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Ruth Ellison

Research Director & co-founder of Propel Design - Research Strategist, Coach, Design Leader

Ruth Ellison is a user researcher and design leader based in Canberra, Australia. She is the co-founder and Research Director of Propel Design, a strategic research, design, and delivery consultancy.

With over 20 years of experience in the design field, Ruth is known for her curiosity about the relationships among people, technology, and society. Her approach involves observing people, asking insightful questions, and solving complex problems through thorough research and design.

Passionate about creating inclusive and user-centric experiences, Ruth focuses on putting people at the heart of her design process. She is described as pragmatic, collaborative, and always maintaining a positive attitude.

Aside from her professional engagements, Ruth is an active speaker at various local and international events. She also delves into making wearable computing devices and crafting science-inspired jewelry using lasers and open-source technologies.

Ruth's expertise extends to coaching, training, and teaching. She has conducted training courses and workshops in web design and user experience and has tutored subjects on web design and Human-Computer Interaction at different universities.

Furthermore, Ruth is deeply involved in the community, contributing to various initiatives. She has served in roles like co-founder of the Canberra Web Accessibility and Inclusive Design Group, judge for the Australian Web Awards, and accessibility judge for the McFarlane prize for excellence in website design, among others.

Ruth's specialities include ethnographic research, design research, user-centered design, design thinking, accessibility, human-computer interaction, user experience, usability, service design, and design leadership. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Commerce in Information Technology and Information Systems from Curtin University and a Graduate Certificate of Human Factors in HCI from The University of Queensland.

Throughout her career, Ruth has held key positions at prominent organizations such as Propel Design, the Digital Transformation Agency, PwC Australia, Stamford Interactive, and various government departments.

Her extensive professional journey includes roles like Research Director, Head of User Research, Lead User Researcher, Principal User Experience Designer, and Design Manager. Ruth also has experience as a Tutor at Curtin University of Technology.

Ruth Ellison's multifaceted expertise, community involvement, and dedication to user-centered design make her a prominent figure in the design and research field.

Highlights

Oct 19 · linkedin

I had the pleasure of presenting about maximising the impact of your user research at last night's #EUXCBR event. It was so lovely seeing lots of new and familiar faces. I feel so lucky that we have a great engaged and curious EUX community here in Canberra.

My key takeaways on how to maximise the impact of your research are: ⭐ Take the time to understand and align to the strategic intent ⭐ Both strategic and tactical research have a place in our toolbox ⭐ Take time to understand not just the end users of our products and services, but the users of our research (what do they care about?) ⭐ Use the language of our stakeholders.

A big thank you to blueegg and SustainDigital Recruitment for hosting the event, Scott Obara and 👋 Matt Fenwick for the photos, and to everyone for being so engaged and asking great questions.

If you love geeking out over research, we'll be running a research analysis masterclass coming up at https://lnkd.in/eckUiARd Propel Design

Thanks for coming along last night! 🚀

#EUX #EUXCBR #userresearch #UX #impact #StrategicDesign #StrategicResearch #HCD #HumanCentredDesign #Propel

Apr 19 · linkedin

It was a lovely night at #EUXCBR (Enterprise UX Canberra) where 👋 Matt Fenwick shared his knowledge about how to create sustainable content practices that helps to maintain the value of your digital experience beyond launch. From references to The Breakfast Club, to useful techniques such as RACI and aligning to business metrics, this was an entertaining and informative talk. It was my first in-person Canberra UX event since the start of the covid, so it was lovely to see so many new and old faces - Alexander Mironov Sarah Crundwell Susan Hansen Maka Kama Nathanael Coyne Scott Obara (and many more!). Thank you to the hosts, blueegg and Sustain Digital and thank you 👋 Matt Fenwick for your enjoyable and informative talk! #experience #userexperience #content #contentstrategy #ux #EUXCBR #enterpriseUX #Canberra

Ruth Ellison
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Location

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia