Anton Stasche

 

Find out about me and what interests and drives me.

 

My credo

 

A keen observer and communicator, I draw my motivation from the people I meet, trying to understand their needs as users but also as humans.

A path less travelled

 

With a background in Cognitive Science, my curiosity was fuelled along my academic path through the study of the human mind in a diverse range of disciplines and a thesis on Usability testing methodology. In continuation, I obtained a Masters degree in Psychology in collaboration with the local HCI workgroup. For more than three years since my graduation, I have now been professionally involved in the human-centered design of user interfaces and services.

Values

 

Always keen to learn and expand my horizons, I appreciate immersing myself into novel contexts and environments, be it new subject domains and client teams in a business context, or when meeting people and getting to know different cultures while travelling. When working with peers, I hold honesty and respect in the highest esteem. Keeping an open ear to feedback, I am also never shy of voicing my opinion to provide constructive criticism.

Academic path

 

My undergraduate studies offered me a diversified range of subjects mostly held in English. Looking at the workings of the human mind from the perspective of disciplines such as Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Neurobiology, Computational Linguistics and Philosophy of Mind spurred my motivation to keep following an interdisciplinary path along my further career. After completing my thesis entitled "Interference with task performance using the think-aloud technique in Usability Testing" in collaboration with the Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, I graduated with honours and began my graduate studies in Psychology. Following final examinations in Social Psychology, Neuropsychology, Work & and Organisational Psychology and Human-Computer Interaction, I obtained Master's degree in Psychology. A poster as well as an abstract and the full text of my thesis "Combining pointing and gestures: Novel interaction concepts for large high resolution displays" can be found here.

Professional career

 

The Master's diploma in my hand, I moved to Brussels where I have been working as an Interaction Designer at the leading Belgian consultancy for Human-centered Design of complex user interfaces and services. Being involved in a wide range of projects dealing with highly varied subject matters from different industries, I apply a comprehensive set of methods and techniques from the full cycle of Human-centered Design and am involved in all project phases, from sales to management, design and delivery, presentation and follow-up. An important aspect of my work is client communication, including frequent meetings with multinational client teams, workshop facilitation and mediation between clients representing different departments or units. My responsibilities inside a given project can range from design production to reporting and communication. Internally, I have also become involved with marketing and communications, frequently offer consultancy on statistical methodology and Cognitive Psychology and many a copy-writing assignment in English and German.

A brief history

 
1981
Born in Brandenburg, former GDR.
1989
Resettling to Kaiserslautern, GER.
1999
Obtained German coaching certificate (level C) for canoe/kayak (white water), European (EPP) level 4.
2000
Obtained German high school diploma (Abitur) with advanced levels in German literature, English, Biology.
2001
Employed as outdoor sports guide and camp counsellor, Ardèche region, France, for Albersmeyer Touristik GmbH.
2002
Work and travel in Australia, New Zealand, Rep. Korea and Japan.
2002- 2005
Undergraduate studies, with graduation (cum laude) as Bachelor of Science in Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück, Germany.
2004
Semester abroad with undergraduate and Honours courses in Human-Computer Interaction, Applied Linguistics and Clinical Psychology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
2005- 2008
Postgraduate studies, with graduation as Master of Science in Psychology, University of Konstanz, Germany.
2006
Six-month paid internship as User Interface Design Consultant at the Siemens User Interface Design Center, Munich, Germany.
2008- 2011
Full-time employment as Interaction Design Consultant at Namahn bvba, Brussels, Belgium.
2010
Obtained National Beach Lifeguard Qualification, British certificate for open water rescue, life support & first aid, Newquay, UK.
2011
Completed additional qualification (seakayak touring and rescue) for German coaching certificate (level C) for canoe/kayak, European (EPP) level 3.
2011-
Full-time employment as Design Consultant at A Piece of Pie SL, Barcelona, Spain.