Let's Get To IT

Jonathan H Brown

Headshot of Jonathan H Brown
I am an optimistic and curious
design leader;  
I empower my teams to deliver
simple, people-friendly experiences.

As a leader in the design community, I evangelize ethical practices in user experience design. The cybernetic world we envisioned in the early days of the web has devolved into a nudging, divisive corporate panopticon. I am working to return cyberspace to its idealistic roots.

Stop Killer Robots

I am the principal designer at One Sprint Beyond, where we design astonishing simple interfaces at the speed of development. We have mapped our product design and interaction design processes into the cadence of the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) to deliver user insights when the business needs them, and interaction design artifacts when engineering needs them.

In other words, we deliver design agility.

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Design Leadership

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One Sprint Beyond
2022-2025
I founded a bespoke design consultancy focused on delivering astonishing simple interfaces. We ensure design in intent is carried through to product release through tight integration with development teams.
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CGI
2021-2022
I delivered insight-driven and outcome-based engagements by leading teams through design strategy and user experience projects for international clients for one of the largest IT and business consultancy services firms in the world.
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Carnegie Mellon University
2020-2022
For three years, I mentored master's students through their eight month capstone projects at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute. I mentored three teams of five designers in each cohort as they researched and invented new concepts for commercial clients including Honda and Progressive Insurance.
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SDLC Partners
2016-2020
I created and staffed the design capability at this mid-sized technology consultancy and integrated that capability throughout our service offerings. I hired, managed, and grew SDLC's team of interaction designers and design strategists.

Design Strategy

Portal Strategy
2023
Delivered product validation and market analysis that identified 1) a path to product readiness and 2) an enhanced feature set to make the product desirable for a digital portal that monetizes waste collection data.
Project type
Design and Communications Strategy
Tools
Figma, WebFlow
Industry
Waste Management
Roles
Strategist, Interface Designer
Portal Strategy project website on iPad

View Case Study
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Project Titan
2019-2020
As a trusted consultant for a large integrated health delivery company, I led a team that introduced Design Thinking into multiple domains and a $400m portfolio of projects. We designed and facilitated strategic innovation sessions, conducted interviews and surveys, developed personas and journey maps to re-frame the problem, and generated novel solutions to the company’s most important enterprise initiatives.
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Requirements
Transformation
2018
For one of the ten largest banks in the US, I reduced the number of enhancements and defects reported against initiatives in the strategic portfolio by integrating human-centered design into their requirements process.

Product Design

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Acoustical Focus
Ongoing
Redesigned the interface for this  audio application to be consistent and usable by generalist in addition to audio forensics experts, drastically increasing the market for this groundbreaking technology.
Project type
App Redesign
Tools
Figma, FigJam, Adobe Suite,  Github
Industry
Audio Forensics
Roles
Product Manager,
UX Designer
Acoustical Focus application running on an iMac with audio input devices on the table next to it.

Recently, the BBC wrote about this remarkable technology.
Robot Control Interface
2024
Project type
App Redesign
Tools
Figma, FigJam
Industry
Robot Control
Roles
UX Designer
For a large hospital, I reimagined the touchscreen interface used to control their extensive system of robots, removing the need for paper instructions and reducing the friction between employees.
Robot Control Interface on an iPadWatch an interview about it
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Laurel Hub
2023
Project type
App Redesign
Tools
Figma, Fig Jam
Industry
Financial
Roles
UX Designer
For a private equity company, I designed an interface to the application that runs their business.
Laurel Hub application on an iMac
Health eTools
2017
Project type
App Redesign
Tools
Sketch, Mural
Industry
Healthcare
Roles
UX Designer
For a Pennsylvania startup, I redesigned an application that captures health data for school nurses (K-12) so they can report their activities to the state and medicaid for reimbursement.
Health eTools application on an iMac being used by a doctor
Grill Interface
2022
Project type
App Redesign
Tools
Figma, FigJam
Industry
Consumer
Roles
UX Designer
For an 80-year-old grill company that decided to release a grill controlled by a phone, I investigated how Americans use their backyard grills and invented an interface that provides innovative features while allaying their fears of fire and of failure.
Grill Interface on an iPhone- Vertical
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Opus
2014
Project type
Design Strategy,
Product Design
Industry
Consumer
Roles
Designer Strategist,
UX Designer
For Google Opus, I investigated how Google Shopping data might be used in store to improve the relationship between a sales person and a shopper. We envisioned the shopper's experience from online shopping through engaging with the store employee through supporting the purchase. We built a prototype of a 55 inch countertop touchscreen through which the sales person and shopper would shop together.
Scientific Drawing depicting two people standing side by side, collaboratively using a countertop touchscreen.Scientific Drawing depicting two people standing side by side, collaboratively using a touchscreen mounted on a wall..

Speaking Samples

Logo for Think Up Conference
Technology Should Serve Humanity
(Not the Other Way Around)
Pittsburgh, 2019
Photo of Jonathan H Brown speaking at Think Up conference
Logo of World IA Day
One Team: One Language
Smooth Sailing for Your Project
Pittsburgh, 2020
Jonathan H Brown speaking at World IA Day 2020
Logo of IXDA Interaction 21 conference
Designing for Trust
in a Post-Truth Era
Online, 2021
Screenshot of Interaction 21 advertisement for Jonathan H Brown's talk- Designing for Truth in a Post-Truth Era
Logo from Interaction19 conference
Smarter Humans,
Not Smarter Devices:
How to Design Calm Technology
Seattle, 2019
Photo of the Calm Technology deck used at the Interaction19 workshop

Writing Samples

Reducing visual dissonance in double-headed interactions

How do you build an interface that is equally readable from both sides?

Photo of Jonathan H Brown speaking at Think Up conference

The Promise of Calm

How can our tech-infused environments work with us, not against us?

Photo of Jonathan H Brown speaking at Think Up conference

Silence is No Longer an Option

How can we ensure sound is an integral part of user experience?

Photo of Jonathan H Brown speaking at Think Up conference

Document Samples

Big Things In Store

The research report from Project Opus (PDF)

Photo of Jonathan H Brown speaking at Think Up conference

Introducing Opus

The design report from Project Opus (PDF)

Photo of Jonathan H Brown speaking at Think Up conference

Certifications and Coursework

  • Carnegie Mellon University: Human Computer Interaction Institute
    • Master of Human-Computer Interaction
    • Interaction Design Fundamentals
    • Interaction Design Studio
    • Programming the Crowd
    • Software Structures for User Interfaces
    • User Centered Research and Evaluation
  • Carnegie Mellon University: Software Engineering Institute
    • Introduction to the Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development
    • Personal Software Process Fundamentals
    • Personal Software Process Advanced
  • College of Charleston
    • Bachelor of Science, Computer Science
  • LUMA Institute
    • Practitioner Workshop
    • Advancing Workshop: Teacher Track
  • IBM
    • Enterprise Design Thinking Practitioner
  • Scaled Agile Inc
    • Certified SAFe® 5 Practitioner
A montage of photographs showing Jonathan H Brown at work.
LINKEDINResume