UX Days 2025

We would like to present the development and creation of this novel app that simulates an opioid (fentanyl) overdose using mixed reality. Use of the new Apple Vision Pro headset is used and this project can be presented as a case study and demonstration of the immersive app.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the challenges related to opioid overdose management, education, and application in hybrid environments.
• Experience the spatial computing aspects of hybrid environments using the Apple Vision Pro technology.
• How UI/UX has been developed for spatial computing.

About the Presenter: 
Director, OSF Innovation Design Lab/Clinical Asst Professor

Co-Presenters

• Matthew Kase, MA, Media Developer, Chicago, IL

• Roy Magnuson, PhD, Media Innovation, Illinois State University

Design in product development is more than aesthetics. Today’s designers must solve real-world problems while managing time and budget constraints. How do you balance great design with business needs? What tools and mindsets make designers indispensable?

This session focuses on how product designers bridge user needs and business goals. You’ll learn to translate stakeholder priorities into actionable direction. We will look at how to make a strong case for your ideas by using user research. Together, we’ll practice techniques for creating clarity and setting realistic expectations. By the end, you’ll understand which design tools best support collaboration with your product partners. Attend this session to learn how to balance empathy, creativity, and strategy to deliver engaging and impactful designs.

Learning Outcomes

• Understanding a product requirements doc and how to translate the business language into deliverables for design.
• A comprehensive framework for stakeholder interaction which focuses on timeline, expectations and fidelity of work.
• What soft skills are essential to being an early career product designer.

Meet the Presenter
Lyra Health, Lead Designer

Naveen Rajadhyaksha is a passionate product designer currently dedicated to making mental healthcare more accessible through thoughtful design. With a natural curiosity and diverse experience at organizations both small and large, he has collaborated with and led work at organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, Microsoft, Mars, The World Bank, and IBM, addressing a wide range of creative challenges. A proud graduate of UIUC (FAA 15'), Naveen understands how the foundations of experience design enable us to view the world through a unique lens, advocating for a better, more inclusive future.

Hosted by University of Illinois design alumni, this session offers invaluable insights for those navigating their first year as UX designers in the corporate world. Join recent graduates who have successfully transitioned into the industry as they share lessons learned, from developing essential soft skills to achieving key milestones.

Through personal anecdotes and real-world examples, our panelists will explore the challenges and triumphs of their first year, offering a candid look at what it takes to succeed in both in-house design teams and consultancy roles. The discussion will highlight industry trends, emerging opportunities, and the skills most in demand, alongside practical advice on collaboration, project management, and thriving in dynamic work environments. Whether you're preparing to enter the UX field or seeking to refine your approach, this session is your guide to building a strong foundation for success.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand Key Soft Skills
  • Gain insights into the essential soft skills that contribute to success during the first year as a UX designer, including communication, adaptability, and teamwork.
• Navigate Career Challenges
  • Learn how recent graduates overcame common challenges in their transition to the corporate UX world and how to apply those strategies to your journey.
• Build a Strong Career Foundation
  • Learn actionable tips for setting professional goals, creating impactful work, and positioning yourself for long-term success in the UX industry.

About the Presenters

UX Designer, Motorola Solutions
Kathleen Culligan

UX Designer & Researcher, Insight
Beth Keegan

Experience Designer, Accenture Song
Peyton Cecil

AI innovation is moving at an unprecedented pace, and at the heart of this transformation is research. Today, in our session 'Accelerating AI Innovation: The Transformative Power of Research,' we’ll dive into how cutting-edge research fuels AI breakthroughs—taking ideas from theory to real-world impact.

We’ll explore the latest advancements shaping the AI landscape, discuss the challenges of translating research into scalable solutions, and examine how Amazon's research team is shaping AI innovation. From foundational models to ethical AI, this session will highlight the research-driven innovations revolutionizing industries like healthcare, finance, and automation.

