Tania Schlatter | Design lead, educator, author

Featured projects

Sid research computing environment

I'm leading a multi-phase design effort to improve access to and use of high performance computing environments.

DP Creator web app

OpenDP Creator participatory design board

I'm leading the design of a web application that helps researchers share sensitive data by adding "noise" to the data using differential privacy.

Dataverse repository software

Dataverse is open source software, running over 67 installations worldwide. I lead UX research and design efforts, including running story mapping sessions to plan the integration of new features.

Political social media startup reASSEMBLE.co

reAssemble political social media web app mobile

reAssemble political social media web app

I worked with two startup founders, an entrepreneur and a law professor, to define, design, and launch a web application designed to promote civil discourse on divisive topics.

Nonprofit startup Catapult.org

Catapult.org is a Webby-nominated crowdfunding website devoted to projects that improve the lives of girls and women worldwide. I worked with Catapult's founding team from concept through launch.

Teaching

Interactive Information Design 2

Shown: "MFan" concept for enhancing a visit to Boston's MFA, by Matt Salerno
I teach digital media graduate students research and modeling techniques for understanding people, environments, and information needs. Students design, prototype, and test possible solutions.

Designing Infographics

Student infographic: Explaining Henry VII by Gil Pocaterra

Student infographic: Women in the olympic by Natasha Taylor

Shown: "Explaining Henry: A 46 Year Quest to Produce a Male Heir" by Gil Pocaterra, "Evolution of Female Participation in the Summer Olympics" by Natasha Taylor
Students learn to analyze data and tell stories using visualization and illustration.

Graduate Advising

Shown: Pet2Vet app process by Rachel Newborn
I advise graduate digital media students concentrating in interaction design on their research and demonstration projects (over 35 to date!).

Interaction Design 1

Student scrapbook web application UI design concept by Tia Thompson

Shown: Memory Box by Tia Thompson
I teach introductory user-centered interaction and UI design principles through project work. Students conduct research, develop prototypes, design the user interface, and test a basic responsive web site.

Publications & talks

Visual Usability Book

Visual Usability book cover image

Morgan Kaufman, 2013, with Deborah Levinson

This book helps web application developers improve interfaces by explaining visual characteristics and how they affect understanding. It provides a framework and criteria for making design decisions that are appealing and communicate and clearly. Published in English and Chinese. doi.org/10.1016/C2012-0-00687-4 | Goodreads | Amazon

Debby and I ran workshops based on the principles in the book at the International UXPA conference and Boston CHI.

Personas for Software?

Poster about applying the persona creation process to Dataverse software installations

This poster explains why and how we applied the persona creation process to installations of the Dataverse open source repository software. Presented at the Information Architecture 2021 conference.

The Pandemic: Science and Society guest lecture

I presented basic tenets for successful health communication and designs in progress for symbols for a COVID-19 contact tracing app to students in the course at the Washington University in St. Louis. August 2020

"Make me think! How might we create appropriate barriers for responsible interactions in Dataverse?"

Provocation for the Information Architects Academics and Practitioners Roundtable. May 2020

Tania Schlatter, MDes

Design lead, educator & author