Raz Burciu
Designer
Location
Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, Romania
Toptal Member Since
March 30, 2016
The digital world is crowded. Raz helps the makers of tomorrow win big in the experience economy by combining elements of design thinking, innovation, and UX strategy. With nine years of experience as a digital product designer, certified UX specialist, and design sprint facilitator, he helps businesses and startups innovate faster, take a user-centered approach to work, and achieve sustainable growth. Raz believes design is a strategic instrument that bridges user needs and business goals.
Raz is available for hire
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Bass Mobile App
User Interface (UI)App DesigniOS App DesignUser Experience (UX)Interaction Design (IxD)Usability+ 25 more
Work Experience
2018 - 2018
Lead Web Designer
Freeletics
- Redesigned the responsive web presence of Freeletics, a huge player in the field of digital fitness and wellness.
- Facilitated a product design sprint to quickly ideate solutions and created prototypes.
- Conducted user testing sessions to analyze and validate the team's efforts.
- Assisted in creating a design system to improve the scalability of their web components.
- Pushed the creative boundaries of their brand to better serve their purpose and reinforce their position in the market.
Technologies: Zeplin, Principle, Marvel, InVision, Sketch, Figma, Remote User Testing, Prototyping, App UX, UX Design, Product Design, Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, UI Design, Responsive Web Apps, Interactive Prototypes, UX Workshops, Web App Design, Web App UX, Mobile App UI, Web App UI, Visual Design, User Flows, A/B Testing, Discovery, Product Discovery, Agile, UX Research, Market Research, UX Wireframes, Workshops, Style Guides, User Interviews, Design Leadership, Design Thinking, Google Design Sprints, Gamification, High-fidelity Mockups, Design Systems, Web UI, Mobile UI, Checkout, Brand Design, Data Visualization
2018 - 2018
Senior Product Designer
ClassDojo
- Enhanced the experience and design of a digital product used by 90% of K-8 schools in the US.
- Delivered various great experiences—from product strategies to interface improvements and animations—to teachers, parents, and students across the web and mobile platforms.
- Actively participated in teacher interviews and analyzed how the product was used in class to understand usability issues and fix them accordingly.
- Used rapid prototyping to iterate through ideas and validate them quickly to increase our users' activation and retention.
- Designed a complete end-to-end onboarding experience for new users in order to provide immediate value and assist in creating habits and mental models.
Technologies: InVision, Mobile App Design, User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), Graphic Design, Principle, Sketch, Figma, Prototyping, UX Design, Product Design, Mobile UX Design, Web Platforms, Mobile UI Design, UI Design, Responsive Web Apps, Interactive Prototypes, UX Workshops, Remote User Testing, Mobile App UI, Dashboards, Web App UI, Visual Design, User Flows, A/B Testing, Discovery, Product Discovery, UX Research, Market Research, UX Wireframes, Workshops, Style Guides, User Interviews, Design Thinking, Google Design Sprints, Gamification, High-fidelity Mockups, Web UI, Mobile UI, Dashboard Design, User Roles, Checkout, Brand Design, Mobile, Data Visualization
2017 - 2018
Branding/UX/UI/Interaction Designer for Social Gaming iOS App
Call It (via Toptal)
- Conducted advanced competition research to understand the market and product scope and led product discovery workshops to identify the problem and create the best suitable solution.
- Created a launch strategy and gamified a unique experience to enhance users' usability and retention.
- Developed wireframes, interfaces, user stories, and style guides for a full end-to-end social gaming app for iOS.
- Worked closely with developers to ensure proper handover and implementation.
- Documented the entire process and worked alongside the founders making sure the product could be scaled to fit different markets.
Technologies: Sketch, InVision, UX Design, Product Design, Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, UI Design, Responsive Web Apps, Interactive Prototypes, UX Workshops, Remote User Testing, Mobile App UI, Visual Design, User Flows, Discovery, Product Discovery, UX Research, UX Wireframes, Workshops, Style Guides, Design Thinking, Gamification, High-fidelity Mockups, Design Systems, Web UI, Mobile UI, User Roles, Brand Design, Mobile
2016 - 2018
Head of Design
Big Interview
- Worked on the user experience, strategy, product design, and visual design for one of the largest interview training platforms in the world.
- Planned and led the design sprints, usability testing sessions, and user interviews.
- Led the UX design process and ran projects that created radical changes in the business's strategy, adding to its success.
- Completely redesigned the business's site—including branding and improved conversion rate.
- Created, planned, delivered, and tested user onboarding strategies and iterated on them consistently.