Whether you're a researcher, business leader, or AI enthusiast, this discussion will equip you with key insights to harness research for meaningful progress. AI isn’t just evolving—it’s redefining the future. Let’s explore together how we can accelerate innovation through the power of research.

Learning Outcomes:
By attending this session, participants will:

• Understand AI Research’s Impact – Gain insights into how research drives AI advancements, from foundational models to real-world applications.
• Explore Cutting-Edge Innovations – Learn about the latest breakthroughs shaping the future of AI across various industries.
• Overcome Research-to-Application Challenges – Discover strategies for translating research into scalable AI solutions.
• Gain Insights into Amazon’s AI Research – Understand how Amazon’s research team is leading AI innovation and shaping the industry.
• Identify Future Research Opportunities – Explore emerging trends and potential areas for AI research and innovation.
• Enhance Strategic Thinking – Develop a research-driven approach to AI that aligns with business and technological goals.

Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how research accelerates AI innovation and how they can apply these insights in their own work.

About the Presenter:
Amazon

Niketa is at the forefront of UX research and AI innovation at Amazon, leveraging her 20+ years of expertise to shape the future of design and user experience. As a designer at heart and a strategist in execution, she seamlessly integrates quantitative and qualitative research to drive data-informed decisions that enhance customer experiences.

Her leadership in generative AI for design is revolutionizing the way Amazon approaches UX research, harnessing cutting-edge AI technologies to optimize workflows, uncover user insights, and drive innovation at scale. Niketa’s unique methodology blends data analytics with user behavior trends, ensuring that every design decision is deeply rooted in research-backed insights.

Beyond research, Niketa believes design is not just a department—it’s a muscle for innovation. She fosters a cross-functional, high-impact team environment that empowers Amazon to create intelligent, intuitive, and scalable solutions that redefine the user experience across industries.

Want to understand how complex systems really work? In this session you'll learn how to create an Object Map, a framework that has transformed my own practice as a UX designer and researcher by giving me the confidence to tackle any domain or system. This powerful yet surprisingly simple method creates an 'x-ray view' that reveals how things are connected – whether you're mapping a fitness tracking app, a food delivery service, or even your career! You'll discover how to break down intricate ecosystems into their fundamental building blocks using nothing more than sticky notes and markers. Using Object-Oriented UX (OOUX) principles we'll color-code our way through practical exercises that reveal hidden connections, making the complex feel manageable. Perfect for students working on course projects, new professionals tackling real-world challenges, or faculty looking to enhance their curriculum. You'll leave with a versatile tool that builds confidence and bridges the gap between design thinking and system architecture.

Learning Outcomes

• Learn how to use object mapping as a collaborative tool to build shared understanding with teammates.

• Learn how to break down complex domains into manageable pieces, giving you confidence to tackle unfamiliar territory.

About the Presenter:
UX Consultant
Allie Ofisher is a proud Midwest native and University of Illinois alumna who’s been wrangling messy digital experiences as a UX consultant for the past 16 years. With a knack for organizing the unorganized, she loves turning research insights into visual clarity, mapping out big-picture information architectures, and helping teams create products that just make sense. Whether untangling complex systems or sketching out ideas, she’s all about making things more intuitive (and a little more fun).

OSF Innovation Studio has designed and developed a novel approach to support patients prior to a procedure visit. The opportunity arose upon discovery that one of our high-volume procedures has exhibited an unacceptably high rate of cancellations, with poor guidance cited as one major cause. Our goal is to improve patient satisfaction and reduce cancellations by at least 20%, which would result in roughly $1 million dollars of additional revenue for this single procedure. OSF Innovation Studio designed a solution, and the minimum-viable product was built and launched for beta testing in January 2025 in collaboration with other OSF teams.

Learning Outcomes

This applied-research oriented session will focus on our UX design strategy on the OSF My Visit Guide product. We will break down our guiding principles, choices made, and some lessons learned during development.

