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    Elise Ivory — Home

    Lead UX Designer & Researcher

    Hi, I’m Elise.I make complicated things work better.

    I’m the one who asks, “Wait, why do we do it that way?” Then I get curious, ask a few more questions, and find out what could work better.

    View Featured WorkLet’s Connect
    Elise Ivory, Lead UX Designer & Researcher, with pink hair resting her chin on her hand and smiling, on a pink-to-orange gradient background surrounded by sticky notes reading why, how, what if and who

    Sometimes the problem isn’t where everyone thinks it is.

    A confusing screen might actually be a broken handoff. A slow process might be asking someone to do work the technology could handle. And a seemingly simple fix might create a whole new problem somewhere else.

    I love figuring out those connections—and helping teams decide what to do about them.

    Illustration: a screen problem traced to its causesAt the top, a screen shows a confusing message — the symptom everyone sees. Lines run below the surface to a customer, an agent, a payment tool and a back-office system. The handoff between the agent and the back-office system is circled as the underlying cause.What everyone seesSomething went wrong.“The screenis confusing.”UnderneathCustomerin a hurryAgentworks around itPayment tooldifferent deviceBack-office systemseparate record← broken handoffthe real problem
    Illustrative composite of a pattern I see often — not a specific project or product.

    Start here

    A few things I’ve helped make better.

    Different challenges, different people, and a lot of asking questions before deciding what to change.

    1. Observed task time · same task segment

      Without
      13:29
      With tool
      10:05

      About 25% lower observed task time.

      Start here · 1 of 3

      CareConnect

      What if AI could help someone do their job without taking away the parts that make them good at it? Customer Care agents needed a faster way to prepare responses—without losing the context and judgment their work required.

      Verified outcome25% lower average handling time · 13:29 → 10:05

      Role: Lead UX Designer & Researcher

      • AI-enabled support
      • Enterprise UX
      • Trust & compliance
      View Case Study: CareConnect

    2. Service journey · 5 agent interviews

      1. Guest searches
      2. No results
      3. Sends inquiry
      4. Agent searches again

      Start here · 2 of 3

      Receipt & Inquiry Portals

      Sometimes “no results found” just means someone else has to do the searching. When travelers couldn’t find a receipt, Customer Care inherited the problem—so I researched both sides of that journey.

      Research scope5 agent interviews · 16 documented UAT scenarios

      Role: UX designer and researcher

      • Enterprise systems
      • Workflow redesign
      • Guest & agent experiences
      View Case Study: Receipt & Inquiry Portals

    3. Handoff sequence · 5 agents, 3 customers observed

      1. Desktop
      2. Customer iPad
      3. Reader
      4. Confirmation

      Start here · 3 of 3

      Cargo Payment Portal

      It turns out, making a payment isn’t always as simple as making a payment. At a cargo station in Seattle, the most revealing problems happened between the steps.

      Research scope5 agents + 3 customers · desktop, iPad, and reader

      Role: UX designer and research lead

      • Payments
      • Research
      View Case Study: Cargo Payment Portal
    Explore all work Let’s Connect

    I’m curious about what happens between the steps.

    I like getting close to the actual work—watching what happens when someone is busy, when something goes wrong, or when the process doesn’t quite make sense. Sometimes the answer is a better interface. Sometimes it’s helping a team realize they’ve been solving the wrong problem.

    More about me

    • I ask a lot of questions.

      Especially the ones that begin with “Wait, why?” I want to understand the problem underneath the request before jumping into solutions.

    • I spend time with the people doing the work.

      A conversation at a busy counter can reveal things a requirements document never will. I listen, observe, and follow the work beyond the screen.

    • I care about the moments others might miss.

      The confusing error. The missing next step. The person using an older device. Small details can have an outsized effect on someone’s day.

    • I help teams figure out what to do next.

      Research matters most when it leads somewhere. I turn what we learn into clearer choices, practical priorities, and designs people can use.

    I work best with

    • Product and design leaders who need a senior designer to own complex workflows end to end
    • Ops leads and product owners building internal tools where clarity affects performance
    • Agencies seeking an embedded UX lead for enterprise or AI engagements

    I believe in showing the evidence—not just the finished screen.

    Different problems call for different kinds of research. Here’s what I studied, measured, and brought back to teams.

    Measured result · CareConnect

    ~25%

    lower observed task time

    Without CareConnect
    13:29
    With CareConnect
    10:05

    Observed post-rollout comparison of the same task segment—from opening the case to pasting a reviewed reply back—with human review intact. Not end-to-end case-resolution time.

    Read the CareConnect case study

    Research scope

    Who and what I studied—sample sizes, not performance results.

    • 5 + 3

      Agents and customers observed across desktop, iPad, and reader.

      Cargo Payment Portal

    • 5 · 16

      Agent interviews and documented UAT scenarios.

      Receipt & Inquiry

    • 6:54

      Mean failure-to-success time across 6 controlled-study participants.

      QR Pay-by-Link

    • 7

      Stakeholder interviews synthesized into a shared research baseline.

      Atlas 2.0

    Let’s talk

    Have something interesting you’re working on?

    I love a complicated problem, a thoughtful team, and a good conversation. If you’ve got something that could use a fresh perspective, I’d love to hear about it.

    elise.ivory14@gmail.com

    For agencies: I’m happy to share detailed work samples and process documentation privately under NDA. Just reach out.

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