Ben Gross

Experience

Lead UI/UX Specialist

Educational Testing Service

I lead the instructional design team for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and directly create components, prototypes, and digital content across a range of assessment and learning projects.

• Consistently collaborate with the NAEP client, presenting complex interactions and projects in understandable terms supported by visuals and prototypes.
• Coordinate design work across content and development teams to ensure schedules are met, design system expansions are carefully weighed, and products are successfully moved through design, study, and integration processes.
• Provide leadership through example in the establishment of design processes, prioritization of research and study to validate assumptions, and promotion of a culture of shared critique, agency, and constant knowledge-sharing.

Senior User Experience Designer

Educational Testing Service

I created digital content and designs for various learning and assessment applications while also leading a team of designers.

• Led the user experience design across complex scenario-based student assessments. Responsibilities included design system ownership, content reviews, design mentorship, project assignment/management, and keeping our team nimble and happy.
• Persona/empathy development and iterative usability testing to ensure products meet the goals and wants of the people using them.
• Scrum/Agile/Design Thinking methodologies utilized to cut through big company bloat, create team diversity, and clearly scope goals.
• Ensured all front-end functionality and style specifications were clear for developers - provided front-end development support QC’ing implementation and prioritizing features.

Digital Designer

Educational Testing Service

Created and implemented micro and macro level designs which drive the aesthetics and user experience of multiple enterprise-level applications.

• Design projects ranged from standalone interactive components, data visualizations, illustrations, integrated applications with linear experiences, and high-level brand and product design to ensure UX and art style consistency.
• External vendor design reviews and quality control.
• Created and managed style, process, technical, and WCAG compliant guidelines.

Consultant

Educational Testing Service

Worked primarily on the National Assessment of Educational Progress designing UI's and creating digital assets of all types.

• Compositing and layout - Paper-to-digital recreations supporting NAEP's transition to a fully online assessment delivery.
• Illustration - Maps, scientific phenomena, diagrams, scenic backgrounds, and other art as-necessary (vector and raster).
• Animation - World-building, scientific, subtle, stimulus for assessment.
• UI/UX - assessment platform UI, Scenario Based Task UI, and component design.

Environmental Artist

Handelabra Games

Proposed, acquired, and built all 3D assets and environments for use in final shipped game (Sentinels of the Multiverse). Ensured large 3D Unity scenes were optimized for tablet devices.

Design Director, Consultant

Legends of Equestria

Managed the design of all scenes, systems, and mechanics across multiple sub-teams. Frequently presented at conventions and other publicity events. Directly trained and on-boarded 15+ team members, cultivating a culture of openness and shared critique.

• Pipeline management across cloud-based resources like Trello, Bitbucket, and Google Drive.
• Design document writing and critique.
• 3D asset creation and world terraforming to create cities, landscapes, and other points of interest.
• Lead the team through the final release of the game, as well as follow-up patches and expansions.

3D Modeler

Legends of Equestria

3D asset creation (hard surface modeling, toon texture work, Unity implementation and terrain support).

Education

Master of Science, Information Experience Design

Pratt Institute

With Distinction

Bachelor of Arts, Digital Design

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Cum Laude • Albert Dorman Honors College Graduate • Kappa Xi Kappa Alumni