The attendees will learn about the design-to-deployment process taken as we brought OSF My Visit Guide to production. The attendees will learn about the iterative UI/UX process that occurred as designers worked hand-in-hand with programmers. OSF Innovation Studio includes a full-stack development team, with both in-house design and programming experts.

About the Presenters:

Director of Medical Visualization, OSF HealthCare
Kyle Formella serves as Director of Medical Visualization and is part of the Innovation Studio team. Kyle has degrees in education and visual arts, and joined OSF HealthCare in 2013 after completing his Masters at Southern Illinois University.
Kyle is passionate about problem solving and design processes. He is proud of the team he is a part of, comprised of highly skilled designers and programmers that have built engaging mobile and web-based applications with more than 80,000 total installs on mobile devices, helping to serve people both inside and outside of OSF.

UX Designer, OSF HealthCare
Maddox Binder joined OSF HealthCare in 2024 as UX Designer on the Innovation Studio team, helping to advance their portfolio of effective and engaging digital products. Maddox graduated from Bradley University, double majoring in UX Design and Psychology. He brings expertise in human centered design, as well as technical knowledge in web-development that makes for highly effective collaboration with his programmer colleagues. His enthusiasm for design in healthcare is empowered by his research driven, analytical, and empathetic approach, striving always to create simple, meaningful, and memorable experiences.

This session will cover the importance of a UI/UX Design system, identifying how robust a design system should be depending on the project, and an overview of the creation of a design system. The example design system shown is one currently being created for full-use by OSF HealthCare. This session's content will mostly be presented as a Figma screen share to give as detailed of an overview as possible. 

Learning Outcomes

• The importance of creating & following a design system for UI/UX work.
• Identifying how robust your design system needs to be, depending on the project/corporation.
• Be able to create their own design systems.

About the Presenters:

OSF HealthCare, UX Designer
Spencer McDaniel is a UX Designer at OSF HealthCare under the Digital Innovation Development team since 2022. He graduated from Bradley University with a Bachelor of Science in both User Experience Design and Psychology.

UX Designer, OSF HealthCare.
Emma Riddering, UX Designer, Bachelors degree in Experience Architecture from Michigan State University,

UX Designer, OSF HealthCare;
Nikki Ely, Bachelors degree in Graphic Design from Bradley University

Through a research grant with the University of Illinois Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy, the OSF Design Lab created a cellular network of kiosks that connect people in underserved communities to resources that focus on the social determinants of health. Partnering with several healthcare organizations that focus on homelessness, the lack of healthcare access, food insecurity, shelter, transportation, and connecting the most vulnerable communities in Chicago and Peoria, the kiosks are a work in progress.

Learning Outcomes

• Learn about the greatest challenges in combining technologies, human needs, and UI/UX design to connect people in need with many of the social needs that impact their health.
• Identify at least barriers that impact community health and street medicine.
• How  might telemedicine impact underserved communities in Illinois.

About the Presenter:

Director, OSF HealthCare Innovation Design Lab/University of Illinois (Peoria, Chicago & Urbana)

Scott Barrows is a researcher with scholarly interests in medical visualization, interactive learning, mobile app development, surgical illustration, skin cancer diagnosis, the history of art in medicine, community health, mobile telemedicine, and medical education. His current research grants focus on heart failure (mobile app), skin cancer education, ACL hybrid AR diagnostics, urban and rural community health for the underserved, and the histology of the GI tract. An alumnus of three University of Illinois campuses (Chicago, Urbana, Springfield), he has an impressive background that includes designing uniforms for the Chicago White Sox, serving as director of one of the world’s largest accredited graduate programs in medical illustration (UIC), and illustrating the New York Times bestseller How to Get Pregnant. His work has been presented at the Nobel Awards (Nature as a Transplanter), and he contributed to the science fiction film Solaris (starring George Clooney, produced by Steven Soderbergh). He was recognized as the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America’s "Comeback of the Year" and collaborated with Steve Jobs on Apple’s iMed initiative.

