Chad Halsted

Profile

Experience architect and behavioral strategy consultant with more than 25 years in design and digital experience. I work hands-on from discovery and information architecture through interaction design, prototypes, and delivery, in partnership with product and engineering.

Core expertise

Interaction design & prototyping · Systems & information architecture · Data visualization & analytics UX · AI search and human-in-the-loop workflows · Design systems · Research & usability testing · Multi-year UX roadmaps · Stakeholder facilitation · Accessibility · Cross-functional collaboration

Experience

1. Makertank — Founder & Product Design

   2023–present

   • Building an AI-powered platform that helps small and midsize businesses adopt practical AI; own product strategy through hands-on Figma design.
   • Prototype product experiences and collaborate on design delivery.
   • Design human-in-the-loop flows where AI drafts and the person decides.

2. SAVI — Indiana University (via HTC) — UX Design Lead

   2024–2025

   • Developed a proposed two-part experience connecting discovery with analysis across seven applications.
   • Designed AI search, indicator catalog, project workspaces, upload-your-own-data, chart builder, map customization, and profile/report builders.
   • Created UX specifications and Figma design-system foundations.

3. White Rock Building Solutions — Business & Project Leadership

   2024–present

   • Lead business operations and projects for a real estate and building-solutions venture.

4. Gaze Social Commerce — Lead Product Designer

   Sep 2023–Mar 2024

   • Worked with the founding team to shape the MVP from concept to alpha.
   • Designed prototypes and collaborated on engineering handoff.

5. Essnova / USDA, with Booz Allen Hamilton — Customer Experience Strategist

   Nov 2022–Sep 2023

   • Built a research framework for USDA services reaching underserved communities.
   • Ran co-creation workshops defining a partner portal; created data-visualization concepts for discovery and collaboration.

6. Mobiquity / Merck — Experience Architect

   Nov 2020–Jan 2022

   • Designed and facilitated stakeholder discovery and synthesized customer research.
   • Facilitated ideation workshops and helped prioritize concepts for validation.
   • Visualized concepts for an AI-enabled, mobile-first knowledge hub for healthcare professionals.

7. Liberty Mutual / Safeco — Principal Product Designer

   Jun 2018–Dec 2019

   • Developed information architecture and content strategy for the agent platform.
   • Built a unified taxonomy, object-oriented content model, design system, and multi-year roadmap.
   • Reinvented agent incentives on Salesforce Marketing Cloud with an instant-win game — Safeco President's Award for innovation.

8. REI — UX Architect

   Jun 2015–Mar 2016

   • Developed homepage and hub strategy connecting editorial and merchandising needs.
   • Created a flexible navigation system and reusable homepage templates.

9. Amazon — Information Architect

   Jun 2014–Jun 2015

   • Defined a roadmap consolidating fragmented vendor applications into a unified platform.
   • Designed a proactive vendor dashboard and helped lead the Vendor Express pilot.

10. Agencies, consultancies & startups — USA, UK, Singapore — Design & information architecture

    1999–2014

    • Clients included Microsoft Bing & MSN, Coca-Cola, Levi's, Hotels.com, Zurich, Vitaminwater, Gorillaz, and Tiger Beer.