Sara Fantauzzi Smith
Kent State University

My name is Sara Fantauzzi Smith, and I completed my master’s degree in User Experience Design from Kent State University. My interest in this program stemmed from my previous role on the University Communications and Marketing Web Team at Kent State University.

In my previous position, as a member of the Web Team, we conducted usability and accessibility testing for the main institutional website. My involvement in these testing sessions sparked a desire to delve deeper into this field. A goal of mine was to gain further knowledge in this area and integrate it into our testing sessions, so that my team and the university could benefit. So I took action and enrolled in graduate school.

It has always been a personal goal to continue my education beyond the bachelors of science level. Taking the UXD courses at Kent State and completing my master’s degree helped me to accomplish this. 

I am very appreciative of the fact that my program was offered online, as I am a mother of two, Isabella (14) and Lia (11). With their busy schedules, an online program was the perfect fit! I am excited to share my educational and professional UX experiences in this portfolio.

My passion to become a user experience designer stems from deep within.

Designing a great user experience demands passion and an understanding of the user.

Personas help to determine how to design a workflow, characterizing what a user needs to accomplish his or her goals. Understanding the context of use, motivation and task frequency are only a few key components of a useful persona. These assist in providing focus and clarity in our design thinking. While a persona is not a real person, they are built upon, and are largely based on, observations of target users.

When creating a persona, one should include information about the user, their goals, pain points, wants, needs, recommendations and so forth.

Take a female, third-grade elementary school student, for example, who attends class daily, with minimal absences. She studies very hard, yet does not receive the markings expected of a responsible student. Based on this and other information, she has been identified as having a learning disability and accommodations have been made.

This student receives additional resource room assistance, in addition to tutoring and sees her grades improve. She strives for excellence and, with the right accommodations, is beginning to realize them. Her goal is to perform at the level of her peers and to improve her academic confidence. She is beginning to use assistive technology and is seeing a benefit. Due to her age, she needs an intuitive platform that is accurate and comfortable to use on a daily basis.

While personas, as I stated, are not a real person, they are based on observations of target users. The above example, is a target user I have observed — my daughter.

Seeing software developed with a persona similar to my daughter in mind, one that will help her continue down the path of academic excellence on her own two feet, is encouraging. Knowing that there are UX designers out there, thinking about accessibility in the forefront of their minds, is very reassuring as a parent.

We may aim to fail frequently and fast in user experience design, this, however, is a good thing.

We are iterating our designs and continuously moving in a direction that will not only help our products succeed, but also those who use them.

I hope one day to have the knowledge to become one of the individuals that can create a user journey for individuals like my daughter, so they too can have a positive user experience.

Digital Strategist & Technologist

Responsible for leveraging research and tools to guide university-wide design, development, modification and creation of complex user-centered designs for websites and other multimedia applications and digital platforms, from concept to in-market implementation, to maximize brand value, customer engagement and conversion.

Additional responsibilities include and are not limited to: redesign support, client support, research and data analysis, special projects, usability testing and active membership on the university's Equal Access Committee (formerly the Accessibility Committee) and multiple sub-committees. 

POSITION DETAILS

• Kent State University

• February 2021 - February 2023

Coordinator, Electronic Communications & Web Content Services

Coordinated overall web content strategies, including the creation, design, content management and policy support for Kent State University's websites.

Additional responsibilities included and were not limited to: redesign support, client support, research and data analysis, special projects, usability testing and active membership on the university's Accessibility Committee and multiple sub-committees. 

POSITION DETAILS

• Kent State University

• January 2014 - January 2021

Adjunct Faculty, School of Media and Journalism

Instructor of Social Media Strategies in the the School of Media and Journalism (MDJ-21008) at Kent State University.

About the course: Designed to help students understand and use social media in critical and strategic ways. Helps students harness the power and potential of the social web, including strategies used to position and market organizations as well as individuals. Exposes students to the latest social-media applications and tools and to critical views of social media's impact on business, society and culture. Students emerge from the class with a strategic plan designed to enhance their lives and their careers.

POSITION DETAILS

• Kent State University

• Course availability: Fall and Spring Terms

• Classes Taught/Teaching:

  • January 2022

  • January 2023

Instructor of Digital Analytics in Advertising and Public Relations in the School of Media and Journalism (MDJ-31007) at Kent State University.

About the course: This course explores digital analytics and online measurement. Students start with planning and setting measurable objectives, finding online audiences, and then design and implement measurement plans. Students use social media analytics tools and Google analytics to capture data and then determine next steps.

POSITION DETAILS

• Kent State University

• Course availability: Fall and Spring Terms

• Classes Taught:

  • Spring 2019

  • Fall 2019

  • Spring 2020

  • Fall 2020

AVP, Marketing and Communications Director

Previously responsible for the creation of all print, online, television, billboard, display units, collateral packages and all things graphic design for Cortland Banks, Cortland Bancorp and the Cortland Investment Group.

Oversaw the Marketing Department, while lending assistance to additional areas in the Bank. Maintained the creation, execution and tracking of all promotions run at all offices in five counties. Assisted with product research, development and implementation strategies. Additional areas of focus included: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System Development; Investor Relations Initiatives; Website Management; Community Sponsorships; Internal Communications; and Media Purchases/Communications.