In this practical workshop, attendees will learn about the nuts and bolts of exploratory design research as well as the the best practices and tools used at IDEO. The workshop is designed to put those skills right to work in a collaborative activity where groups will put together a scrappy, but actionable and human-centered research plan. This workshop will ask attendees apply a critical lens to design briefs as they identify learning goals, target participants and appropriate research methods. This workshop is well suited for those curious about design research approaches or those looking to incorporate research into their design and innovation work. The workshop is geared towards all levels of experience, and no prior research experience is required.

Learning Outcomes
Attendees will leave with a framework for tackling an ambiguous design brief including:

• Articulating research learning goals
• Identifying activated user profiles for recruiting
• Picking appropriate methods for exploratory research

About the Presenters:

Senior Design Research Lead, IDEO
Will Notini draws on his training in social science research to execute design and innovation work for clients in a range of industries. As a Senior Design Lead at IDEO, he manages multi-disciplinary teams through iterative design projects including ideation, validation, prototyping, and roadmapping phases. His focus lies in using research to identify and de-risk growth opportunities. Will holds a Master's degree in Social Sciences from University of Chicago and an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Senior Business Development Associate, IDEO
Ryan Larkin translates client problems into design opportunities. Bringing a passion for mapping the world through systems, Ryan explores how products, experiences, and services fit within larger structures. As a design thinker with a focus on strategic development, he works to bridge the gap between the business and creative worlds. An industrial designer by training, Ryan has worked within several early stage companies to translate and use the value of a human-centered approach. He holds a BFA in Industrial Design from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he discovered a passion for user experience research. 

Prototyping gives designers the opportunity to create, communicate, and evaluate the ideas that have been developed over the human-centered design process. In this workshop, learners will experiment with prototyping the intangible - experiences! Learn how prototyping can help your designed digital or in-person experiences to reach their goal, whether that's to delight, inform, or motivate.

About the Presenter:

Research Fellow,Siebel Center for Design
Miriam Salah is a Research Fellow at Siebel Center for Design’s Academic Programs team. She holds an MFA in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Driven by her experience as a graphic designer and a chef, her research interests lie at the intersection of Design and Food. Bringing this unique interdisciplinary perspective to her work, she helped propose and co-teach a Design Thinking for Food Service course in collaboration with Hospitality Management. At SCD, Miriam’s responsibilities include developing tools and content on Human-Centered Design and Design Thinking for various workshops, seminars, and course collaborations. 

 

Curious about how your passions could translate into a fulfilling design career? Or you’re thinking about how you could use your design skills to explore new fields? This is your guide to navigating the exciting intersection of design and other career paths. This session explores career options, showcasing how a background in various fields can be a launchpad into the world of design. Examples include photography, video editing, animation, digital marketing, physical product design, UI/UX design, computer science, and more.

We'll delve into the journeys of 3 designers who successfully transitioned or are transitioning into design from various disciplines, demonstrating how skills in storytelling, problem-solving, and user empathy are valuable assets, no matter your initial field of study. We'll also have an interactive activity to help you map your own unique path from your interests to design, and explore how design can enhance your current skills. Join us for practical tips and real-world project showcases if you're considering a design major, seeking design-related internships, or simply want to expand your creative toolkit.

Learning Outcomes

• Connect their interests to design:
  • Identify transferable skills from various interests and understand how they align with core design principles.
• Connect designers to other creative disciplines:
  • Learn how to leverage your design background to explore new and exciting paths.
• Develop a personal action plan:
  • Engage attendees in a brief activity where they identify their existing skills (from their major or other interests) and map them to potential design or related creative career paths.

About the Presenters:

Want to inject fresh inspiration and unexpected ideas into your design process? Join us for a hands-on exploration of PartyRock, Amazon's free generative AI tool. We'll discover how to leverage PartyRock within a design thinking framework to supercharge brainstorming, expand creative possibilities, and gain a deeper understanding of user needs.

