Hadassah Damien

is a coach + strategist + experience designer + facilitator + technologist

What does that mean?

I guide processes so that people can make meaningful decisions around priorities, services, and products.

I design and conduct research, analyze and evaluate – and, combined with human needs, co-create information, often in the forms of: service blueprints, experience journeys, user stories, product roadmaps, taxonomies, matrixes, and of course insights and informed recommendations.

For me, I love that technology can help organize and support our lives. BUT I know it is NOT neutral. So I use design techniques that center people impacted by decisions.

Read my Medium case studies // Check out my CV // Say hello on Twitter

Live action remote work!

With technology, I:

  • design services and digital interfaces to be efficient and inclusive.
  • support secure systems and autonomous use of the internet, in particular digital security for vulnerable communities.
  • develop interfaces, software, and workflows that are accessibly optimized for humans and driven by need.
  • architect data schemas and open-source software systems for efficient, transparent use.
  • build digital catalogs and archives for cultural creators and institutions.
  • Organize and document the ever-loving crap out of everything I touch!
 

As a community organizer who also implements technology to help activists succeed, and a multimedia artist who also builds digital archives, my work intersects functionality with agility, practicality, and the democratic politics of open-source cultures. I have collaborated on digital collection sites for John Jay library, The Interference Archive, and more. I earned a Master’s Degree in American Studies from the CUNY Graduate Center.

HDamien_MG_8629I’m curious and adventurous in life and design.

In 1987 my grandmother taught me how to sew, and my mother taught me pattern-making and fabric-based crafts; I went on to costume design school and professional production in new and vintage fabrics as well as leather.

In 1994 I began working in print by making zines and went on to edit a university newspaper and Art Direct a magazine along with making posters and flyers for events, book interiors, press kits, CD covers…

In 2000 I began staging photo shoots and digitally editing the images for creative collages; now I’ve styled product and portrait shoots for fine art, editorial print, and web uses.

In 2004 I formed a performance troupe and we realized that the a web presence was the best way to promote ourselves, so I taught myself HTML to make our site; now I’ve built or maintained over a dozen beautiful sites.

In 2005 I decided to begin recording audio, and in 2008 video – and now I teach a DIY audio course and have had my short videos play all over the US, Canada and the EU.

I’m passionate about supporting social justice, free speech, individuals’ self- representations, and the hard work put in by small business owners and working artists to realize their dreams.

My education has been broad, both formal and self-driven, and is lifelong. I care about the work I do and the projects I take on, because they must reflect my vision of a DIY/C [that last “c” is for collectively!] world.

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I spent many years building the back end of websites; creating content and visual design for web and print; and consulting on digital strategy and marketing. I used to offer creative production services:

Cross-genre creative production is close to the fabric of my life, and I’m thrilled to work with others to share my skills. I used to offer communication design in web, print, styling and multimedia platforms, but now I focus on working teams to facilitate self-organizing and human-centered decisions. I take on consulting partnerships in these areas.

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