Allison Whilden
Product designer for gnarly problems. I have 16 years of experience with product discovery, strategy and designing user-centered products in consumer, developer, data visualization, analysis, and AI/ML domains.
Case studies coming soon.
Experience
Product Designer, Hugging Face
August 2024 - present
Partnered with the XetHub team to bring a scalable storage solution to the 30 PB of data already stored on Hugging Face and overhaul the developer experience. Designed and implemented 2 new UI themes that shipped with Gradio 5.
Product Designer, Hugging Face
August 2024 - present
Partnered with the XetHub team to bring a scalable storage solution to the 30 PB of data already stored on Hugging Face and overhaul the developer experience. Designed and implemented 2 new UI themes that shipped with Gradio 5.
Product Designer, Hugging Face
August 2024 - present
Partnered with the XetHub team to bring a scalable storage solution to the 30 PB of data already stored on Hugging Face and overhaul the developer experience. Designed and implemented 2 new UI themes that shipped with Gradio 5.
Product Designer, XetHub
May 2023 - August 2024
As the sole designer, I led the UX and design direction of our ML development platform. I was responsible for the user research and collaborated closely with the head of product on product market fit and product direction. I created prototypes and mocks to communicate concepts with both stakeholders and the team. I also provided design, UX, and product support to our team of engineers throughout the implementation process, integrating deeply in the sprint process. Additionally, I built and iterated on our marketing website and blog.
Product Designer, XetHub
May 2023 - August 2024
As the sole designer, I led the UX and design direction of our ML development platform. I was responsible for the user research and collaborated closely with the head of product on product market fit and product direction. I created prototypes and mocks to communicate concepts with both stakeholders and the team. I also provided design, UX, and product support to our team of engineers throughout the implementation process, integrating deeply in the sprint process. Additionally, I built and iterated on our marketing website and blog.
Product Designer, XetHub
May 2023 - August 2024
As the sole designer, I led the UX and design direction of our ML development platform. I was responsible for the user research and collaborated closely with the head of product on product market fit and product direction. I created prototypes and mocks to communicate concepts with both stakeholders and the team. I also provided design, UX, and product support to our team of engineers throughout the implementation process, integrating deeply in the sprint process. Additionally, I built and iterated on our marketing website and blog.
Staff Product Designer, Databricks
February 2022 - April 2023
Partnered with teams across the Databricks platform to simplify the analytic flows and create cohesive experiences. Designed critical improvements for our visualization and dashboarding teams to create smoother customer journeys. We removed confusing cross-product dependencies and built a simplified information architecture for related assets. Led design efforts to establish a net new BI product with a thoughtful and scalable UX architecture.
Staff Product Designer, Databricks
February 2022 - April 2023
Partnered with teams across the Databricks platform to simplify the analytic flows and create cohesive experiences. Designed critical improvements for our visualization and dashboarding teams to create smoother customer journeys. We removed confusing cross-product dependencies and built a simplified information architecture for related assets. Led design efforts to establish a net new BI product with a thoughtful and scalable UX architecture.
Staff Product Designer, Databricks
February 2022 - April 2023
Partnered with teams across the Databricks platform to simplify the analytic flows and create cohesive experiences. Designed critical improvements for our visualization and dashboarding teams to create smoother customer journeys. We removed confusing cross-product dependencies and built a simplified information architecture for related assets. Led design efforts to establish a net new BI product with a thoughtful and scalable UX architecture.
Principal User Experience Designer, Tableau
April 2017 - January 2022
Designed and worked across multiple teams to deliver key new analytic capabilities to Tableau including set and parameter actions, dynamic parameters, new filtering and sorting capabilities, and new visualization options. Established the UX architecture for Model Builder, a new product to add Salesforce Einstein Discovery auto ML functionality natively to Tableau users. Led design efforts for building exploratory prototypes for several research projects, including a graph visualization and analysis experience and improved time analytics.
