Vice President of Research
Tom Satwicz is Vice President of Research at Blink's Seattle studio. He's responsible for ensuring our research projects meet a high standard of excellence. Through mentorship and project direction he helps client teams gain empathy for their customers, users, and anyone that may encounter their product or service. He's particularly interested in creating technologies that will provide a meaningful impact on people's lives. Tom has worked with a range of organizations from established tech companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon to non-profits like Committee for Children.
Tom is a graduate of the Ph.D. program in learning sciences at the University of Washington and was previously a faculty member at the University of Georgia’s College of Education. There he conducted ethnographic studies of how young people learn to use digital media and how technology is integrated into educational settings.
Outside of Blink, Tom enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, and hanging out in West Seattle.
Tom Satwicz, Ph.D.
Usability studies are great for identifying issues that prevent users from getting things done, however our goals for user research often encompass trying to gain insight into what users understand about the overall structure and layout of a system. Recently I used mind mapping in a body of work around mobile navigation and found it was an effective and helpful research tool.
Tom Satwicz, Ph.D.
UX and operations cannot succeed without each other. The right operation gives rise to great UX, yet a great UX is necessary to build a business operation that is profitable, sustainable, and growing.
Tom Satwicz, Ph.D.
Blink has worked with a variety of healthcare providers over the last several years to understand the users of their websites. The results of this work have been research-based recommendations and design solutions that address many common challenges. Today, we are publishing a whitepaper that summarizes the challenges providers face online, and how a research-based approach to user experience can help meet the needs of their patients and employees.
Tom Satwicz, Ph.D.
A list of usability findings can be difficult to parse: they are long, highlight negative aspects of your design, and no matter how diligently your team works, they never seem to disappear completely. Despite these facts, there is hope.