Cindy Chastain

As a filmmaker and technology consultant, I’ve been exploring ways to engage an audience through storytelling, teaching, writing and design for over twelve years. If one looked for a theme in this multi-disciplinary career, I would say that much of it has been about the enrichment of experience.

Whether a screenplay, a presentation, a website design or the four o’clock cup of tea, I have found myself tirelessly struggling with the question: “What could make this a richer, more meaningful, more engaging experience?” And in all those things I feel equally drawn to the poetry, the science, and the practical business of how to make things happen. For this reason, I am also extremely passionate about process, about how the way we go about doing things makes the things we do much better. And, perhaps most important, I place a high premium on collaboration because without that and a little bit of inspiration we would get nowhere.

With a background in screenwriting, producing and cinematography, I bring a unique perspective to User Experience Design. I received my MFA in screenwriting from Columbia University in New York and a BS in Radio, TV, Film from Northwestern University. I also have a history of roles and experiences related to filmmaking that will never make it onto this profile. Some of those were successful, some were failures, and some were mostly just amusing, but most of it has formed my deep knowledge of storytelling.

Currently I'm working as the Director of User Experience, leading the UX process and design for Interactive Partners, a New York-based interactive agency specializing in entertainment and media websites. I am also in the process of researching a book that explores how storytelling techniques can be used as a framework for design. And yes, I'm also working on two screenplays between all that and, the best of all pursuits, motherhood.