OUR CONFERENCE PRESENTERS

From a record turnout of high-quality proposals, we are pleased to announce the Midwest UX 2021 conference presenters. Each of our selected speakers brings a unique perspective and fresh topics to share with conference attendees. Read on to learn a bit more about our conference presenters...

BINAEBI AKAH

@siriomi

Binaebi Akah is a User Experience Designer for the architecture, engineering, and retail brand agency WD Partners. Prior to WD Partners she was a usability analyst for Nationwide Insurance. She believes in the power of sketching, whiteboards, and Slinkies. She highlights awesome sketchnotes with Mike Rohde at the Sketchnote Army blog, and released the how-to book, Sketchnotes: A Field Guide for the Busy Yet Inspired Professional, with Charlene McBride in January 2021.

Binaebi dances balboa and Lindy hop at least once a week, and is on the local Swing Columbus performance team. You can find her on Twitter at @siriomi, at her website siriomi.com, and in person at any given Midwest swing dance event. You can check out her sketchnotes via her website or her Flickr collection which can be found here: bit.ly/CMwDq.

Corey Allenbach

Corey Allenbach is currently leading planning & strategy efforts for the User Experience team at Nationwide in Columbus, OH. His role involves consulting with clients to help them take a user-centered design approach to their efforts as well as looking after a portfolio of 30+ UX projects at any given time. With over 10 years of experience, Corey has played various roles on UX projects including interaction designer, information architect, visual designer and usability analyst for both small design shops and large corporations.

HAIG ARMEN

@haigarmen

As one of Canada’s most respected and innovative digital designers, Haig has been designing brands, advertising, and interactive projects for 15 years. As a producer of CBC Radio 3’s groundbreaking online magazine, Haig created editorial, design and marketing strategies that have earned a die-hard audience.

Haig has had the honor of winning a variety of awards throughout his career, including no less than three Webby Awards, two Prix Italia for Web Arts and Drama and a Gold Medal from the Art Director’s Club of New York to name only a few.

Haig Armen is the founder and creative director of LiFT Studios and holds a position as an Assistant Professor of Design and Dynamic Media at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. When Haig isn’t designing or managing at LiFT or teaching design or spending time with his family in Vancouver he might be found playing jazz on his guitar or composing music.

JESSICA BAILEY

Jessica Bailey is a user experience designer at Lextant in Columbus, Ohio. After starting at Lextant as an intern from the University of Cincinnati’s School of Design, Jessica has since worked with a wide variety of clients creating design concepts and supporting frameworks for complex, information-rich user interfaces and experiences. While her current work has her focused on the medical imaging and precision farming industries, she is always looking forward to exciting new design challenges.

SAMUEL BOWLES

@shmuel

Samuel Bowles is a Software Craftsman at Mutually Human, a software design and development team in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has been working as a software designer and user experience professional since 1996 when he began his career as a webmaster for Burger King. Since those days he has worked with startups to Fortune 50 companies across the country and around the world including a seven year stint in Madrid and Seville, Spain.

DAVID BRAHLER

@dgbrahle

User Experience Designer at Kent State University and Information Architecture and Knowledge Management Grad Student at KSU.

BEN CALLAHAN

@bencallahan

President of Sparkbox, Ben is a thought leader on front-end development sharing his ideas about the web on the Sparkbox Foundry and industry blogs like Smashing Magazine. His leadership at Sparkbox has driven the organization to be a leading provider of mobile-first responsive web design and he continues to push for better user experiences outside the context of specific devices.