO FRAKING AWESOME! #feellikeakidagain" [tweet]
Michael Lahens
Designer, Reading Plus
“The moment I met Whitney I knew she was good. Real good. She's the ultimate user experience professional providing the ultimate user experience in terms of brains, ethic, drive and collaboration. She's not just an information architect or interaction designer or content strategist - she's all those things and more, and that's what makes her one of the most sought-after UX professionals around. She's uniquely gifted in the sub-disciplines of the craft, and brings it all together in a truly comprehensive package. Sharp as a razor and skilled at digging in and solving business problems, Whitney's the kind of consultant who becomes an extension of your team, adding value beyond the mere scope of her assignment.”
Mike Hartman
Creative Director, Grey Healthcare Group
“I cannot say enough positive things about my various experiences working with Whitney. Working with her at Digitas she was a calm insightful asset in a frenetic, highly charged environment. I hired her to perform an assessment and IA for the redesign of a corporate SharePoint environment. Her grasp of the features and functionality of the SharePoint 2003 and MOSS 2007 are very hard to come by. She managed sensitive discussion deftly and provided valuable feedback that is being used today to drive the project forward. The level of professionalism, creativity and attention to detail she provides her clients are difficult to come by.”
Chris Drury
Director, Program Management, Hearst Communications
See more client and colleague testimonials on LinkedIn
Speaking Engagements
I have been invited to speak about the practice and philosophy of User Experience in 20 cities across 4 continents. But my work isn’t done until every business puts their customers at the center of every decision they make.
If you think you can help me spread the message to those who need to hear it most, please don’t hesitate to get in touch: speaking@whitneyhess.com
Upcoming
Shhhh…appearances in 2013 are still on the QT. Will post here when they’re public.
Previously
edUi Conference 2012
Richmond, VA
September 24, 2012
KEYNOTE: What’s Your Problem? Putting Purpose Back into Your Projects
NYC User Experience Professionals Association
New York, NY
September 18, 2012
Party of One: Surviving The Corporate Jungle As A Solo UX Practitioner
An Event Apart 2012
Chicago, IL
August 27, 2012
What’s Your Problem? Putting Purpose Back into Your Projects
hackNY Summer Series Lecture
New York, NY
July 16, 2012
Everything you always wanted to know about user experience but were afraid to ask
An Event Apart 2012
Boston, MA
June 18-19, 2012
What’s Your Problem? Putting Purpose Back into Your Projects
Northside Festival 2012
Brooklyn, NY
June 14, 2012
Panel discussion: Design the Company, Not the Product
MinneWebCon 2012
Minneapolis, MN
April 16, 2012
KEYNOTE: What’s Your Problem? Putting Purpose Back into Your Projects
An Event Apart 2012
Seattle, WA
April 2-3, 2012
What’s Your Problem? Putting Purpose Back into Your Projects
SXSW Interactive 2012
Austin, TX
March 9-13, 2012
Panel discussion: Hunt or Be Hunted: Get the Design Job You Want
UX Hong Kong 2012
Hong Kong, China
February 17-18, 2012
Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX
Workshop: Creating a Culture of UX
WebVisions NYC
New York, NY
January 19, 2012
Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX
World Usability Day
Bogota, Colombia
November 11, 2011
KEYNOTE: Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX
Carsonified’s Future of Web Design
New York, NY
November 8, 2011
Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX
An Event Apart 2011
Washington, DC
October 25, 2011
Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX
[slides]
UX Web Summit 2011
Online
September 28, 2011
Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX
[slides]
UX Israel Live 2011
Tel Aviv, Israel
September 7-8, 2011
KEYNOTE: Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX
Workshop: Creating a Culture of UX
