Melissa Cliver

About Melissa Cliver

I work independently or on a team positioned to strategically research and design the development of services, products, and features. I am particularly good at facing daunting tasks filled with ambiguity and complexity, or simply just the unknown. I am a starter, a connector, and a catalyst. Efforts span the design process from exploration to evaluation. I am comfortable with the ambiguity of starting with exploring “what could be” using methods such as landscape analysis, context mapping, ethnographically inspired field studies, experience prototyping, and opportunity area identification. Post-implementation insights gleaned from evaluative research inform “what should be” based on the context and needs of those engaged with the designs and the goals of the organization. My design research and concept development practice includes:+Problem framing informed by stakeholder interviews and cultural scans.+Creating and executing mixed-method quantitative and qualitative research and synthesis programs.+Communicating using various human-centered design artifacts that streamline complexity or can be used as a guide for building. These tools include but are not limited to blueprints, models, frameworks, and roadmaps. Outputs include design recommendations, concept development, and report creation. Details in the design outputs include multi-stakeholder needs assessment, service or product feature creation, and higher-level strategies informing business models and pilot planning. At various points along the process community and stakeholder, engagement workshops are facilitated in order to co-create and receive direction or feedback in order to iterate on the process ensuring the success of the project. I am comfortable working independently, with a partner, or with a team, executing the entire process, or being positioned to execute a portion of the outline above. RECENT CONTEXTS: Climate tech, healthcare, global health, education, housing, diagnostics, workflow software, education and the future.

Experience

1. Service Designer and Researcher

   Ringcentral Events

   Aug 2021 — Present

Education

• Rutgers University, MFA

  MFA, Conceptual photography and fine art instruction

• The Evergreen State College

  BA, Film theory, documentary film production; anthropology and art

• Carnegie Mellon University

  MDes, Service, Interaction and Communication design

  2007 — 2009

• Rutgers University

  MFA, Photography

  1997 — 1999

• The Evergreen State College

  BA, Art, Ethnography, Filmmaking

  1993 — 1995