We are a Team of Experts
Trusted to solve some of the world’s most complex product problems, our team is made up of designers, researchers, strategists, and visionaries that don’t shy away from a challenge.

Our team doesn’t think outside the box. We break it and build a better one based on your business goals and technical constraints. UEGroup is a team of trained experts, from internationally recognized UX and HCI programs, bringing the highest level of quality and knowhow to your project. We come from backgrounds across cognitive science and psychology, data analytics, bioengineering, human factors, computer science, military logistics, entrepreneurship and more.
Strategy
Strategy
Tony Fernandes
Chief Instigator
University of Massachusetts BS Electrical Engineering
University of Massachusetts BS Computer Engineering
Regularly speaks on the topics of UX Strategy, Advanced Design, and Medical Devices

Founder of UEGroup and a usability expert with more than 25 years of UX strategy, research, and design experience. Prior to founding UEGroup, Tony founded Netscape's User Experience Group, the Apple/Claris Human Interface Group, and organizations at Lotus/IBM and Xerox PARC. He also launched various web and software ventures. Tony speaks regularly and is the author of the book “Global Interface Design.”

Speaks Portuguese fluently
Authored “Global Interface Design"
Likes to sail, watch his koi, and split wood
Tony Fernandes
Chief Instigator
Strategy
Strategy
Kathy Fernandes
Merry-Go-Round Operator
University of Massachusetts BS in Business Management

A project and operations manager who manages UEGroup’s relationship with its clients. Her background in Business Management allows her to keep a focus on what is most important to our client’s business. Kathy’s past experience includes positions in the financial services industry, where she developed Quality Improvement Systems.

Jams out on the ukulele
Has dual citizenship in the US and Ireland
Scuba certified
Kathy Fernandes
Merry-Go-Round Operator
Design
Design
Ashley Nicodemus
Opportunitysmith
San José State University BS Industrial Design
Regularly speaks on the topics of Healthcare and Mission Critical Design

A multidisciplinary designer with a passion for problem-solving in both industrial design as well as digital experience domains. Ashley’s Concept Tension ModelTM approach to problem-solving allows her to create inventive solutions that balance business goals and technical constraints with user needs, values, and behaviors. Her work has spanned product design, mixed ecosystem experience design, and company-wide UX strategy for brands such as Disney, Intel, and Stryker.

Enjoys trap shooting and painting in her free time
Guilty pleasure is Ska Music
Loves cheesy monster and 80’s action movies
Ashley Nicodemus
Opportunitysmith
Design
Design
Cygny Malvar
Digital Beautician
University of Lisbon Licentiate Degree Graphic Design and Communication

An innovative visual designer with over 15 years of experience in graphic design and digital experiences. Cygny has a passion for exploring new types of visual presentations and product concepts. Her talent, forged in her illustration and photography background, allows her to blend artistic beauty with product design, to achieve emotional reactions that attract and engage technology users. Her expertise includes information visualization.

Speaks Portuguese fluently
Loves CrossFit, drawing, and painting
Has climbed Kilimanjaro and Mont Blanc
Cygny Malvar
Digital Beautician
Marketing
Marketing
Danielle Panigall
Ignitor
San José State University BS Marketing

Danielle is an energetic team player with a love for all things marketing. Her dedication to educating and engaging customers about UEGroup and the many services we offer ensures meaningful and unique client experiences across industries. Danielle oversees all marketing-related efforts at UEGroup and enjoys creating opportunities for UX partnerships between the UEGroup brand and organizations.

Could eat chicken chow mein for every meal
Night owl
Loves to watch anything set in a different time period
Danielle Panigall
Ignitor
Design
Design
Sarah Field
Solutions Architect
Purdue University BS UX Design Minor Psychology

Sarah is a Senior UX Designer and strategist by nature, blending her passion for psychology and innovation to turn project visions into reality. Never shying away from a challenge, Sarah specializes in complex product design for organizations across enterprise, aerospace, and security. On any given day, you can find her juggling project management, vision setting, framework definition, and user engagement to keep projects moving forward seamlessly. Through her designs, Sarah excels at balancing tensions that exist within a system for a solution to be successful for both the user and business needs.

Loves breadmaking
Recommends My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
Played piano for 13+ years
Sarah Field
Solutions Architect
Design
Design
Julia Ryan
Creative Chameleon
San José State University MS Human Factors and Ergonomics
University of California Santa Cruz BS Bioengineering: Assistive Technology

Julia is a UX Designer with a background in bioengineering and human factors. Her passion for creativity and interaction design expertise is complimented by her knowledge of cognitive and perceptual psychology and experience interviewing users. Julia strives to find effective and elegant ways to solve even the most complex problems for clients utilizing her skills across design, research, engineering, and visual art to make it happen.

Loves painting, collages, and embroidery
Was the co-editor-in-chief of the campus satire newspaper in college
Stand-up comedian on the side
Julia Ryan
Creative Chameleon
Project Management
Project Management
Ken Shannon
Project Empath
Drexel University MS Information Science
University of Massachusetts BS Interactive Video Communication
Harvard University Extension CSS Administration and Management

Ken is a Senior Project Manager and System Designer/Developer with experience in the military, government contracting, insurance, and entrepreneurial sectors. Ken brings years of hard-won knowledge in pursuit of that elusive balance between cost, schedule, and performance. Having been a manager, developer, and user of various IT systems, he is sympathetic and responsive to customer needs and wishes, emphasizing clear communication.

