Elvera Strydom
UX Designer
Creatively converting possibilities into reality!
As a UX designer my focus is on optimizing the user experience of digital products and overseeing the
implementation thereof by designers and developers.
Love of the digital space led me to transition from marketing and communications to UX design. Both
included working with remote and office based content writers as well as website, web and/or mobile
app designers and developers. Today I’m all about UX. Creative ‘out of the box’ thinking and problem
solving, planning and teamwork culminates in the successful conception, design, development and
release of products - providing valuable ongoing project, product and UX design skills and experience.
I am available to discuss remote work opportunities.
Work History
2018/10 Current
UX Designer
Various, Remote
Collaborating on freelance project-based work with
various design and development teams around the world. I
am involved with everything from product review and
analysis, to research (competitive, product and user), IA,
wireframing, testing and design verification and validation.
Highlights:
● UX designer (redesign) of Follow Training’s student
mobile app and trainer management console
● UX designer and PM of the YourEvent platform
● UX designer and PM of Your Fair Carrefour’s mobile app,
admin and exhibitor management consoles developed for 2019’s fairs in Poland, Italy and Belgium
● UX designer of UXKick’s new website (company service
expansion)
● UX designer of ULearn’s new website, admin
management console and student platform
Contact
E-mail-LinkedIn
bit.ly/LinkedIn_El
Skills
Competitive Research
Design Management
Information Architecture
Product Planning
Product Research
Usability Testing
User Flows
User Journeys
User Personas
User Storyboards
2017/09 2018/10
UX Designer (Internship)
MAD-learn, Remote
Focused on optimizing the UX of MAD-learn's various
product offerings. Amongst others, duties included
competitive and product research, usability testing and
reporting, UX design planning and implementation.
User Surveys
UX Design Review
UX Strategy
Verification and Validation
Wireframing
Highlights:
● Researched and designed a plan to optimize the UX of
MAD-learn's new website
● Researched and tested new marketing automation
platforms, focussed on improving CX and company ROI
● UX design lead and product owner of a new MAD-learn
app development tool; released April 2018
Software
Basecamp
Figma
GitLab
Google Analytics
2015/10 2017/03
Marketing and Communications Consultant
Instapage
Khaya, Remote
Serviced Khaya, and its 9 offices around the world, with all
its marketing and communications needs. Amongst others,
this included various marketing campaigns towards existing
and new business development as well as planning and
managing marketing material, press releases, newsletters,
overall digital presence and website content.
JIRA
Highlights:
● Initiated and managed research to review Khaya’s
services at UEFA EURO 2016 and Rio 2016
● Managed Khaya's rebranding; launched at
SPORTELMonaco 2016
● Managed the design, development and launch of
Khaya's new website
Salesforce
2015/04 2015/11
Freelance Writer
2013/05 2015/04
Marketing Campaign Manager
Various, Remote
Serviced various companies with digital articles and
copywriting. Major clients included L&T in NYC, USA, and
Million Wines in Sydney, Australia.
Rosendal Winery, Cape Town, South Africa
Serviced Rosendal Winery with the planning and
implementation of campaigns focused on existing and
new business development as well as wine export sales.
Other duties included planning, creating and managing all
print and digital presence, website content management
as well as company-related social and business events.
Highlights:
● Managed the design and development of Rosendal
Winery's ecommerce site
● Managed the implementation of Salesforce integration
according to company needs
● Collaborated with the winemaker on new product
development and launching a successful new wine
brand
MailChimp
MindMup
Miro
MockFlow
Moqups
Shopify
SurveyMonkey
WordPress
Zeplin
Zoho CRM Plus
2012/10 2013/04
Marketing Coordinator - Publications
Topco Media, Cape Town, South Africa
Serviced Topco Media's 8 publication products with,
amongst others, research to identify potential markets for
the company's products and services, as well as working
with the publications' editors to plan and implement their
product schedules - according to marketing needs.
Highlights:
● Managed the development of a new B2B publication;
including its website, e-zine and digital newsletter
● Developed marketing strategies across various
publishing platforms (online, e-zine and print)
● Managed publications' social media platforms
2010/04 2012/09
Research and Communications Officer
Farmsecure Holdings, Cape Town, South Africa
Serviced Farmsecure (and its 32 subsidiary companies) with
research, writing and compiling various reports, articles,
advertisements, publications and newsletters. I was also part
of the team that branded and launched new companies,
acquired by Farmsecure, into local and international
markets.
Highlights:
● Managed several of the companies' websites
● Organized various internal and external events
● Off-site project work with the Farmsecure Foundation
2008/06 2008/10
Marketing Assistant (Internship)
2005/01 2007/08
Market Research Executive
Il Bottaccio, London, UK
Designed a new marketing strategy for Il Bottaccio. Other
duties included researching prospective new clients and
assisting with the planning and marketing of several events.
Synovate SA, Pretoria, South Africa
Managed three national quantitative research projects as
part of Synovate’s Customer Satisfaction Research team,
including:
● PP100 (Problems per 100 Motor Vehicle Quality)
● BVI (Brand Value Index)
● Profiler
Accolade: Employee of the Trimester award for the
successful redevelopment of the PP100 project
Education
2017/07 2020/07
Certificates: User Experience and Design
2017/04 2017/08
Online Courses: Development and Design
2007/09 2007/12
Certificate: Major Event Management
2004/012005/12
Master of Arts Degree: Research Psychology
2003/01 2003/12
Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree: Psychology
2000/01 2002/12
Bachelor of Arts Degree: Psychology
1997/09 1999/12
Grade 12 Senior Certificate
The Interaction Design Foundation - eLearning
Certifications include:
● User Experience - The Beginner's Guide
● Design Thinking - The Beginner's Guide
● Quality Web Communication - The Beginner's Guide
● Human-Computer Interaction
● Web Design for Usability
● Interaction Design for Usability
● User Research - Methods and Best Practices
● Conducting Usability Testing
● Emotional Design - How to Make Products People Will
Love
Codecademy - eLearning
Courses include: HTML5, CSS3, Web Design, Bootstrap and
Responsive Design
European School Of Economics - London, UK
University Of Pretoria - Pretoria, South Africa
Coursework completed, thesis not completed
University Of Pretoria - Pretoria, South Africa
University Of Pretoria - Pretoria, South Africa
Pro Arte Alphen Park High School - Pretoria, South Africa
Field of Study: Music (Piano and Classical Voice)