Technologies: User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), Mobile App Design, Graphic Design, Principle, Sketch, Adobe Photoshop, Figma, Prototyping, Workshop Facilitation, UX Design, Product Design, Mobile UX Design, Web Platforms, Mobile UI Design, UI Design, Responsive Web Apps, Interactive Prototypes, UX Workshops, Remote User Testing, Web App Design, Web App UX, Mobile App UI, Dashboards, Web App UI, Visual Design, User Flows, A/B Testing, Discovery, Product Discovery, Agile, UX Research, Market Research, UX Wireframes, Workshops, Style Guides, User Interviews, Design Leadership, Design Thinking, Google Design Sprints, Gamification, High-fidelity Mockups, Design Systems, Web UI, Mobile UI, Dashboard Design, User Roles, Checkout, Brand Design, Mobile, Data Visualization
2015 - 2017
Senior Product Designer
Hyper
- Conducted advanced user research and user testing, along with specific usability tests and A/B testing.
- Developed story arches, user journeys, and high-fidelity wireframes for mobile apps on paper and digitally.
- Created brand assets, brand guides, and assured consistency across several brands and their activity, online, and offline.
- Designed several user interfaces for a wide variety of startups as well as creating from start-to-finish prototypes—accentuating the micro-interactions and usability.
- Created custom graphics like icons, patterns, and other graphic elements, as well as printable materials.
- Researched markets and created project specific pitch-decks for a wide variety of startups.
Technologies: Mobile App Design, User Interface (UI), User Experience (UX), Graphic Design, Principle, Sketch, Adobe Photoshop, Interactive Prototypes, UX Workshops, Remote User Testing, Product Design, Prototyping, UX Prototyping, Responsive Web Apps, Mobile UX, Mobile UX Design, User Journey Maps, Web App Design, Web App UX, Mobile App UI, Dashboards, Web App UI, Visual Design, User Flows, A/B Testing, Discovery, Product Discovery, Agile, UX Research, Market Research, UX Wireframes, Workshops, Style Guides, User Interviews, Design Thinking, Google Design Sprints, Gamification, High-fidelity Mockups, Design Systems, Web UI, Mobile UI, Dashboard Design, User Roles, Checkout, Brand Design, Mobile, Data Visualization
2015 - 2017
Co-founder | Head of Design and UX
Formma (acquired)
- Took on the task of building the business from the ground up as a co-founder and head of design and UX.
- Managed a team of several designers and front-end developers in their daily responsibilities; coached them and provided daily feedback to improve work flow and performance.
- Led and was responsible for the art direction of all the company's projects and managed them from start to finish.
- Led and was in charge of meeting and keeping in touch with clients; also doubled as a project manager.
- Built the company's product—from the initial user research to creating business plans and conducting investor pitching.
- Built and assured the company's brand consistency.
- Created various graphics and materials for clients and organizations all over the world.
Technologies: Pixate, InVision, Principle, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, Interactive Prototypes, UX Workshops, Remote User Testing, Figma, Web App Design, Web App UX, Mobile App UI, Dashboards, Web App UI, Visual Design, User Flows, A/B Testing, Discovery, Product Discovery, UX Research, UX Wireframes, Workshops, Style Guides, User Interviews, Design Leadership, Design Thinking, Google Design Sprints, High-fidelity Mockups, Design Systems, Web UI, Mobile UI, Dashboard Design, User Roles, Checkout, Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS), Brand Design, Mobile, Data Visualization
2015 - 2016
Front-end Developer
hipMenu (acquired by foodpanda)
- Built the entire bare-bones of one of the biggest food delivery platforms in Romania.
- Created the interactive online brand guide for the platform.
- Performed usability tests to ensure the best experience for users.
- Wrote top-notch and sustainable HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code.
Technologies: PHP, jQuery, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, Interactive Prototypes, Remote User Testing, User Flows, Design Thinking, High-fidelity Mockups, Design Systems, Web UI, Mobile UI, Dashboard Design, User Roles, Brand Design, Data Visualization
2014 - 2015
UX Designer | Front-end Developer
Mind Magnet Software
- Designed and built usable, beautiful, and responsive eCommerce websites.
- Created several other materials and elements such as logos, print design, and graphics for a wide variety of businesses.
- Wrote efficient and high-quality scripts, web pages, custom Magento and WordPress themes, and other web-related work.
- Designed the entire identity—the online and offline presence of the MeetMagento Conference (two years in a row).
Technologies: Magento, eCommerce, Graphic Design, Web Design, Adobe Creative Suite, Zend Framework, WordPress, AngularJS, Node.js, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, Interactive Prototypes, UX Workshops, Remote User Testing, Web App Design, Web App UX, Mobile App UI, Dashboards, Web App UI, Visual Design, User Flows, A/B Testing, Discovery, Product Discovery, Market Research, UX Wireframes, Workshops, Style Guides, Design Thinking, High-fidelity Mockups, Design Systems, Web UI, Mobile UI, Dashboard Design, User Roles, Brand Design, Data Visualization
Education
2014 - 2017
Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science
Babeș-Bolyai University - Cluj Napoca, Romania
Certifications
OCTOBER 2018 - PRESENT
Design Sprint Facilitator
AJ&Smart
MARCH 2018 - PRESENT
NN/g UX Certification
Nielsen Norman Group
