| Illinois Institute of Technology | NASA Man-Systems | Tour | Syd Mead Inc. | Human Code | MoC | BroadJump | Cisco | Local Vertical Design | StoredIQ / IBM |
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Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, Illinois 1980 — 1985
Student
Air-cushion egg carton
Junior product design, blow-molded egg carton with inner membrane for egg suspension. Full size model, vacuum formed styrene.
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Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, Illinois 1980 — 1985
Student
Ergonomic power saw
Junior year product design, power tool redesign project. Saw's depth of cut is adjusted by cam action as the motor housing is rotated, resulting in a constant hand position and better usability. Full size model, plexiglas and metal.
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Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, Illinois 1980 — 1985
Student
The Looking Glass System
Senior thesis, The Looking Glass System--a portable video studio for children. Shown here in the stowed mode, being pulled by a child. Scale model, plexiglas and styrene.
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Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, Illinois 1980 — 1985
Student
The Looking Glass System
Shown here fully deployed. On the left is the light-camera-editing module, on the right is the rear-projection video module. Children interact with video characters on the projection screen as TV weather-people do, and the results are taped and edited by the young film makers. Scale model, plexiglas and styrene.
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NASA Man-Systems
Houston, Texas 1987 — 1991
Industrial Designer/Habitability Engineer
Wardroom, version 1
First-generation design of the Space Station Freedom wardroom. Functioning as a living/dining area, the wardroom had to accommodate 8 international crewmembers in a micro-gravity environment. This concept was meant to stow in a small volume. Full size model in the Johnson Space Center mock-up facility.
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NASA Man-Systems
Houston, Texas 1987 — 1991
Industrial Designer/Habitability Engineer
Wardroom, version 2
Second-generation design of the Space Station Freedom wardroom. Windows were mounted below the centerline for better viewing of the Earth; table and restraints folded and stored in a smaller volume. Full size model in the Johnson Space Center mock-up facility.
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NASA Man-Systems
Houston, Texas 1987 — 1991
Industrial Designer/Habitability Engineer
Wardroom KC-135 testing
KC-135 (micro-gravity test plane) demonstration of the second-generation wardroom concept, evaluating access to the windows in a micro-gravity environment (Nick is the test subject at the lower right of the photo). Full size test equipment.
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NASA Man-Systems
Houston, Texas 1987 — 1991
Industrial Designer/Habitability Engineer
Wardroom lower-body restraint KC-135 testing
KC-135 (micro-gravity test plane) demonstration of a lower body restraint "chair" designed for micro-gravity. This eventually flew on a space shuttle flight for long-term evaluation. Full size test equipment.
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NASA Man-Systems
Houston, Texas 1987 — 1991
Industrial Designer/Habitability Engineer
Crew quarters concept, close-up
Second-generation design of the Space Station Freedom crew quarters. About the volume of a phone booth, each crew quarter provided stowage, sleeping, and private space for one crewmember. 3D computer model.
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NASA Man-Systems
Houston, Texas 1987 — 1991
Industrial Designer/Habitability Engineer
Crew quarters concept, overall
The overall configuration of the crew quarters. Eight crewmembers were accommodated by placing quarters in the ceiling as well as the floor, which is not a problem in micro-gravity. 3D computer model.
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Tour
Everywhere 1991 — 1992
Traveler
Here and there
Took a year off to journey around the globe. Stops included Australia, Indonesia, China, India, eastern and western Europe.
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Syd Mead Inc.
Hollywood, California 1992 — 1995
Concept Designer
Kronolog 2: ARRX, An Interactive Syd Mead Gallery, browsing mode
Interface for Kronolog 2: AARX, an interactive Syd Mead art gallery. Worked with renowned visual futurist, Syd Mead (key designer for Blade Runner, Tron, and many other movies--click here for more information) on a CD-ROM based application. The user navigates a 3D space as they browse the artwork. Lower interface by Syd Mead.
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Syd Mead Inc.
Hollywood, California 1992 — 1995
Concept Designer
Kronolog 2: ARRX, An Interactive Syd Mead Gallery, details mode
When the user clicks on a piece of artwork in either the 3D environment or the preview window, the viewing mode opens with text and audio narration by the artist. Lower interface by Syd Mead.
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Syd Mead Inc.
