UX 101: Real Examples of How UX Can Maximize Business Success in Hawaiʻi
User experience (UX) is not just a luxury, but a fundamental component of a successful business strategy. UX design puts the customer at the heart of every business decision, leading to products that truly resonate with users. This presentation dives into the transformative power of UX design and demonstrates how it’s creating waves of change in Hawaiʻi’s business landscape.
Attendees will gain insights into:
Competitive Differentiation: Discover what UX is and how a strong UX can set your business apart in a crowded market.
Case Studies: Explore real-world examples of businesses in Hawaiʻi that have or can reap the benefits of investing in UX design.
Practical Strategies: Leave the session with actionable strategies to implement and advocate for better UX design within your business.
Join us to explore how UX design is not just about creating attractive interfaces, but leveraging an ocean of opportunity to create sustained business growth and customer satisfaction.
Agenda:
1:00 Doors open
1:10 User Experience 101 (Speaker: Carolyn Rojsutivat)
1:25 Case Study: UX Leading Digital Transformation at Board of Water Supply (Speaker: Arthur Grau)
1:38 Case Study: The Business Impact of UX at Gemplers (Speaker: Akemi Hiatt)
1:51 Case Study: Considerate design for proactive growth marketing at Alma (Speaker: Ulu Mills)
2:04 Closing Remarks (Speakers: Jennifer Kumura and Kat Duran-Higa)
2:14 Q&A
2:30 Doors close
About the speakers:
Jennifer Kumura (Co-Founder, UXHI)
Jennifer is a people-centered designer on a mission to craft solutions for the well-being of individuals, community, and society. She is a Co-Founder of UXHI, a local volunteer-run User Experience (UX) community, and she is the Product Design Manager at Servco Pacific Inc. in Honolulu, HI.
Her areas of focus are: Digital transformation, mentorship for next generation of futurists, preserving culture and heritage, inclusivity in design and teams, mental health & well-being.
Kat Duran-Higa (Co-Founder, UXHI)
Kat fuses her decade of experience across marketing, design, and product strategy into her current work at Terranox, a Salesforce consulting partner, where she focuses on optimizing team operations and client services through strategic design. She loves finding patterns in how people work, identifying obstacles, and delivering solutions that streamline daily operations. Her work empowers client teams to focus on their core mission, enabling their capacity to better serve their customers and communities. Beyond her day job, Kat is the co-founder of UXHI, a female-founded community dedicated to elevating Hawaiʻi's UX standards through education, community engagement, and professional development.
Carolyn Rojsutivat (UX 101 Lead, UXHI)
Carolyn leads the UX 101 Initiative at UXHI, a local volunteer-run UX community. The goal of this initiative is to educate companies and organizations about UX and help them thrive in a competitive space, so their products and services can deliver a delightful experience for everyone.
She is an User Experience (UX) and Change Leader on a mission to break barriers and make knowledge more accessible to local communities and the masses. With over ten years of experience as a UX Engineer and Product Designer, she has created meaningful experiences that improve the quality of people's lives. Her interest lies in leveraging technology with health, social good, education, and conservation. She volunteers her time in the community by sharing knowledge, advocating for a better world, and listening to stories by fellow community members.
Arthur Grau (Service Design Strategist, Intellibridge)
At Intellibridge, Arthur keeps 86M users' health data secure through human-centered service design strategy, research, and systems management for U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid. Intellibridge builds and maintains DevSecOps tools, so customers can continue to make and create apps that serve the public.
Akemi Hiatt (Owner, Hidden Gears)
Since joining as a partner in 2016, Akemi has been head of design at Hidden Gears. Her background in the arts informs her approach to crafting thoughtful interfaces that balance beauty with technical performance and extensibility. She was a fellow of the Good Work Institute and Ka Maka ʻĪnana, a Hawaii based program on indigenous design.
Ulu Mills (Independent UX Generalist & Master Student at Carnegie Mellon University)
Ulu is a Hawaiʻi-based multi-disciplinary designer, design engineer and innovation strategist. She specialize in working with growing organizations whose missions advance education, equity and social health. She meet organizations where they are, and help them make high-leverage decisions to advance and systematize their design practice to meet their goals.