Principal User Experience Designer, Tableau
April 2017 - January 2022
Designed and worked across multiple teams to deliver key new analytic capabilities to Tableau including set and parameter actions, dynamic parameters, new filtering and sorting capabilities, and new visualization options. Established the UX architecture for Model Builder, a new product to add Salesforce Einstein Discovery auto ML functionality natively to Tableau users. Led design efforts for building exploratory prototypes for several research projects, including a graph visualization and analysis experience and improved time analytics.
Principal User Experience Designer, Tableau
April 2017 - January 2022
Designed and worked across multiple teams to deliver key new analytic capabilities to Tableau including set and parameter actions, dynamic parameters, new filtering and sorting capabilities, and new visualization options. Established the UX architecture for Model Builder, a new product to add Salesforce Einstein Discovery auto ML functionality natively to Tableau users. Led design efforts for building exploratory prototypes for several research projects, including a graph visualization and analysis experience and improved time analytics.
UX Lead, GitLab
September 2016 - March 2017
Led the UX design and research team at GitLab. Supported a monthly release cadence, with core responsibilities around prioritizing and scheduling work. Responded rapidly to customer feedback on multiple channels. In charge of hiring and defining roles for the team, as well as establishing a strong UX presence at the growing startup company and hiring and onboarding the first user researcher.
UX Lead, GitLab
September 2016 - March 2017
Led the UX design and research team at GitLab. Supported a monthly release cadence, with core responsibilities around prioritizing and scheduling work. Responded rapidly to customer feedback on multiple channels. In charge of hiring and defining roles for the team, as well as establishing a strong UX presence at the growing startup company and hiring and onboarding the first user researcher.
UX Lead, GitLab
September 2016 - March 2017
Led the UX design and research team at GitLab. Supported a monthly release cadence, with core responsibilities around prioritizing and scheduling work. Responded rapidly to customer feedback on multiple channels. In charge of hiring and defining roles for the team, as well as establishing a strong UX presence at the growing startup company and hiring and onboarding the first user researcher.
Senior User Experience Designer, Microsoft Corporation
February 2009 - March 2016
Office Design \\ Microsoft Project
Led a small design team building a new web experience for Microsoft Project Online. Partnered across disciplines to prioritize work, manage sprints, and balance focused details with long-term work.
Office Design \\ Phase 3
Explored new thinking about productivity, focused on mobile and conversational experiences, in a small, nimble team. Created and tested numerous mobile prototypes.
Office Design \\ Mobile Authoring
Organized and participated in a series of weekly design sprints around mobile authoring. Worked closely with researchers to build a shared understanding of existing behaviors and opportunities. Regularly tested and iterated on prototypes.
Office Design \\ OneNote
Designed experiences for incorporating OneNote with Windows 10. Worked with a team to evolve how the OneNote service handles recipes and other known clipping types. Spec'd experiences around quick capture and retrieval.
Windows 10 \\ Start Menu and other early explorations
Created the initial explorations for the Windows 10 Start Menu. Worked with a small cross-discipline team to iterate and refine. Designed several early explorations around how OS-level concepts and interactions should scale and adapt across devices.
Windows 8.1 \\ Core experiences
Design work spanning across core Windows features including Start, Lock Screen, Personalization and Contextual Help. Modified the Start model to encourage a more personalized and usable experience. Designed the color and theme picking experience for Windows. Redesigned the selection and rearrange model for app tiles. Drove optimal experiences across scaling and mixed-plateau states, making special considerations for small screen devices.
Windows 8 \\ People App
Designed the information architecture for the Windows 8 People app while coordinating with other designers and PMs. Created item templates for the social feed. Designed the flow to connect various services to integrate and aggregate within many Windows 8 apps.
Windows Live \\ Messenger 2011
Designed the updated video chat and photo sharing experience. Simplified interactions and visuals across the product.
Senior User Experience Designer, Microsoft Corporation
February 2009 - March 2016
Office Design \\ Microsoft Project
Led a small design team building a new web experience for Microsoft Project Online. Partnered across disciplines to prioritize work, manage sprints, and balance focused details with long-term work.
