Clearing the noise with a user-centric, research based design methodology so the signal can shine through.
Resume
Objective
“
My desire is to thoroughly understand the way diverse users interact with products and not create only for their needs but create for their delight as well. I am looking for a position that challeges me to fuse a strong design aesthetic with a user-centric, research based methodology structured through research studies, user testing, statistical analysis, and customer feedback.
Experience
WatsOnSale
February 2013 – Present
User Experience & Product Manager
- Improved user engagement by 28% (from 4.6 to 5.9 pageviews per session) over 1 year by restructuring the information architecture and adding a recommendation engine.
- Increased mobile traffic by 76% (from 49,081 sessions to 86,341 sessions) over 1 year and decreased mobile bounce rate by 61% (from 45.75% to 17.82%) over 1 year by creating a fully responsive template.
- Implemented a research first culture where projects are lead by customer needs, not conjecture. Many projects in the pipeline now arise from reviewing user session recordings, user tests, surveys, and usage data.
- Implemented a “move fast and break things” culture with weekly releases that are consistently improved upon in a live environment.
Work Selection
References & Recommendations
Chaim is a transformational figure at WatsOnSale. He is intensely analytical and marketing oriented at the same time. His methodology of data lead design has enabled us to make real, measurable improvements to our product. Whether 9am or 9pm, Chaim is there, working his head off.
Ari Simkin
Partner at WatsOnSale
(718) 674-2010
ari@watsonsale.com
I love watsonsale I think it’s one of the best sites! I use it literately every week!
Rebecca K.
Website User
It’s a pleasure to write this letter to your company. I can’t begin to tell you what a lifesaver your comp is. I don’t know what I would do without it. It’s an amazing thing what you’re doing. I will keep recommending this company to all my friends.
Shmiel F.
Website User
Onboard Informatics
December 2011 – February 2013
User Experience Designer
- Implemented a culture of testing by reaching out to real estate agents to participate in user tests and surveys.
- Wireframed, designed, and wrote specifications for an analytics portal that launched to tens of thousands of real estate agents.
- Helped the company transition from generating revenue purely from B2B products to being able to generate revenue off consumers with an ecommerce platform that addressed long-tail sales that were previously falling through the cracks.
- Improved usability on many existing company products, increasing user engagement and conversion rates.
- Championed an iterative development cycle that helped the company release features, redesigns, and bug fixes at a faster pace.
- Worked on enterprise level projects for clients like Coldwell Banker, MRED, MRIS, and CTMLS.
B&H Photo Video
October 2009 – April 2011
User Experience & Design Specialist
I was lucky enough to make a major impact when working at B&H. I joined as a Junior Designer but was quickly promoted to User Experience & Design Specialist where I mentored 3 junior member of the team and was given the paramount task of revamping the entire conversion funnel. More than 5 years later, most of my work is still live on a website that receives millions of daily users.
- Conversion funnel projects had a direct impact on a 21% increase in sales in the first two quarters of 2011.
- Conceived, designed, and wrote functional specification for the first checkout overhaul in over 10 years. It reduced the amount of pages, eliminated redundant tasks, included client side errors, and added saved addresses. The overall checkout time to completion was halved.
- Conceived, designed, and wrote functional specification for the category landing page strategy. It improved sub category find-ability and also brought in the B&H learning channels like text and video resources.
- Designed and wrote functional specification for the product detail page enhancement. It increased the visibility of price, fixed MAP issues, and brought the “add to cart” section above the fold.
- Conceived and designed a new layout and interaction for the product listing page. Included an ajax filter interaction and multiple views, like grid and gallery view.
- Audited all buttons, modular windows, links, and colors on the entire site as the first step in a style guide that promotes continuity and the company brand.
- Addressed a discovery issue on the site, with conceiving, designing, and writing functional specifications for multiple product finder tools, like cable finder and printer ink finder.
- Addressed the usability issue of a two row site navigational structure by designing and coding an icon and text 1 row navigation without the need to eliminate any top-level categories.
