Colin A. Eagan, M.S. | User Experience Design
Award-winning experience designer, author, and speaker specializing in information architecture, content strategy, and UX personalization. Based in Washington, D.C, working globally.
Colin Eagan is a pioneer in personalization content strategy and a leading voice for designing responsibly with user data since 2012. Author of “UX in the Age of Personalization,” he is a frequent contributor to publications and conferences on the topic, including UXPA International, IA Summit, Confab, UX Planet, and A List Apart. For his day job, Colin is a partner at ICF Next in Washington, D.C., the digital arm of ICF, a $1.5B international consulting firm with more than 5,000 employees worldwide. Notable project work includes global navigation design of UPS.com, Lowes.com, and AARP.org, launch of Open Forum by American Express, and work on Bank of America‘s ‘Flagscape’ intranet, cited by Jakob Neilsen as a top pick for intranet usability. Colin is a fellow at the Consortium of Personalization Professionals (CPP), a cross-disciplinary non-profit founded in 2017 with the expressed intent of promoting ethical, evidence-based personalization design.
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UX Design Publications and Speaking Engagements
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Helpful UX Questions, Answered Not Terribly Helpfully
How do you get a job in UX design?
Answer: Not easy, but possible. UX people come from a variety of backgrounds, which can make it a bit confusing to break into the field. In this answer we'll explore some common career paths such as transferring from another technical career, or a bootcamp. The good news? Not nearly as difficult as getting a job as a neonatal cardiac surgeon.
How much do entry level UX designers make?
Answer: Not much. You would likely make more managing an Arby's. But hey you could also probably do worse. More to the point, around $73k for 0-2 years experience according to one study (jumping to $93 with 3-4 years). We'll take a look at those data points and others in this answer.
I just bought this hat. Would you say that's helpful for a job in UX?
Answer: You're in luck. A hat is a wise investment in any field, and having one in a design field is simply apropos. While I don't commonly wear a hat myself, I am envious of those who do. Hats can shield you from a variety of indoor office hazards, such as unwanted co-worker eye contact, overhead AC vents, and florescent lights.
Articles on User Experience Design Topics
Personalization Pyramid: A Framework for Designing with User Data
A List Apart | December 08, 2022
As a UX professional in today’s data-driven landscape, it’s increasingly likely that you’ve been asked to design a personalized digital experience, whether it’s a public website, user portal, or native application. Yet while there continues to be no shortage of marketing hype around personalization platforms, we still have very few standardized approaches for implementing personalized UX.
UX in the Age of Personalization
A List Apart | January 17, 2019
There is a watershed moment approaching for personalization design. Most strategy is still driven out of marketing and IT departments, a holdover from the legacy of the inbound, “creepy” targeted ad. Fixing that model requires the same paradigm shift we’ve used to tackle other challenges in our field. In this piece, we take a detailed look at the UX practitioner’s emerging role in personalization design: from influencing technology selection, to data modeling, to page-level implementation.
Five Lessons from Architecture School that Will Improve Your UX Work
UX Planet | Feburary 5, 2019
Because architects have been designing human-spatial interactions for like, ever, there are a number of helpful principles they take for granted that can be useful for UX (User Experience) people in those moments when you’re grasping for a design compass. Here are just a few from architect and author Matthew Frederick.