Office Design \\ Phase 3
Explored new thinking about productivity, focused on mobile and conversational experiences, in a small, nimble team. Created and tested numerous mobile prototypes.
Office Design \\ Mobile Authoring
Organized and participated in a series of weekly design sprints around mobile authoring. Worked closely with researchers to build a shared understanding of existing behaviors and opportunities. Regularly tested and iterated on prototypes.
Office Design \\ OneNote
Designed experiences for incorporating OneNote with Windows 10. Worked with a team to evolve how the OneNote service handles recipes and other known clipping types. Spec'd experiences around quick capture and retrieval.
Windows 10 \\ Start Menu and other early explorations
Created the initial explorations for the Windows 10 Start Menu. Worked with a small cross-discipline team to iterate and refine. Designed several early explorations around how OS-level concepts and interactions should scale and adapt across devices.
Windows 8.1 \\ Core experiences
Design work spanning across core Windows features including Start, Lock Screen, Personalization and Contextual Help. Modified the Start model to encourage a more personalized and usable experience. Designed the color and theme picking experience for Windows. Redesigned the selection and rearrange model for app tiles. Drove optimal experiences across scaling and mixed-plateau states, making special considerations for small screen devices.
Windows 8 \\ People App
Designed the information architecture for the Windows 8 People app while coordinating with other designers and PMs. Created item templates for the social feed. Designed the flow to connect various services to integrate and aggregate within many Windows 8 apps.
Windows Live \\ Messenger 2011
Designed the updated video chat and photo sharing experience. Simplified interactions and visuals across the product.
Senior User Experience Designer, Microsoft Corporation
February 2009 - March 2016
Office Design \\ Microsoft Project
Led a small design team building a new web experience for Microsoft Project Online. Partnered across disciplines to prioritize work, manage sprints, and balance focused details with long-term work.
Office Design \\ Phase 3
Explored new thinking about productivity, focused on mobile and conversational experiences, in a small, nimble team. Created and tested numerous mobile prototypes.
Office Design \\ Mobile Authoring
Organized and participated in a series of weekly design sprints around mobile authoring. Worked closely with researchers to build a shared understanding of existing behaviors and opportunities. Regularly tested and iterated on prototypes.
Office Design \\ OneNote
Designed experiences for incorporating OneNote with Windows 10. Worked with a team to evolve how the OneNote service handles recipes and other known clipping types. Spec'd experiences around quick capture and retrieval.
Windows 10 \\ Start Menu and other early explorations
Created the initial explorations for the Windows 10 Start Menu. Worked with a small cross-discipline team to iterate and refine. Designed several early explorations around how OS-level concepts and interactions should scale and adapt across devices.
Windows 8.1 \\ Core experiences
Design work spanning across core Windows features including Start, Lock Screen, Personalization and Contextual Help. Modified the Start model to encourage a more personalized and usable experience. Designed the color and theme picking experience for Windows. Redesigned the selection and rearrange model for app tiles. Drove optimal experiences across scaling and mixed-plateau states, making special considerations for small screen devices.
Windows 8 \\ People App
Designed the information architecture for the Windows 8 People app while coordinating with other designers and PMs. Created item templates for the social feed. Designed the flow to connect various services to integrate and aggregate within many Windows 8 apps.
Windows Live \\ Messenger 2011
Designed the updated video chat and photo sharing experience. Simplified interactions and visuals across the product.
Design Lead for HCI Capstone Project, Carnegie Mellon Human-Computer Interaction Institute
January 2008 - August 2008
Designed an enterprise-level information sharing solution geared towards incoming millenial employees.
Design Lead for HCI Capstone Project, Carnegie Mellon Human-Computer Interaction Institute
January 2008 - August 2008
Designed an enterprise-level information sharing solution geared towards incoming millenial employees.
Design Lead for HCI Capstone Project, Carnegie Mellon Human-Computer Interaction Institute
January 2008 - August 2008
Designed an enterprise-level information sharing solution geared towards incoming millenial employees.