Philly CHI
Philadelphia, PA
July 14, 2011
Whit Hour Live
Wharton Web Conference
Philadelphia, PA
July 14, 2011
Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX — Higher Education version
[slides]
Atlanta Web Design Group
Atlanta, GA
June 23, 2011
Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX
[slides]
UPA International 2011
Atlanta, GA
June 23-24, 2011
Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX [slides]
Evangelizing Yourself [slidecast]
Frontiers of Interaction 2011
Florence, Italy
June 21, 2011
When I Speak My Mind
Interlink Conference 2011
Vancouver, Canada
June 2-4, 2011
Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX
[slides]
An Event Apart 2011
Boston, MA
May 2, 2011
Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX
[slides]
SXSW Interactive 2011
Austin, TX
March 11, 2011
Core Conversation: “Breaking Taboos: Pros Get Real About Money Matters” with Marc Hemeon
An Event Apart 2010
San Diego, CA
November 1, 2010
“DIY UX: Give Your Users an Upgrade (without calling in a pro)”
[slides]
An Event Apart 2010
Minneapolis, MN
July 26, 2010
“DIY UX: Give Your Users an Upgrade (without calling in a pro)”
[slides]
PENN UICONF 2010: Higher Education Web Symposium
Philadelphia, PA
July 22, 2010
“DIY UX: Give Your Users an Upgrade (without calling in a pro)” — Higher Education version
[slides]
IxDA DC
Washington, DC
June 18, 2010
Panel discussion: “Interaction Design: Making the Complex Seem Simple”
UX London 2010
London, UK
May 21, 2010
Workshop: “Creating a Culture of UX”
[slides]
UK UPA
London, UK
May 20, 2010
Panel discussion: “The UX Clinic”
STC Technical Communication Summit 2010
Dallas, TX
May 3, 2010
“10 Most Common Misconceptions About User Experience Design”
[slides]
“Evangelizing Yourself: You Can’t Change the World If No One Knows Your Name”
[slidecast]
IA Summit 2010
Phoenix, AZ
April 11, 2010
Closing plenary: “Transcending Our Tribe”
[slides]
Infragistics – Private Library New York
New York, NY
March 24, 2010
Panel discussion on design and user experience
Econsultancy Roundtable: User Experience – the good, the bad and the customer journey
New York, NY
March 18, 2010
InterLab 2009
Long Island, NY
November 18, 2009
“DIY UX: Give Your Users an Upgrade (without calling in a pro)”
BarCamp Philly
Philadelphia, PA
November 14, 2009
“QUIT YOUR JOB — Pick my brain about going independent. Ask me anything.”
An Event Apart 2009
Chicago, IL
October 12, 2009
“DIY UX: Give Your Users an Upgrade (without calling in a pro)”
The NYC Customer Development Process Meetup
New York, NY
August 20, 2009
“DIY UX: Give Your Users an Upgrade (without calling in a pro)”
[slides]
Ultra Light Startups
New York, NY
July 1, 2009
Panel discussion: “Ultra Light User Experience”
[video]
An Event Apart 2009
Boston, MA
June 22, 2009
“DIY UX: Give Your Users an Upgrade (without calling in a pro)”
[slides]
140 Characters Conference
New York, NY
June 17, 2009
Panel discussion: “Designing User Experiences for Twitter”
RedUX DC
Washington, D.C.
May 9, 2009
“Evangelizing Yourself: You Can’t Change the World if No One Knows Your Name”
[slidecast]
NYC IA Summit Redux
New York, NY
April 28, 2009
“Evangelizing Yourself: You Can’t Change the World if No One Knows Your Name”
[slidecast]
Web Design Day
Pittsburgh, PA
April 4, 2009
“10 Most Common Misconceptions About User Experience Design”
[slides]
boxee NYC Meetup
New York, NY
March 24, 2009
“Features to expect in the beta”
[slides]
IA Summit
Memphis, TN
March 22, 2009
“Evangelizing Yourself: You Can’t Change the World if No One Knows Your Name”
[slidecast]
IA Summit
Memphis, TN
March 22, 2009
“The Courage to Quit: Starting, Growing and Maintaining Your Own UX Business”
[slides]
SXSW Interactive 2009
Austin, TX
March 14, 2009
Panel discussion: “From Freelance to Agency: Start Small, Stay Small”
[podcast]
IxDA NYC – Interaction 09 Conference Recap
New York, NY
March 10, 2009
“Twitter at Interaction 09″
[slides]
BarCamp Philly
Philadelphia, PA
November 7, 2008
“QUIT YOUR JOB — Pick my brain about going independent. Ask me anything.”