Learning Outcomes
In this session, you'll learn how to:

• Use PartyRock to break through creative blocks and generate a wider range of design concepts.
• Explore unconventional solutions and challenge traditional thinking with AI-powered prompts.
• Seamlessly integrate PartyRock into your existing design thinking workflow.

About the Presenter:

Principal UX Designer, Amazon
Nick is a UX designer with nearly two decades of experience in human-centered design, UX design, and design thinking. He graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design. Nick has worked at Amazon for over eight years, where he has played a key role in developing design systems and establishing an accessibility practice. He is currently exploring the intersection of GenAI and user experience.

 

As the big-tech plans to integrate AI agents as "employees" (e.g., autonomous network optimizers, AI customer support agents), UX Research faces a paradigm shift: what happens when the user is not human? This session proposes a first-of-its-kind UXR framework to study AI-as-user systems, addressing critical questions: How do we define user needs for AI? What metrics replace empathy maps or usability heuristics? How do we ensure ethical alignment when the "user" is an algorithm? Drawing on real-world case studies from enterprise AI deployments, this talk equips researchers (and UX practitioners) with actionable methodologies to navigate this emerging frontier.

Learning Outcomes

• A replicable 3-phase framework to study AI users.
• Real-world examples of UXR pitfalls and successes in enterprise AI.
• Strategies to collaborate with engineering teams and avoid ethical blind spots.

About the Presenter:

Senior UX Researcher, Cisco
Jai Khanna leads studies at the intersection of human and artificial intelligence in enterprise systems. Based in San Francisco, a hub for both cutting-edge technology and ethical AI debates, he specializes in mixed-methods research, blending ethnographic fieldwork, behavioral analytics, and participatory workshops to decode complex interactions between users and technology. With a Master’s in Human Factors from Cornell University, his work is rooted in empirically driven design, though recent projects have pushed him into uncharted territory—exploring what happens when the ‘user’ isn’t human.

Over the past decade, Khanna has examined how people adapt to emerging technologies, from optimizing VR interfaces for spatial cognition to mapping trust thresholds in human-AI collaboration. Now, as big tech integrates autonomous AI agents as ‘employees’—such as self-healing networks and AI-driven customer service—he is pioneering frameworks to study these non-human actors. His work goes beyond traditional usability, redefining UX research itself to answer critical questions like, “How do we measure success for an algorithm?” and “What ethical risks emerge when AI becomes the primary user?”

This talk is a call to action: As AI evolves from tool to teammate, UX Researchers must lead the charge in ensuring these systems remain accountable, transparent, and aligned with human values.

Today's world is rapidly changing, filled with new tools, technologies and products releasing at near breakneck speed. This results in challenges for product and design teams to not only move quickly, but also be adaptable and flexible to customer behaviors.

Because of these challenges, Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) can quickly lose their ability to be effective in large and complex organizations due to the trade-offs and concessions required. The Most Lovable Product (MLP) framework is a means to focus on what will make your products stand out, create value and differentiation from your competitors, and ignite your organization focus on the customers and win hearts and minds. 

In this session, Shawn will take you through a high level and proven approach to help move your organization and thinking from MVPs to MLPs. He will highlight examples and anecdotes from Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast NBCUniversal and others where the MLP framework has proven to be successful to unite the organization and build a culture that is truly customer centered and obsessed.

Learning Outcomes

• How to collaborate and work across complex matrixes and global organizations.
• A framework to enable the best products and features that connect with customers.
• Real world examples and anecdotes of customer centered and obsessed cultures.

About the Presenter:

SocioPunk & Seichō Syndicate, Founder and President
Emmy® Award winning Executive, Speaker, Author, Entrepreneur and Innovator – Shawn Johnson is the Founder and President of SocioPunk & Seichō Syndicate. Over the past 25 years, his products have been enjoyed by millions of people around the world - delivering experiences that create positive, memorable and lasting relationships through evolving consumer and technology ecosystems.

