resume | christalyn duff

[ skills & software ]

Creative Skills
Problem solving, detail oriented & big picture perspective, tinkering, brainstorming, problem assessment, sketching, prototyping, fabrication planning, graphic & web design

Personality
Team player, organized, efficient, observant, troubleshooter, proactive thinking

Technical Skills
CAD modeling, 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC programing, wood shop equipment & hand tools, technical drawings, software system integration

Softwares
Photoshop, Illustrator, XD, AfterEffects, HTML, CSS, Fusion 360, SolidWorks, AutoCad, SketchUp, Keyshot, Dotmailer, Microsoft Excel & Office Suite

[ work experience ]

UI/UX Designer
Accelerate Media // April 2019 - Present
Working as part of a digital marketing agency to design & create graphics for websites, software, print, and other items as requested by clients.

Mid-Level Graphic Designer
Salzman Group // October 2017 - April 2019
Work as part of the creative team responsible for the marketing and day-to-day upkeep of several e-commerce sites: primarily WholeLatteLove.com. Design and deploy multiple email blasts per week that reach our 100,000+ subscribers. Create relevant content to populate our brand's social media presence. Design fresh display ads for internet marketing.

Sewing & Textile Art Instructor
Creativity Shell // August 2017 - April 2018
Part-time instructor for workshops and evening classes for kids age 5+. Assisting leadership in this launch of new chapter in Rochester, NY. The Creativity Shell is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the next generation of makers with essential life and practical skills.

Creative Mastermind // CTO
Viggi Kids, Corp. // March 2015 - June 2017
Co-founder of children's product design firm. Designer for marketing materials (print, web & video), product design for Digit Widgit® and STEM line, manufacturing strategies and for the Vidget® and Digit Widgit®.
General operational and technical guru...basically any software or system that needed customized and integrated into our processes, I configured (and learned a lot along the way).

Adjunct Professor
Rochester Institute of Technology // Spring 2015
Teaching advanced CAD modeling techniques & strategies to junior and senior level industrial design students. Focused on Solidworks 2014 and Keyshot 5.

Senior Designer
Rove Design Group // February 2013 - March 2015
Consultant for graphic & web design clients. Concept development, brainstorming & new product ideation. Designer and collaborator for Viggi Kids brand and products.

Designer & Fabricator
Olga Gallery // August 2011 - September 2014
Graphic design for web, packaging & advertising, designing web sites for online sales, product photography, and fabricating custom wood displays.

[ continuing education ]

UI/UX Specialization
CalArts via Coursera // January 2020-March 2020
Specialization of 4 courses. Final deliverables were high fidelity mockups of an app [Courses 1 &2] and delivery-only restaurant website [Course 3& 4]. Along with covering the basics of UI/UX, the assignments included full development of the project briefs, user demographics, strategy, and sitemaps. I took the specialization to add technical knowledge to the practical knowledges I've gained from various projects & web site launches I've been a part of.
Course 1 | Course 2 | Course 3 | Course 4

Responsive Website Development and Design Specialization
University of London via Coursera // June 2019
The course covered the languages of HTML, CSS, and some basic Javascript. Projects included practical applications of those languages to create webpages from scratch. After taking this course, working with developers became a much more informed collaboration.
Course 1 | Course 2

Autodesk Fusion 360 Integrated CAD/CAM
Autodesk via Coursera // May 2018
The course offered a detailed roadmap to Fusion 360. It provided direction on how to use many features. By choice, I further delved into creating CAM programs, parametric modeling, and rendering.

Tinkering Fundmentals: Motion & Mechanisms
The Exploratorium via Coursera // December 2017
The course offers educators and enthusiasts an opportunity to develop a practice of tinkering and making. Tinkering has recently been introduced into the educational field as a potential driver of creativity, excitement, and innovation in science learning. It is seen by many as an effective means to engage in exploring STEM concepts, practices and phenomena.

[ education ]

Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, New York
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design, May 2011
Minor equivalent in Metals; Concentration in Psychology
Summa Cum Laude

Honors & Exhibitions
RIT Honors Program and Honors Scholarship 2009-2011
Dean’s List in all quarters 2007-2011
Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar 2011

Exhibitions & Publications
RIT Industrial Design Senior Show 2011
RIT Research and Innovation Symposium, Winter 2011
Walker Metalsmith’s Apprentice Show, 2010
Imagine RIT exhibitor, 2010
Northern Tier Cultural Alliance: Potter County Artisan 2009

Co-author of Explorations in Geometry, a college-level geometry book.
Book and course were presented at the 2009 NYSMATYC Conference.

[ internships ]

Exhibit Design Intern
Montshire Museum of Science // March - June 2012
Assisting exhibit staff with prototyping, CAD modeling, visitor testing,
graphic design, and traveling exhibit change. Lead designer on two small exhibits.

Exhibit Design Intern
Rochester Museum & Science Center // April - July 2011
Working with museum staff to redesign elements of an interactive and creating proposal for interactive seating in main entrance.

Apprentice Jeweler
Walker Metalsmiths // June-September 2010
Responsible for precious metal casting production: approx. 200 pieces per week. Involved in all aspects of lost wax casting process & finishing.

[ patents ]