Hollywood, California 1992 — 1995
Concept Designer
Asgaard's Edge, an original Syd Mead game concept, poster art
The one-sheet poster by Syd Mead for the original game concept, Asgaard's Edge. The game takes place on a distant world being terraformed by a giant ship run by an embedded human intelligence who uses mekants (modular robots) to accomplish tasks.
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Syd Mead Inc.
Hollywood, California 1992 — 1995
Concept Designer
Asgaard's Edge, main screen prototype
The main game prototype interface for Asgaard's Edge. The player controls multiple robot agents (mekants) in a realtime 3D environment, communicating with them via a rebus-type command interface seen at the lower-right of the screen. Animated edges of the interface obscure the rectangle of the computer monitor.
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Syd Mead Inc.
Hollywood, California 1992 — 1995
Concept Designer
Asgaard's Edge, analysis screen prototype
This screen shows the environmental analysis interface. Here is where the player would analyze high-resolution snapshots of the 3D environment with filters and tools to gain clues and discover hidden resources.
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Human Code
Austin, Texas 1995 — 1998
Multimedia Producer/Designer
Schoolhouse Rock: Exploration Station, main screen
The main navigation/home screen for Schoolhouse Rock: Exploration Station. This released title used licensed Schoolhouse Rock characters, in this case, Interplanet Janet, to teach children science and logic concepts.
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Human Code
Austin, Texas 1995 — 1998
Multimedia Producer/Designer
Schoolhouse Rock: Exploration Station, alien genetics screen
Interface for the Gene Lab Game in Schoolhouse Rock: Exploration Station. Similar to Mastermind, the object of the game was to deduce the gene sequence of the alien shown in the upper right screen. Artwork by Scott White.
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Human Code
Austin, Texas 1995 — 1998
Multimedia Producer/Designer
Schoolhouse Rock: Exploration Station, Haywire House screen
Interface for the Haywire House game in Schoolhouse Rock: Exploration Station. The goal of this game was to figure out how a burglar had re-wired the house and light the room he was hiding in. Artwork by Scott White.
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Human Code
Austin, Texas 1995 — 1998
Multimedia Producer/Designer
National Geographic's GeoQuest prototype, object screen
Main interface for GeoQuest, a prototype done for National Geographic Interactive. Using this interface, the player directed his/her explorer in the 3D world and assisted him when he found an interesting artifact. Artwork by Maria Vidal.
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Human Code
Austin, Texas 1995 — 1998
Multimedia Producer/Designer
National Geographic's GeoQuest prototype, map screen
Map interface for GeoQuest. Using this interface, the player would plot directions gained from game characters based on a known object or location, revealing a new or hidden location. Artwork by Maria Vidal.
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Human Code
Austin, Texas 1995 — 1998
Multimedia Producer/Designer
American Folk Heroes prototype, Songmaker screen
By listening to stories about American folk heroes, the player can collect objects (some silly) which appear in a scolling list at the right side of the interface. These objects can be dragged into slots in the song lyrics, after which the young country singer (game host) will sing the new lyrics. Artwork by Scott White and Cory Coleman.
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Murder of Crows
Austin, Texas 1998 — 2000
Designer/writer/3D artist
Shadowpact, main interaction prototype
Interactive mockup of Shadowpact, an original game title based on secret societies in a future cyberspace world. The game allowed the player to acquire items of power and take over the world a building at a time using agents and shifting alliances. This mockup was fully functional and demonstrated the feasibility of the game interactions. Using a tab/card metaphor, when game objects were adjacent in the 3D environment (right side), the boundary between tabs/cards became "active", allowing the player to transfer items or perform negotiations.
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Murder of Crows
Austin, Texas 1998 — 2000
Designer/writer/3D artist
Shadowpact, alpha main screen
Alpha mock-up of the Shadowpact interface showing the slot arrangement along the active edge boundary. The right-hand globe is rendered in realtime 3D.
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Murder of Crows
Austin, Texas 1998 — 2000
Designer/writer/3D artist
Shadowpact, final main screen
Global mode of the final Shadowpact interface. As cities are taken over, the globe view reflects overall status via the colored "petals" of each city. 2D artwork by Jeff Toney and Jason Findley.
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Murder of Crows
Austin, Texas 1998 — 2000
Designer/writer/3D artist
Shadowpact, final main screen with open building tab
The Buildings card open on the final Shadowpact interface. The 3D city view is shown on the right side of the screen, with various cyberspace representations of building resources displayed. 2D artwork by Jeff Toney and Jason Findley.