Combining an award-winning product, design and brand portfolio with strategy, technology and business acumen; Shawn is a proven, experienced and successful global leader who builds effective strategies and high performing cross-functional teams through Product, Design and Creative Leadership to create Most Lovable Product Experiences.

As former GVP Global Product & Design for Warner Bros. Discovery, Shawn was responsible for the Product, Design, Brand and Customer Experience. He defined the vision and go-to-market strategies for Discovery+ and 18 other products, services and experiences to deliver one of the largest content libraries to consumers across the globe.

Prior to WBD, Shawn worked at NBCUniversal, where he served as VP of UX & Experience Design and built an industry leading team driving the vision, strategy, and brand experience for products that engaged hundreds of millions of passionate fans.

Over the past three decades, Shawn has remained at the forefront of digital growth and innovation; building, leading and cultivating teams globally. He has worked with amazing clients including, Nike, Unilever, Sony, Budweiser, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Coca-Cola, Nissan, DreamWorks, Disney and Walt Disney Imagineering.

Blurring the lines between impossible and possible, Shawn thrives at the intersection of product design, technology, and the imagination of the human spirit. He attended Otis Parsons School of Art & Design, and became one of the youngest instructors at the prestigious west coast design school.

Learn about the journey of designing digital tools, physical products, and total experience for the world's #1 firefighting academy. How might we create opportunities for design thinking, prototyping, and innovation to thrive within Goodfellow Air Force Base.  

Learning Outcomes

• UX research fundamentals with real-world examples
• Reframing questions around prototyping with interactive opportunities
• Stretch their ideas of what a prototype "needs" to look like.

About the Presenter:

UX Researcher / UX Designer / HCD Practitioner, Logistics Management Institute
Tyson Glover
Glass half full even when life is life. Failure = Data… and a great story. Ambiguity thriver. Humanity Centered Designer. Designing with, not for. Elon University Center for Design Thinking 2017', Virginia Commonwealth University Masters in Product Innovation '22, UNC Chapel Hill Design Thinking Coach, HCD Practitioner LMI. 

In this talk, I’ll share insights from my journey as a UX designer at a Global Fortune 500 company. Together, we’ll explore the delicate balance of challenging the status quo in design, while navigating the constraints of development and business needs. Finding your unique voice and making an individual impact in a large organization can feel daunting, but it’s entirely achievable with the right approach.

Through relatable experiences and practical examples, I’ll guide you in identifying your strengths and leveraging them to drive measurable impact. You’ll leave this session equipped with actionable advice on shaping your personal brand, refining your practice, and intentionally growing into the designer you aspire to be. This talk will inspire you to think differently, embrace your individuality, and create meaningful change.

Learning Outcomes

• Discover and Leverage Your Unique Strengths
  • Uncover your strengths as a designer and develop intentional strategies to grow into the designer you aspire to be.
• Balance Creativity with Practical Constraints
  • Learn techniques to align innovative design ideas with development limitations and business goals, creating measurable impact.

About the Presenter:

bp, Experience Designer
As a graduate of UIUC (‘22), David has built a thriving UX design career at a Global Fortune 500 company. With three years of experience, he excels at crafting user-centered solutions and collaborating with global teams to tackle complex design challenges. Known for his storytelling and collaboration skills, he is passionate about helping fellow designers and teams unlock their full potential.

To inspire and equip UIUC students with practical insights into UX/UI design through the lens of real-world experiences, emphasizing mentorship, leadership, and design innovations in the ever-evolving field of B2C mobile application development.

Learning Outcomes
In this talk, I will share my journey as a Sr. UX/UI designer, discuss my work at AutoZone's B2C mobile app team (focusing on a case study), and share insights that set me up for success as a designer. Key points will include:

• Real-world applications of design concepts students learn in class.
• A showcase of impactful projects at AutoZone that leverage cross-collaboration and agile design processes.
• Practical advice on preparing for a UX career and the skills needed to thrive in the field, with a focus on mentorship.
• Encouraging students to pursue varied opportunities in the UX domain.