User Experience Intern, Hillcrest Laboratories, Inc.
May 2007 - August 2007
Designed and documented many screens designed for Freespace, a point & click TVexperience. Wrote specifications for their integration and use. Led several Think Aloud userstudies to validate designs.
User Experience Intern, Hillcrest Laboratories, Inc.
May 2007 - August 2007
Designed and documented many screens designed for Freespace, a point & click TVexperience. Wrote specifications for their integration and use. Led several Think Aloud userstudies to validate designs.
User Experience Intern, Hillcrest Laboratories, Inc.
May 2007 - August 2007
Designed and documented many screens designed for Freespace, a point & click TVexperience. Wrote specifications for their integration and use. Led several Think Aloud userstudies to validate designs.
Graphic Design Assistant, Institute for Complex Engineered Systems
October 2006 - May 2007
Worked both independently and collaboratively to design clients' websites. Helped test usability of new website designs and participated in a logo redesign process.
Graphic Design Assistant, Institute for Complex Engineered Systems
October 2006 - May 2007
Worked both independently and collaboratively to design clients' websites. Helped test usability of new website designs and participated in a logo redesign process.
Graphic Design Assistant, Institute for Complex Engineered Systems
October 2006 - May 2007
Worked both independently and collaboratively to design clients' websites. Helped test usability of new website designs and participated in a logo redesign process.
Publications
A Declarative Specification for Authoring Metrics Dashboards
Co-Authors: W Epperson, K Wongsuphasawat, A Whilden, F Du, J Talbot, arXiv preprint arXiv:2309.13265 (2023).
Blocks: Creating Rich Tables with Drag-and-Drop Interaction
Co-Author: A Whilden, D Karis, V Setlur, R Degtyar, J Que, F Lymperopoulos, EuroVis 2022 - Short Papers (2022), The Eurographics Association. 10.2312/evs.20221094
Patents
Generating data visualizations with displayed visual data marks representing aggregated data at multiple levels of detail.
Karis, Degtyar, Whilden, Setlur, Que & Lymperopoulos, US 11500891B2, November 15, 2022.
Generating data visualizations with visual data marks having individually calculated grid positions.
Karis, Whilden, Setlur, Degtyar, Que & Lymperopoulos, US 11500520B2, November 15, 2022.
Dynamic visualization and data analytics based on parameter actions.
Lymperopoulos, Lyons, Forstrom, Whilden, Rudolph, Medina, Bromley, Shen, Lakhian, Kim, Bailey, Agerone, US 11074731B2, July 27, 2021.
Storage and retrieval of structured content in unstructured user-editable content stores.
Akselrod, Amirault, Nam, Jones, Barnwell, Gallant (Whilden), Estrada, Bishop, Sampathkumar, Bhattacharjee, Kurtzelborn, US 20160203233A1, July 7, 2020.
Contact creation and utilization.
Ebeling, Urdan, Jumani, Lee, Desai, Scudieri, Cooper, Feng, Mao, Whilden, Kikin-Gil, Drummond, US 20170270113A1, November 19, 2019.
Automatic template generation based on previous documents.
Masson, Desai, Estrada, Keslin, Lee, Whilden, Dominguez, US 9922022B2, March 20, 2018.
Display screen with graphical user interface.
Gallant (Whilden), Knapp, US D791799S1, July 11, 2017.
Automatic capture of information from audio data and computer operating context.
Pottier, Hamilton, Fusaro, Clark, Escapa, Scoble, Gallant (Whilden), US 20160253314A1, July11, 2017.
Start and application navigation.
Zaman, Garside, Gallant (Whilden), US 9207849B2, December 8, 2015.
Display screen with graphical user interface.
Gallant (Whilden), Wu, US D689898S1, September 17, 2013.
Education
Carnegie Mellon University
Masters of Human-Computer Interaction, December 2008
Bachelor of Human-Computer Interaction, May 2008
Bachelor of Humanities and Arts in Communication Design and Cognitive Psychology, May 2008