BIO

Jai Dandekar is an interaction designer living and working in Denver CO. He received his bachelors of science in graphic design with a minor in marketing from California State University of Sacramento in 2003. After graduation, he immediately started the Media Design Graduate Program at The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena CA. His research focused on the intersection of fan culture, entertainment properties, and narrative.

In 2006, Jai completed his Master of Fine Arts in Media Design with a thesis entitled “UCDavisville” that was envisioned and created to solve the disconnect UCDavis students felt they had with the local Davis community and culture. It was here that he discovered a passion for using narrative as an integrative tool to bring communities together through richer and more meaningful interactive experiences.

For several years, Jai was an interaction designer at CQG, Inc, where he worked on their commercial software products used by day traders to execute transactions in the electronic markets. He created solutions allowing traders to quickly monitor and analyze dynamic market trends. As part of an internal user experience team, he collaborated on projects dealing with information architecture, interaction design, and user interface design. Along with work in the user experience field, Jai has revamped existing marketing material for CQG as well as helped conceive and design emerging promotional efforts.

Currently, Jai is a user experience designer in the design systems group at eBay.

RESUME

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Interaction Designer for UX/Art Director for Marketing (1/2007-Present)
CQG, Inc.
Collaborated on projects dealing with information design, interaction design, and user interface design for the company’s software product offering. Conceived and revamped marketing materials and concepts.

Freelance Designer (3/2008-Present)
Timothy Bailey Photography
Constructed a visually subtle, easy-to-navigate portfolio website.

Freelance Interactive Designer (2/2007-6/2007)
UmeVoice
Enhanced online user experience by highlighting unique product features through interactive storylines.

Freelance Graphic Designer (1/2006-2/2006)
Conference for Advances in Canine and Feline Genomics
Conceptualized branding for The 3rd International Conference for Advances in Canine and Feline Genomics hosted at UCDavis.

Freelance Graphic Designer (5/2003-8/2003)
Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology
Researched and created a brand for the UCDavis Medical Microbiology and
Immunology Department.

EDUCATION
Master of Fine Arts, Media Design
Art Center College of Design (2006)

Bachelors of Science, Graphic Design
California State University of Sacramento (2003)

SKILLS & SOFTWARE
Traditional Skills
Formal training in graphic design and media design.

Software
Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Flash, Dreamweaver, Final Cut Pro, and Microsoft Office.

REFERENCES
Available Upon Request