About the Presenter:

Senior UX/UI Designer, AutoZone
Steph Lambruschini, a UIUC alum and Senior UX/UI Designer at AutoZone, leads efforts on the B2C mobile app team, focusing on enhancing user experiences through innovative solutions and cross-functional collaboration. With a passion for mentorship and leadership, she thrives on helping others grow and navigating complex design challenges to deliver meaningful results. Her non-traditional background as a Research & Development scientist has provided her with transferable skills that have contributed to her success as a UX/UI designer.

Lambruschini is deeply committed to inspiring the next generation of designers from UIUC, fostering curiosity and resilience as they embark on their professional journeys.

On the first day of my first job, I arrived early, texted my parents and image searched “business casual dress code” a few hundred times to make sure I was dressed appropriately. And I tried so hard that I ended up being unprofessional. There’s no way to get rid of the first day nerves completely, but as a young professional in the design space, I’ve found a few tricks to empower your first day on the job. 

By exploring different types of roles I’ve had (design, medical, academic, consulting) and my first days at each, you can learn how to be yourself–they gave you the job!

Learning Outcomes
I want students to:

• Be able to relax and enjoy their first day on the job
• Know that their design skills, confidence, and personality got them to their first job, they don’t need to keep interviewing
• Be able to ask for help; know that their first task at work won’t define them

About the Presenter:

Design for America / Western Illinois University, Program Coordinator / Adjunct lecturer
Alastair is a community-oriented design researcher discontented with an unsustainable world. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with degrees in Urban Planning and Sustainable Design with minors in Sociology, Art & Design, and Informatics with a Research Certificate.

He is currently the Program Coordinator at Design for America and is Adjunct Faculty at Western Illinois University in the Centennial Honors College.

 In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming how we design user experiences. This session will explore UX best practices and cutting-edge research in AI, emphasizing the growing importance of integrating AI into day-to-day design processes. We’ll cover why understanding AI is essential for UX professionals and how it empowers design decisions, drives innovation, and shapes the future of user-centered design.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will gain a solid understanding of how AI can enhance their UX design process
• Students will learn how embracing AI can help them stay relevant and drive innovation in an increasingly AI-powered digital landscape
• Students will understand the basics of designing an AI tool

About the Presenter:

Senior Product Designer, Kraft Heinz
Monica specializes in human-centered digital experiences and the integration of AI in design. With a focus on innovation and collaboration, she works on high-impact projects for brands like Heinz, Philadelphia, and Oscar Mayer. Monica is passionate about advancing the UX field through ethical, user-focused design and is excited to share her insights on AI's role in shaping the future of UX.

In this session, we’ll explore how behavioral insights and design thinking can be applied to create inclusive and impactful user experiences, especially for underserved populations. Using real-world examples from fintech and financial health projects, we’ll discuss methods for understanding user needs, addressing behavioral barriers, and designing solutions that resonate with financially vulnerable individuals.

Attendees will learn practical techniques for applying behavioral science to UX design, including strategies for simplifying complex decisions, building trust through personalization, and encouraging sustained user engagement. The session will also cover ethical considerations when working with underserved communities and how to ensure designs empower users without placing undue burden on them.

Whether you’re a seasoned designer or just beginning your UX journey, this session offers actionable insights and tools to elevate your work and make a meaningful difference in users’ lives.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand key behavioral principles and how they influence user decisions.
• Learn UX design and research strategies for creating inclusive solutions that meet the unique needs of underserved populations.
• Gain insights into ethical design practices that prioritize user empowerment.

About the Presenter:

Research Program Manager | Financial Innovation, Financial Health Network
Zaan Pirani leverages design thinking and HCD to develop inclusive solutions for underserved populations. With a passion for applying behavioral insights, Zaan has worked on projects spanning fintech, financial inclusion, crypto and AI, helping organizations create impactful, user-centered designs. Zaan is also a proud alumni of UIUC! 