Worked at first interactive cable TV system (QUBE)
Enjoys traveling, comedy, boating, and all kinds of music
Is in the movie Robocop
Ken Shannon
Project Empath
Design
Design
Ariana van Scherrenburg
Strategic Sorceress
San José State University MS Human Factors & Ergonomics
San José State University BA Design Studies

Ariana is a UX Designer with a background in human factors and visual design. As an avid communicator, Ariana strives to create intuitive design concepts by bridging gaps across visual, verbal, and written communication. Through her work, Ariana crafts impeccable experiences that raise the ordinary to the extraordinary. Her recent design work has focused on creating intuitive and effective improvements for mission-critical products across aerospace, defense, and medicine.

Keeps betta fish and freshwater shrimp as pets
Writes articles on Medium and creates digital and traditional art in her free time
Can order food in Mandarin Chinese, German, and French
Ariana van Scherrenburg
Strategic Sorceress
Design
Design
Celeste Alcon
Intuitive Olympian
Arizona State University BS Graphic Information Technology
University of Denver UI/UX Design

Celeste is a UX Designer with a military background in healthcare logistics and operations intelligence. Her analytical skills allow her to embrace challenges using critical thinking to effectively dissect and create functional designs. Her work is guided by the belief that design is a problem-solving tool to cultivate impactful experiences that drive a human-centered focus. Her recent work has been focused on the aerospace and defense industry.

Learning Spanish
Earned the Airforce Medical Service NCO of the Year Award in 2021
True crime junkie
Celeste Alcon
Intuitive Olympian
Research
Research
Alice Phipps
Psyche Investigator
University of Colorado Boulder BA Psychology
University of Southern California MS Applied Psychology

Alice is a UX Researcher with a background in clinical psychology and behavioral health. Her skills developing trust and comfort with patients has transcended into her work with user research participants through the multitude studies she leads. Alice helps organizations make data-backed decisions across products and emerging technologies with recent work supporting aerospace, AI/ML, and data collection.

Has triple citizenship in the US, Brazil, and England
Received the Tenophyr Research Grant in graduate school for her thesis on UX with wellness apps
Mom to Milo the dog
Alice Phipps
Psyche Investigator
Design
Design
Rudy Pizarro
Perceptive Pioneer
Academy of Art University Interaction & UX Design

Rudy is a UX Designer with a military background in logistics and security. He is passionate about human behavior and believes the design process always has something to teach. He values and respects different perspectives, backgrounds and approaches succinctly, making him an intuitive team player. Coupled with his front-end development experience, Rudy is able to design from the scope of a developer and hand off frictionless design.

First time snowboarding was on top of the French Alps
Musical guilty pleasure is Dua Lipa
Dad to 3 cats: Dinah the Queen, Tito the King, and Noah the Prince
Rudy Pizarro
Perceptive Pioneer
Design
Design
Caitlin Powell
Meticulous Mastermind
Texas State University BFA Communication Design

Caitlin is a UX Designer with a diverse interdisciplinary design background. After being introduced to the realm of UX/UI design, she found a way to combine her creativity and desire to make everyday interactions more meaningful. Her open-minded approach to the task at hand allows her to emphasize the importance of user-centered design across a wide range of industries and platforms. She strives to continually leverage her skills from conception to implementation.

Received The State of Black Design and Motion Graphics Award at the 2022 Texas State University Communication Design Exit Review
Recommends The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Probably watching or playing basketball, softball, soccer, or lacrosse
Caitlin Powell
Meticulous Mastermind
Research
Research
Christina Andrade
Insights Charmer
San José State University BA Psychology

Christina is a user experience expert with a background in human factors and psychology. She is drawn to UX research by its potential to improve lives through human-centered design decisions. Drawing upon her experiences in administration and hospitality, Christina approaches her UX craft with a keen attention to detail and empathy. She strives to provide excellent experiences for UEGroup’s clients and their end-users alike. Christina’s UX work includes both private and public industry projects in hardware, software, and service.

Loves listening to Matt Maeson
Lived in Germany for a year
Recommends The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Christina Andrade
Insights Charmer
Strategy
Strategy
Tucker
Life Coach
Whatsthematterwith U BS Back Scratching

Tucker is a consummate professional in the canine arts with an advanced degree is Back Scratching from Whatsamattawith U. His keen observational senses allow him to participate in critical design and research meetings while in a deep meditative state. Career highs include the discovery of a 6-month-old chew toy behind the conference room table and the extraction of a squeaker from an indestructible toy. He prefers to telecommute on days when visiting guests would prefer to not have a dog present in the office.

Hangs out with Ashley the Human
Is obsessed with Gullet Sticks
Loves to listen to smooth jazz
Watches nature documentaries in his free time
Shakes hands like a professional
Is afraid of snails!
Tucker
Life Coach
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