St. Louis Bloggers Guild

With just a few days left until this year’s Interactive Festival, I thought it would be a good idea to let everyone know exactly who and what they will be hearing on Saturday.

I’ve already told you that we have an exciting line up of panelists; so who are they? Every day this week I will feature one or two of the panels, giving you a brief overview and introducing you to the speakers listed on that panel.

Read on:

Why Usability and Visual Design Are Important to Your Site

You want a website that is easy to navigate, encourages viewers to return and is visually appealing.  The panelists during this session will discuss usability architecture, the why’s and how’s of web design and the psychology of a well designed web page.

Parth Bhwalker:  Parth’s design experience spans multiple domains including the web, mobile and assistive technologies. He started his career as a software engineer, but his love for design led him to pursue a masters in Human-Computer Interaction from Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA. Parth is currently a lead interaction designer in the User Experience Group at Enterprise Holdings Inc.

Danielle Cooley: Danielle has over 10 years of experience in a multitude of user research and usability analysis methods utilized on a wide variety of applications, including hardware, Windows, web, telephone, and mobile. Her successful designs have been implemented at both large and small, public and private companies in many industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to car rental to financial services.

David Johnson: David is a senior creative with over 16 years of experience.  His overall focus has been in both design and creative strategy for versatility in execution and communication. David currently serves as the Vice President, Creative Director at NGAGE acting as both the design and ideation lead as well as the creative leadership for the agency. Across his career, David has served a full range of brands including: Microsoft, Intel, Michelob, Hanes, Hardee’s, Budweiser Select, Scottrade, ADT Security, Bausch and Lomb and Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier.

Nathan Verrill:  Nathan is a User Experience Consultant who has worked in the web industry as a strategist, interaction designer, user researcher and developer since the mid-90s. In addition to his work at Perficient, Nathan enjoys playing with his three girls, traveling, dreaming about climbing redwoods and designing alternate reality games.

Applying Your New Media Skill Set to the Workforce

It’s no secret that new media is fast becoming one of the greatest assets to the corporate world.  Insiders from corporate America will tell you what companies are looking for as wellas how to tweak and perfect your resume and parlay your new media skillset into an offer that can’t be refused.

Brad Hogenmiller:  Technologist, Career Strategist, Networker and Dad. “If I can help you,” Brad says,  ”Don’t hesitate to ask.”  Brad is proud to work for Technology Partners helping companies find talent and talent find options. He specializes in Software Development & Interactive Media roles.

Susan Iskwitch – Digital Communications Consultant:  Susan combines her political science degree and experience in media relations, television news and social media to help organizations authentically manage and build their reputations online in order to boost revenues, build business or achieve other measurable objectives. Before becoming a consultant, Susan was an associate with a communications agency headquartered in St. Louis and also spent time at local and national television news organizations.

Jim Barnthouse: Jim has been immersed in Digital Interactive Marketing for over 4 years now, beginning with his roots assisting digital media buyers in the Chicago area. An early adopter of Social Media, his work included some of the first experimentation using online social spaces as a marketing tool. New to St Louis in January of this year, Jim built his first relationships with the local social community through his blog, Arch Observer.  He currently works as the Director of Marketing and Social Media at NGAGE in downtown St Louis.

Melody Meiners:   Melody is a freelance writer, and the founder and managing editor of Girls Guide to the Galaxy. She has been blogging since 2006, and is a cofounder of board member for the St. Louis Bloggers Guild.

To read Part One of our introduction of the speakers and panels, click here.  Come back tomorrow for information on more of the breakout sessions and speakers lined up for this Saturday’s Interactive. The conference runs from 9:00-4:00 at Shock City Studios with breakfast and lunch provided. If you haven’t yet registered for tickets you can do so here.