Leadership Team and Staff

Kelly Franznick - Founder and Principal

Understanding end-users and translating this understanding into targeted design recommendations, Kelly is clearly focused on creating the ultimate user experiences. Prior to co-founding Blink in the year 2000, Kelly had been working in the field of user-centered design for eight years, helping companies such as Netscape, Monsanto, Times Mirror, Whirlpool, WRQ, Nokia and Drugstore.com create solid user experiences. Kelly has a Master of Design degree, specializing in Human-Centered Design, from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He also has a Bachelor of Science in Design degree from Arizona State University. Kelly also writes the blog, Workarounds.

Karen Clark - Founder and Principal

Prior to co-founding Blink in the year 2000, Karen had over seven years of interactive application work to her credit, and had worked extensively in the telecommunications training industry with clients such as Nortel, Cox Cable and Bell Canada. Karen has also worked in the finance industry for Bowne & Co with Capital Stream and Rainier Pacific. Prior to that, she worked on many cultural and educational interactive programs, such as the National Archives of Canada. Karen is a graduate in Information Technology & Multimedia from Capilano College, Vancouver, Canada and holds a degree in Art History & Visual Arts from the University of Victoria. Karen also studied Design & Fine Arts at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada.

John Dirks - Director of Usability Engineering

John has spent over 10 years helping companies improve the usability of their software, web sites, and hardware products. John joined Blink Interactive in the year 2000 following six years working as a Senior Usability Engineer at WRQ Software, Attachmate Corporation, and Microsoft. John has a M.S. in Forest Products and International Trade from the University of Washington, where he worked as a research consultant during the early 1990s while completing certificate and graduate courses in Usability Testing, Technical Writing and Editing, and User Interface Design.

Heidi Adkisson - Director of Interaction Design

Heidi joined Blink in 2001 and has over 15 years of software development experience working with large-scale system implementations. Prior to Blink, her experience included requirements analysis and interactive design, working with established companies such as AT&T Wireless and Microsoft. Heidi has a Masters in Technical Communication and an MBA from the University of Washington. She has a B.A. in Anthropology from Colorado State University and an Associate of Applied Arts in Web/Multimedia Design from the Art Institute of Seattle. Heidi also writes the blog, IA Think.

Jennifer Amsterlaw, Ph.D. - Usability Specialist

Jen joined Blink in 2007 with a background in experimental psychology and education. She has a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and over 10 years of experience conducting laboratory and field research. Before coming to Blink, Jen was a research fellow at the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, where she studied reasoning and decision-making processes in children and adults. Jen’s other prior projects have included: evaluating middle-school science curricula and educational software, designing medical decision aids, and using eye-tracking methods to study pattern recognition in infants. Her research has been published in scholarly journals such as Child Development, Cognition, and Judgment and Decision-Making.

Laura Barboza - Research Assistant

Laura joins Blink to assist and coordinate User Research projects, Usability Studies and Information Architecture projects. Graduating with a Marketing degree from Florida International University, Laura also promotes Blink’s networking, marketing and advertising efforts. Prior to joining Blink in 2007, Laura collaborated with MTV Latin America’s research assignments and advertising sales. There Laura assisted in the creation of youth trend analysis presentations for LATAM regions, and promoted the channel and brand image for business solutions efforts.

Devesh Desai - User Research Specialist

Devesh joined Blink in 2008 with a background in design planning and user research. He has over 6 years experience understanding user needs in real and virtual environments, across diverse industries. Devesh brings a human-centered perspective to everyday products and services, and provides an analytic sensibility to research. Past clients include Steelcase, Yahoo!, Mayo Clinic, Johnson & Johnson, McDonalds, HP and Boeing. Devesh holds masters degrees from the Institute of Design, IIT‚ Chicago and from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, India.

Kristen Hall - Operations Manager

Kristen joined Blink in 2008 bringing with her a diverse background in office management, human resources, finance, and marketing. Kristen attended Washington State University where she studied Communications with an emphasis in Communication Studies. During her time at WSU she contributed several pieces to The Evergreen newspaper, including an article regarding segregation in fraternal organizations, and was an active volunteer for multiple aid organizations. Prior to joining Blink, Kristen worked with The Northlake Group, where she created and managed both the human resources and operations departments, as well as assisted in their brand and profile development.

Geoff Harrison - Director of Creative Services

Geoff has been managing creative services for Blink since 2003. The creative group specializes in Graphic Design, Flash and Web development with a user centered design approach. Before Blink, Geoff started the multimedia department at Modern Digital Seattle and continued on there as Creative Director for 9 years. He has been recognized for his work by being named a "Top 100 Multimedia Producer" along with numerous other project awards. Geoff has developed marketing communications content for Microsoft, Intel, Computer Associates, Weyerhaeuser, Alstom Esca, and Boeing. He has also created corporate training programs for Labor Ready, Oldcastle Precast and Savers. Since 2002, Geoff has been entirely focused on user experience consulting and has worked for many clients including Microsoft eHome, Premera Blue Cross, InfoSpace, Digital Control, MSN, and MSDN.

Geoff has bachelor degrees in graphic design and mass media management from Miami University in Ohio and a graduate certificate in user-centered design from the University of Washington.

Sim Mendick - Usability Specialist

Sim joined Blink in 2007, bringing with him a B.S. in Cognitive Science with a specialization in Human Computer Interaction from UC San Diego. Prior to working at Blink, Sim worked for a burgeoning web startup as the primary ethnographer and user experience researcher, helping to formulate a sophisticated content management application for citizen journalists. His experience with social web applications and background in ethnographic research have given him valuable insights into the behavior and constructs of online social communities.

Nika Smith - Usability Specialist

Nika came to Blink in 2008, bringing 6 years of experience in user experience design and research. Prior to Blink, Nika served as a user experience researcher for Google, where she led research efforts for the Gmail, Calendar, and Reader teams. Specifically, she studied how people use socially-mediated technology to communicate, express their personalities, and manage personal information and privacy settings. Nika has also served as an information architecture and interface design consultant for organizations including Ford Motor Company, the US Department of Education, the American Society for Information Science & Technology, and Intel. Nika holds a Master of Science in Information from University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from RIT.

Damon Van Vessem - Interaction Designer

Damon joined Blink in 2008 with 9 years of experience in Interaction Design & Usability. Before moving to the US in December 2005, he was an Interaction Designer for a user experience consultancy in The Netherlands, working for clients like ING, Vedior Europe, Delta Lloyd Insurance, KPN Telecom, @Home Internet and the Rotterdam Port Authorities. In Seattle, he helped Alaska Airlines improve conversion and loyalty on alaskaair.com, including the acclaimed Award Finder. Damon has a Masters degree in Industrial Design, with a specialization in User Interface Design, from Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands.