Hello. I'm Kelly Franznick. I'm known as the co-founder of Blink, a UX research and design firm. As Blink’s chief innovation officer, I focus on unearthing the user experiences that emerging technology may hold through prototyping and design thinking. I also help to push Blink’s tools, services, and methods forward. I’m passionate about making people's daily interactions with technology intuitive, frictionless, and rewarding.

While growing Blink from just two people to 160-plus employees, I've been fortunate to work with many amazing clients, from tech-sector heavy hitters, such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft, to startups and nonprofits. I feel lucky to have contributed to some of the largest and most successful product launches in history.

Forbes Magazine named Blink one of 2016’s “Best Small Companies,” and the Puget Sound Business Journal recognized it as one of Washington’s “Fastest-Growing Private Companies” in 2015 and 2012. Blink also won the Seattle Business Tech Impact Silver Award in 2015 and was recognized on Inc. Magazine’s list of the top 5,000 fastest-growing companies in America four years in a row (2012-2015).

I am eager to share my passion for design and technology with others — both through speaking around the world and as an instructor and adviser for programs at Lake Washington Institute of Technology and the University of Washington. In recognition of my work, I have been selected as an IxDA finalist and received several IDSA IDEA awards for design excellence. In 2011, Geek Wire Magazine featured me as “Geek of the Week.”

Though it may be rare among college graduates, I'm doing what I went to school for: I hold a degree in industrial design, summa cum laude, from Arizona State University and a Master of Design from the Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute of Design in Chicago. Prior to founding Blink, I led user-centered design teams at E-Lab, Personal Health Connections, and Bowne.

Speaking Highlights:

  • IDSA Midwest District Design Conference, April 1998: "Anthronomics"
  • Seybold San Francisco, August 2000: "Usability vs. Design"
  • MIT Enterprise Forum Northwest, September 2011: "The Next Mobile Revolution: Near Field Communication (NFC)"
  • Convey UX 2014: "Visualizing the Bigger Picture"
  • Emerson's Technology, Innovation, & Growth Conference, June 2014: "Making Technology Human"
  • University of Washington HCDE Speaker Series, January, 2015: "Designer, Founder"
  • University of Washington HCDE 2015 Commencement Address, June 2015: "The Future Will Not Be What You Expect"
  • SEGD Annual Conference, June 2016: Innovating for People
  • Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, March 2018: "Hexels: The Making of an Amazing LED Light Display"
  • ConveyUX 2018: "I'll Never Use Morae Again"
  • Radical Research Summit, September 2018: "Rapid Design and Evaluating AI & Voice Experiences Through Advanced Wizard of Oz Prototyping"
  • University of Washington Research Mixer, September 2018: "Conducting Research With High Fidelity Wizard of Oz Prototypes"
  • Seattle Interactive Conference Keynote, October 2019: UX-Driven Innovation: What the Future Holds

Publications:

In the Press:

Awards:

  • IDSA IDEA Gold Award for research with E-Lab for CAVEAT: Computer Assisted Video Ethnography Analysis Tool
  • IDSA IDEA Silver Award for E-Lab in collaboration with Steelcase and IDEO
  • IDSA IDEA Bronze for E-Lab in collaboration with Steelcase and IDEO
  • IxDA Award Finalist: School of Life Project
  • Award for best paper at the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) Visions of 2025 and Beyond (Collaborator)