"Unlocking Your Potential: Navigating Your Professional Quest" is an interactive session exploring the journey of post-college career development through the lens of experience design and world-building.

Valerie Villanueva, an immersive experience designer and Lab Producer at Deloitte Greenhouse, shares insights on unlocking your “why,” embracing intentional side quests, and building authentic relationships beyond networking. Drawing from her experiences as a UIUC Industrial Design alumna and former Disney World Project Development intern, she’ll guide you in approaching career growth with creativity and strategy—turning each opportunity into a stepping stone toward a purposeful and fulfilling path.

Learning Outcomes:

• Articulate Their Core Values and Motivations: Gain clarity on their personal “why,” enabling them to make informed career decisions that align with their values and aspirations.
• Strategically Pursue Opportunities: Learn how to identify and embrace intentional experiences and side quests that contribute to their career development, equipping them with actionable strategies to enhance their skill sets.
• Cultivate Meaningful Connections: Develop effective techniques for building authentic relationships in their professional networks, moving beyond traditional networking approaches to foster genuine collaborations and support.

About the Presenter:

Lab Producer, Greenhouse
Valerie Villanueva is an immersive experience designer and Lab Producer at Deloitte Greenhouse. She specializes in creating engaging, user-centered learning experiences for C-suite clients. A proud alumna of the Industrial Design program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Valerie combines her design expertise with hands-on experience managing construction projects at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. As a recent first-generation college graduate, she is passionate about empowering young professionals to navigate the ups and downs of their career journeys.

Being Fearless and Flexible While Navigating the Future of Change is difficult, but it is a constant in life and our careers, and a critical ingredient for our growth. Greatness is borne from fearlessness and recognizing that anxiety and self doubt is an opportunity for growth. 

In this session, Shawn will take you on a journey that will empower you to embrace your fearless side as a means to remain flexible and focused while navigating change. He will highlight through examples both personal and professional moments we can all relate to that provide us with opportunities to be fearless, challenge ourselves and grow as leaders to become more flexible and resilient in today's and a constantly changing future.

Learning Outcomes:

• How to Navigate Change in Today's World
• What it Means to be Fearless
• Steps and Key Takeaways to Excel

About the Presenter:

SocioPunk & Seichō Syndicate, Founder & President
Emmy® Award winning Executive, Speaker, Author, Entrepreneur and Innovator – Shawn Johnson is the Founder and President of SocioPunk & Seichō Syndicate. Over the past 25 years, his products have been enjoyed by millions of people around the world - delivering experiences that create positive, memorable and lasting relationships through evolving consumer and technology ecosystems.

Combining an award-winning product, design and brand portfolio with strategy, technology and business acumen; Shawn is a proven, experienced and successful global leader who builds effective strategies and high performing cross-functional teams through Product, Design and Creative Leadership to create Most Lovable Product Experiences.

As former GVP Global Product & Design for Warner Bros. Discovery, Shawn was responsible for the Product, Design, Brand and Customer Experience. He defined the vision and go-to-market strategies for Discovery+ and 18 other products, services and experiences to deliver one of the largest content libraries to consumers across the globe.

Prior to WBD, Shawn worked at NBCUniversal, where he served as VP of UX & Experience Design and built an industry leading team driving the vision, strategy, and brand experience for products that engaged hundreds of millions of passionate fans.

Over the past three decades, Shawn has remained at the forefront of digital growth and innovation; building, leading and cultivating teams globally. He has worked with amazing clients including, Nike, Unilever, Sony, Budweiser, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Coca-Cola, Nissan, DreamWorks, Disney and Walt Disney Imagineering.

Blurring the lines between impossible and possible, Shawn thrives at the intersection of product design, technology, and the imagination of the human spirit. He attended Otis Parsons School of Art & Design, and became one of the youngest instructors at the prestigious west coast design school.