POSITION DETAILS

• The Cortland Savings & Banking Company (Cortland Bank)

• January 2007 - December 2013

Marketing Director

Assisted with marketing and graphic design for the second and third annual Tour of the Valley. Tour of the Valley is now Ohio's largest three-day cycling stage race with a carbon neutral mission. 2011's event saw doubled rider and spectator enrollment. The event also offset 30.04 tons of C02 emissions, while boosting tourism and economic activity for the Mahoning Valley.

POSITION DETAILS

• Tour of the Valley

• October 2009 - July 2011

Additional Work

Freelance Designer
Bella by Design (Self)
2008-2015

Freelance Designer
Questex Media Group
2006 – 2007 

Sports Copy Editor
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
2005 – 2006

Skills

User Experience
User Research
Usability Testing
Card Sorting
Information Architecture
Data Analytics and Reporting
Interactive Form Creation
Content Strategy
Writing
Social Media
Marketing Strategy
Budget Analysis

Experience

Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Qualtrics
Google DataStudio
Google Analytics
Google Docs, Sheets & Slides
Microsoft Excel
TreeJack
Lookback
Drupal CMS
Lucidchart
Siteimprove

Stan Feret

Former Boss,
SVP & CHIEF LENDING OFFICER
the cortland savings and banking company

I had the pleasure of working with Sara Smith for over 5 years. During her tenure as Marketing Director for Cortland Bank, she demonstrated leadership skills utilizing a balance of marketing creativeness and technical abilities commensurate with her position. Her working relationships with both management and associates allowed her to achieve great success in a relatively short period of time. In that regard , I would recommend Sara for any leadership role as a leader and/or an educator that utilizes her well balanced skill set

Nov. 20, 2018

Christopher Hallahan

FORMER kent state CO-WORKEr &
user experience consultant/ senior ux designer

I first met Sara when she joined our team at Kent State’s University Communications and Marketing, where I worked as an Interactive Designer and Developer. Almost immediately, I was impressed at Sara’s ability to tackle complex problems, client needs and data reporting challenges and turn them in to easy-to-understand and carefully considered solutions.

Sara was commonly a resource for our team members when they needed help coordinating projects, always rising to the challenge to make sure everyone’s needs were addressed while taking the time to explain solutions as needed. Sara would be a great asset to any organization.

Dec. 31, 2018

Stacy Thompson

kent state uxd PROFESSOR &
senior director, corporate content marketing, ptc

Sara is the type of student every instructor looks to have: inquisitive, thoughtful, hard-working, kind, helpful - the list goes on and on. This exemplary behavior didn't even include the quality of her work, which exceeded my expectations for the class as a whole and for Sara's work specifically. Sara was always quick to ask questions if she needed clarification and thorough in her assignments.

Her final assignment for my class was so good, in fact, that I asked permission to share it with my colleagues, as her insights were those that we could all learn from.

Sara knows a great deal about content strategy, including search engine optimization (SEO), social media, editorial scheduling, website architecture, and content performance measurement. It was a pleasure having her in my class and I hope our paths cross again!

April 4, 2019

Andy Vitale

KENT STATE uxd PROFESSOR &
vp product design and content, quicken loans

I had the honor of having Sara as a student in the Accessibility course at Kent State University. Her curiosity was inspiring and added great discussion and value to the course.

Sara's attention to detail and professionalism shined through in her work. She has a bright future ahead of herself and I look forward to seeing all of the great things she will do.

Nov. 27, 2020

Doug Flower

current Kent state co-worker &
IT ACCESSIBILITY SPECIALIST

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Sara in various capacities over the years at Kent State, and I can say with full confidence that I’ve never worked with someone so uniquely capable of blending data-driven decisions with human-driven design. Her perceptive attention to detail and deep understanding of universal design are showcased by her desire to bring a rich user experience to every project she works on and further elevate the quality that people have come to expect from Kent State’s digital footprint.

As a member of the Kent State Accessibility Committee and champion of digital accessibility, Sara demonstrates a ready willingness to incorporate empathy and inclusion into the backbone of her work, and her involvement has been critical to the success of university-wide initiatives such as Kent State of Accessibility and disAbility Awareness Month. Her seemingly innate ability to tackle projects large and small with a level of commitment that always feels personal makes her an invaluable addition to any team, and makes my wholehearted recommendation an easy one to make.

Nov. 27, 2020

Jason Piatt, M.Ed.

Former Kent State Co-Worker &
senior it business analyst, cleveland clinic

I’ve had the privilege of working and collaborating with Sara over the last few years on a variety of unique and complex projects related to website design and content development. Sara is highly skilled and thoughtful and takes time to understand the key needs and deliverables of a project. Sara is very easy to work with and is very flexible and open to exploring new ideas and approaches to solving challenging project issues. I think the thing I value the most in working with Sara is her ability to stay focused on both the needs of the project, as well as the importance of finding wins for all involved. I’ve also personally learned a lot from Sara in regard to thinking abstractly about content development and presentation.

I think that Sara’s talent and drive are the two key factors that make her a fantastic collaborator and highly professional colleague. It’s been a pleasure working with Sara and I know her unique contributions to electronic communication will only continue to exceed expectations.

Nov. 20, 2018