DesiGN RESEARCHER and UX/PRODUCT STrATeGIST

Keren (Veisblatt)
Toledano

I’M A PRODUCT RESEARCHER WHO IS FASCINATED BY THE WAYS HUMANS INTERACT WITH DIGITAL ENVIRONMENTS.

CONTACT
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I’ve always LOVED technology.

 
 

Intro to The World Wide Web: A series of tubes

My childhood was built on Geocities, RPGs, Prodigy chatrooms, PHP forums, MS DOS, and webrings. I learned the importance of routine via Tamagotchi-care. I honed my strategy skills through Civilization and Maxis games. I taught myself design fundamentals on KidPIX, MS Paint, Dreamweaver, and the Print Shop Deluxe. I discovered music by re-watching media from the Windows 95 install CD ad nauseam (which included Weezer's “Buddy Holly” video). My white noise is a dial-up modem. I’m my family’s default “IT person.” I learned almost anything from Encarta. I miss the old Internet.

A decade with Fortune 500 companies + early-stage start-ups

With over 10 years of experience conducting mixed-methods research, I design and research interfaces through a user-centric approach. I believe that attentive listening creates real, tangible value. I’ve produced actionable insights for Etsy, Netflix, AT&T, The Olympics, Shopify Point-of-Sale, Shopify Inbox, Comcast , Merck, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, The Moth, and more. My work has translated to higher conversion rates, improved customer satisfaction, slower-time-til-resolution, and decreased churn.

My past research projects have ranged from exploratory to evaluative, from surveys and IDIs to usability testing. I work across all phases of the product lifecycle (even pre-product). I’ve facilitated research in eight languages and ten countries! I know that a successful product cannot be built by a team of one and thrive on cross-functional collaboration. In addition to research-focused individual contributor responsibilities, I've served in design, content, and strategy management capacities in B2B and B2C companies.

Now, I want to think with you! Let’s chat, please contact me.

 

Started in

2013

 
 

Experience

  • Principal Product Researcher, Experience Strategy & Design

    Simply put, I study how people interact with things. Those people can be both Amtrak employees or passengers. My role is to complement and shape business strategy, inform product and design direction, and help deliver best-in-class, creative user experiences through mixed-methods insights. My team works across varied themes and focus areas; Passenger Information Display Systems (digital signage in stations and way-finding), Geographic Information Systems for control centers, Safety Compliance Software (distribution of rulebooks and manuals), Food & Bev (POS design, employee training, equipment selection), and throughout many systems which employees use to enable safe and comfortable passage.

  • Staff Product Researcher, International Markets

    I worked horizontally with product and marketing squads focused on our non-US buyers and sellers across multiple groups including Buyer Experience, Seller Experience, Search & Ads, and Marketing. I focused on India, Germany, and France.

  • Staff Product Researcher, Messaging

    Led qualitative research for Inbox, Shopify’s fastest growing 1st party app (100K+ MAUs, 1 million convos a month), increased merchant conversion rate, decreased response time. Researched social and liveselling behaviors across North America, Europe, and within Indian markets. Paired with cross functional (Data, Eng, Product, Design) senior leadership to affect roadmap and uncover trends and. opportunities. Work spanned ML/NLP and UX.

    Senior Experience Researcher, Retail & Point-of-Sale

    Paired with product leaders to identify critical questions and problem areas; conducted strategic research to address said area; and utilized insights to drive product direction for over 200K+ customers. Re-designed search architecture, decreased time-to-checkout.

  • Senior Design Lead, UX Research & Strategy

    Led multiple projects and shaped design and strategy for products with cross-functional team members (Product, Design, Eng, Research). Projects spanned discovery through deployment. I led end-to-end experience on all aspects of user research (problem framing, study design, recruiting, moderation, analysis, prototyping, reporting). Mentored junior researchers. Led dual-track sprints.

  • Senior Strategist

    Conducted research and analyzed data to guide digital experiences for clients. Defined and deepened client team understanding of user needs via moderated and unmoderated testing, surveys, user flows, journeys, and personas. Managed UX designers and researchers.

  • I want to think with you! Using qualitative research, I identify unmet needs, motivations, opportunities, and challenges throughout all aspects of a user’s experience. Let's figure it out together.

    Select clientele: University of Pennsylvania, NYU, Comcast Xfinity, At The Well, Baume et Mercier

  • Digital Experience Manager, Birthright Israel Foundation

    Digital Associate, Museum of Arts & Design

    Research Assistant, National Geographic Society

 
 

UX SPECiALTIES

Mixed Methods Research · International Research · Inclusive Research · Design Research · Prototyping · UX Research · Concept testing · Object-oriented UX · User-centered Design · Qualitative Research · Generative Research · Information Architecture · Product Strategy


DOMAins EXPLORED

E-commerce (live selling, marketplaces, conversational commerce, social selling) · Telecom · Internet Service Providers · Non-profit · Healthcare · Pharmaceuticals · Higher Education · Media & Streaming


Bag of Tricks

Contextual inquiry · Field studies · Co-design · Futures and foresight · Unmoderated studies · Moderated studies · Diary studies · Experimental research · Survey design (intercept and email) · Literature reviews · Rapid prototyping · Multi-lingual research · Pairing Qual with Quant · Storytelling · Stakeholder consulting

Important to some, less so to others…

Education

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

B.A. AMERICAN STUDIES, SOCIAL SCIENCES
Graduated May 2009

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

M.A. ARTS ADMINISTRATION, DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Graduated May 2011

RECOGnitiON

  • SXSW 2020 Speaker - Fantastic Futures

  • W3 AWARDs - Gold

  • W3 AWARDs - Silver

  • Webby Award WINNER, 'School & University' website

  • Webby Award HONOREE, 'Media/Streaming' Audioplayer

  • Massachusetts Innovation & Technology WINNER, 'Nonprofit', ‘Mobile’


ArtiCLES & THOUGHTS

 

Articles

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Case Studies

Projects

concepts

moonshot ideas

actionable insights

UX Antics

⌁ Articles 〰️ Case Studies ◖ Projects ✶ concepts ▴ moonshot ideas ◖ actionable insights ◎ UX Antics

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