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Murder of Crows
Austin, Texas 1998 — 2000
Designer/writer/3D artist
Shadowpact, final main screen with open building and agent tabs
Both the Agents and Buildings cards open on the final Shadowpact interface. The border between cards is "active", indicating that resources/items can be transferred between cards. 2D artwork by Jeff Toney and Jason Findley.
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BroadJump Inc.
Austin, Texas 2000 — 2003
User Experience Manager
Pivot broadband manager, module screens
A selection of screens from the Pivot broadband management tool. The modular right-hand toolbar could stay minimized on a user's desktop and indicate the status of their broadband connection. The interface could be expanded for more detail or to begin troubleshooting procedures.
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BroadJump Inc.
Austin, Texas 2000 — 2003
User Experience Manager
CorrectConnect broadband manager, module screens
Examples of the various skins that could be dynamically applied to the CorrectConnect broadband manager.
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BroadJump Inc.
Austin, Texas 2000 — 2003
User Experience Manager
CorrectConnect broadband manager, RoadRunner storyboard
A typical storyboard for the Road Runner version of the CorrectConnect tool (Medic). These storyboards were used to communicate design intent to developers as well as customers, Marketing, and Product Management.
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BroadJump Inc.
Austin, Texas 2000 — 2003
User Experience Manager
SBC network management tool, usability testing prototype
Fully interactive Flash prototype of a next-generation network management tool done for SBC. The desktop is part of the Flash application so complete interactions could be simulated. This prototype was used for extensive usability testing in the Austin SBC user lab and greatly improved the final design. You may view the prototype in the Examples section, above.
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BroadJump Inc.
Austin, Texas 2000 — 2003
User Experience Manager
SmartConnect broadband manager, actual screen
The SmartConnect main interface showing the upper connection toolbar and lower troubleshooting window. An improvement on the CorrectConnect tool, this application allowed home users to quickly and intuitively assess their broadband connection and troubleshoot problems with a step-through wizard.
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BroadJump Inc.
Austin, Texas 2000 — 2003
User Experience Manager
VirtualTruck Agent broadband manager, mockup
A mockup of a next-generation service offering application. Free and subscription based services could be dynamically added to the right-hand toolbar. When the toolbar item is clicked, the service opens in the left-hand window.
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BroadJump Inc.
Austin, Texas 2000 — 2003
User Experience Manager
PeopleNet social network app, mockup
An initial mock-up of a broadband consumer groupware concept. A combination shared calendar, file library, blog, and chat application, it would allow small groups (10-15 people) to easily and securely communicate and share files over a broadband connection.
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Cisco Systems
Austin, Texas 2003 — 2005
Senior Usability Engineer
ProWatch customer portal, dashboard mockup
Initial interactive prototype for the ProWatch portal redesign. The hierarchical tree, tabs, and most controls are fully interactive. This prototype was used during preliminary usability testing to determine design feasibility and look-and-feel. DHTML and Javascript used throughout.
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Cisco Systems
Austin, Texas 2003 — 2005
Senior Usability Engineer
ProWatch customer portal, tree mockup
ProWatch is a Cisco web portal that allows customers to view their network status, open trouble/service tickets, and run reports on network performance. Executed in HTML and Javascript, this mock-up served to block out the basic functional areas and navigation.
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Cisco Systems
Austin, Texas 2003 — 2005
Senior Usability Engineer
ProWatch customer portal, final dashboard screen
Final deployed ProWatch portal interface, showing the Dashboard tab. On this screen users can quickly identify issues and trends and link to more details. A patent was granted for the portal tree navigation. Click here for more information
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Cisco Systems
Austin, Texas 2003 — 2005
Senior Usability Engineer
ProWatch customer portal, final details screen
Deployed ProWatch portal interface, showing the Network Details tab. On this screen users can view open trouble tickets, alarms, work tickets, and network inventory. A patent was granted for the portal tree navigation. Click here for more information
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Cisco Systems
Austin, Texas 2003 — 2005
Senior Usability Engineer
ProWatch customer portal, management screen mockup
A typical storyboard for new ProWatch functionality. Using simple graphics with text callouts, these storyboards were useful tools to communicate design intent to developers and product managers.
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Local Vertical Design
Austin, Texas 2005 — 2011
Usability and Design Consultant
Client: Cisco Systems
Returned briefly to Cisco under contract in order to design and prototype the third-generation ProWatch portal. This screen shows the redesigned Home page.