Work Selection
Checkout
November 3, 2011
Navigation
October 27, 2011
Cable Finder
September 3, 2011
Compare Products
August 8, 2011References & Recommendations
Chaim’s last name is UX. I’ve worked with Chaim on many projects and was amazed by his intuition and attention to detail, and he never loses focus. The user is in his conscious at all times.
Sam Brull
Senior UX at B&H
As a designer it is important to grow and evolve, and Chaim Sash is someone I’ve personally witness grow a great deal over the past year. From his earliest work to his most recent work, a progression in applying user-centric design principles was apparent. Chaim participated in several large scale projects, including the most valuable “check out” process which all paying customers must use. His designs, functional specifications and attention to detail, all the while advocating for the customer in every stage, were first class. Lastly, Chaim’s personality is well suited for collaboration. He knows when to pick battles and stand his ground, and when to realize that in all projects, compromise to the vision is par for the course
Shawn Chittle
Former Senior UX at B&H
(917) 355-8424
chittle@gmail.com
When it comes to interaction design and usability, Chaim just “gets it”. He is on the ball, takes into account all user scenarios and accounts from all angles before they become problems and bugs. Chaim is a real asset to any design team, and I highly recommend him.
Herman Feuerwerker
UX Team Designer at B&H
(718) 207-1222
hershyf@gmail.com
Chaim has a great eye for detail in design, as a co-worker he would always enhance our work if asked for input!
Shmuli Everst
UX Team Designer at B&H
(718) 514-7016
shmuli@gmail.com
TechArtistic
September 2008 – Present
Freelance Web & App Design
- Designed over 50 diverse websites and apps for small businesses.
- Helped HomeLivingStyle double their conversion rate and increase their average order amount by $124.
- Increased signups on MyRegistry by 33% with a relaunch of their landing page.
- Tried to give back by advising many charitable organizations at discounted and sometimes free rates (Aish, Chaim Berlin, & NORPAC to name a few).
- Created 3 web properties for Great Restaurants Magazine.
Work Selection
Mansion Diner
November 8, 2014
HomeLivingStyle
October 23, 2014
Haditch App
October 18, 2014
Precision National
March 14, 2014References & Recommendations
It’s been pleasure knowing Chaim. He is person with great insights in developing online businesses. His knowledge towards latest business on internet trends makes him unique… Nice person and easy to work with.
Sriram Manoharan
Founder of Contus Support (Offshore Development Team)
sriram@contus.in
Education
CUNY Brooklyn College
June 2005 – June 2009
BA in Psychology & BFA in Creative Writing
Honors
- Graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.9 GPA.
- Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Society as a Junior. Only 4 out of over 2,000 Juniors were elected.
- Received Award for Continued Excellence at the English Department Undergraduate Conference.
- Received Deans Honor List award 8 consecutive semesters.
Advanced Academics
- BFA in Creative Writing is utilized as an outlet for my creativity and communication skills. A huge aspect of good design is to tell a good story. A huge aspect of completing a project is having good communication with management and your team.
- BA in Psychology enhances my ability to understand people, particularly website users and what motivates their behavior.
- Advanced statistics courses and conducting research studies for the Psychology department taught me how to conduct vigorous user tests and properly analyze the results.
Skills
Interaction Web & App Design
User Testing
Wireframing
Flow Charts
Personas
Specification Writing
Offshore Development Management
E-Commerce
Gathering Stakeholder Requirements
Information Architecture
A/B Testing
Tools
Fireworks (Designs, Wireframes, Specs)
Inspectlet (User Session Recording)
Google Analytics (Traffic Analysis)
Camtasia (Screencasts)
Lucidchart (Flow Charts)
SurveyMonkey (Surveys)
MailChimp (Email Newsletters)
Basecamp (Project Management)
Base (CRM)
Wordpress (Websites)
Magento (E-Commerce Websites)
CSS, HTML
Hobbies
Contact Me
Chaim Sash
(917) 703-7385
me@chaimsash.com