Sheila Crosby, MA, IDSA

Director of Design

I have always been fascinated with how people use products. What has been of interest to me is not well designed products (the ones that are seamless and we don't even think about) but poorly designed products and experiences and the ways that people adapt their behavior to them. Figuring out these user issues and how to solve them is what has shaped my career to date. I love the process of identifying the human/product relationship and improving it to make it safer, easier or just more fun.

My design career started at Thomson (Consumer Electronics) where I found myself in a design organization that allowed me to experience design and research in an integrated environment. While pursuing an advanced degree in Anthropology, I worked on the interfaces for a variety of consumer products, designed a remote control, packaging for advanced concepts, and redesigned instruction manuals and quick-start guides while supporting the research of a variety of products and home entertainment systems.

After a period of time working in TV-based interactive design on the West Coast, I left consumer electronics to pursue an opportunity to design mobile experiences for Motorola. While there, I contributed to the design of key handset applications, championed a variety of research projects and supported the growth of internal design teams that focused on new technologies to enhance the mobile experience.

When it was time for a new challenge, I embraced an opportunity to work in e-commerce as part of their user experience group. Sears Holdings Corporation was a dynamic environment in which to learn design for the retail industry, online marketing and design/development for a family of integrated web properties.

Now at HumanCentric, I have the ability to draw from the experiences throughout my career and leverage those to support our wide range of clients.

Things I've done that I can't believe I've had the opportunity to do...

  • Visit native Canadian Indians in the Pacific Northwest and attend a potlatch ceremony
  • Travel to the Great Wall of China
  • Swim in a bioluminescent bay, "Mosquito Bay"- Vieques Island, Puerto Rico

Education

  • Master of Art in Cultural Anthropology, Ball State University
  • B.S. Industrial Design, Major: Visual Communication Design, The Ohio State University

Professional Involvement

  • Industrial Designers Society of America [IDSA]
  • Triangle Usability Professional Association [TriUPA]

Awards and Honors

  • Triangle Business Journal Women in Business Award for Innovation, 2008
  • The Ninth Arango Internation Design Exhibition: reuse - Good Everyday Design from Reused and Recycled Materials: Helio Remote, 1998
  • Henry Dreyfuss: Directing Design Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum [crk 61 remote control], 1997
  • I.D. Magazine Corporate Award [41st Annual Design Review], 1995
  • IDSA/IDEA Bronze Award [ProScan ll Product Line], 1995
  • IDSA/IDEA Bronze Award [Helio Remote product graphics/packaging], 1995
  • Good Design - The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Design and Architecture [crk 61 remote control], 1995
  • Graphic Design USA [American Graphic Design Award for "You Were Young"], 1995
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Design to Value [crk 61 remote control], 1994

Patents

Selected Publications

More about me

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