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Local Vertical Design
Austin, Texas 2005 — Present
Usability and Design Consultant
Client: AMD
Worked with AMD to develop their MyAMD application, a plug-in based browser that integrated partner applications. This screen shows the prototyped main screen and overall navigation.
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Local Vertical Design
Austin, Texas 2005 — Present
Usability and Design Consultant
Client: Zilliant Pricing Solutions
Worked on a nine-month contract to assist in the development of the next-generation Zilliant pricing tool. Shown here is a storyboard for the Admin interface configuration tool, developed in Java.
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Local Vertical Design
Austin, Texas 2005 — Present
Usability and Design Consultant
Client: Zilliant Pricing Solutions
In addition to the main pricing application, work was completed on the new business intelligence reports, implemented in MicroStrategy. The navigation was implemented in code and all CSS was written/modified for the reports. Templates were also created for use by business owners.
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Local Vertical Design
Austin, Texas 2005 — Present
Usability and Design Consultant
Client: SolarBridge
Working on a very tight timeline, created a multi-page storyboard for a local solar panel innovator. This screen shows the novice-level user's dashboard for the web-based panel management application.
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Local Vertical Design
Austin, Texas 2005 — Present
Usability and Design Consultant
Client: SolarBridge
This screen illustrates the tech-level user's details. The region tree at the left allows the user to constrain the right-hand list of sites. The status bars indicate site efficiency as well as failed panels.
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Local Vertical Design
Austin, Texas 2005 — Present
Usability and Design Consultant
Client: SolarBridge
The Map view of site data, showing sites spatially as well as in a list view. The list and map interact to constrain the visible sites.
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Local Vertical Design
Austin, Texas 2005 — Present
Usability and Design Consultant
Client: SolarBridge
This screen shows the panel view for an individual site. Here, a tech user can check panel status and perform remote testing.
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StoredIQ / IBM
Austin, Texas 2011 — Present
Senior User Experience Designer
IBM StoredIQ Data Manager Administrator UI, Harvest tab selected
Deployed application interface showing the Administrator UI used to perform data source harvests. Once sources are harvested, system infosets can be created for application users. The infoset, a patented SIQ IBM indexing technology, is then be used throughout the data management system to identify, refine, and manipulate blocks of files.
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StoredIQ / IBM
Austin, Texas 2011 — Present
Senior User Experience Designer
IBM StoredIQ Data Manager Administrator UI, Reports tab selected
Able to harvest multiple terabytes in a timely manner, the system leaves all files "in the wild" (managed in place) until the user decides their desposition. Extensive reports are available to analyze the harvest index. An application switcher (shown) is used to move among the different UIs of the management suite.
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StoredIQ / IBM
Austin, Texas 2011 — Present
Senior User Experience Designer
IBM StoredIQ Data Manager Data Workbench UI showing the Infoset Ancestry
Infosets are used throughout the data management environment to mentally model how the user thinks of their data. Infosets can be progressively refined via many methods--boolean operations, step-up/step-down actions for containers, deduplication, etc. The infoset ancestry shows the history of each infoset and each step can be "rewound" to branch to new refinements.
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StoredIQ / IBM
Austin, Texas 2011 — Present
Senior User Experience Designer
IBM StoredIQ Data Manager Data Workbench UI showing the Infoset Data Objects
Infosets would not be much use unless the user could sample the file contents of the index. In the Data Objects tab, they can view select file metatdata and click a link to see a rendered snippet of the file contents.
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StoredIQ / IBM
Austin, Texas 2011 — Present
Senior User Experience Designer
IBM StoredIQ Data Manager Data Workbench UI showing the Datamap analytics
The Data Workbench also provides robust visual analytics for the infosets. Utilizing a treemap metaphor, the user can quickly view the proportion of data types in their infoset as well as add "heat map" overlays--essentially filters--to reveal hidden information within the infoset data.
Welcome to my portfolio.
My name is Nick Pausback and I'm a usability specialist and designer based in beautiful Austin, Texas. I have twenty-eight years of experience, ranging from classic industrial design projects while at NASA to conceptual design work for Hollywood movies to my current job at IBM, working on enterprise data solutions.
Click the Next button below to view a slideshow of past projects.
Click any of the companies on the slideshow timeline to jump to that part of my career.
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Various companies
Austin, Texas 2000 — Present
Work Examples
In the section to the left you will various examples of documents, prototypes, and storyboards I've created in the past ten years. Click on a link to view an example.