Abby Lott

THE LONG STORY

I focused on Social Psychology/Human Behavior and Cognition for my undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. During this time I researched decision making biases with Dr. Stephen Garcia. In 2008, I was lucky enough to nab the first-ever Product Management internship at IAC.  In that time, I dabbled in user research and crafted wireframes. I enjoyed researching and designing digital experiences so much that I decided to pursue this track in graduate school by studying Human-Computer Interaction.

During my time as a Master's student at the University of Michigan School of Information, I had the luxury to work on several interesting endeavors.  I helped DTE Energy test and refine a website that encouraged its customers to monitor and reduce their personal energy usage.  I consulted with a multi-million dollar research consortium (which serves over 700 organizations) to help improve record-keeping and archiving workflows. I also collaborated with fellow students to create a mobile neighborhood exploration application for the 2013 CHI Competition.

I’ve since worked at a variety of organizations. At a digital agency named Enlighten (now Perficient), I took on multiple diverse clients, such as AAA, Helper Helper, and a massive financial advising firm. I was the hype woman for user experience initiatives at FordDirect, a first-of-its-kind joint venture between Ford Motor Company and its dealers. In 2014, I entered tax and accounting realm as the first UX designer in Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting Professional. I played an integral role in the growth and visibility of the team, from one designer to sixteen designers and researchers spanning four continents.

Presently, I work at Autodesk overseeing the user experience of connecting design data to the cloud.