I'm a human factors researcher
who enjoys helping designers
uncover user needs,
highlight meaningful details,
and build humane interfaces.
About me
Based in San Francisco, I have 10 years experience leading research across a broad range of domains.
I have worked in health & fitness, social media, and productivity; informed strategy & features, hardware specs & ergonomics, interaction design, and UI; and worked on mobile apps, wearables, AR/VR, and new operating systems.
With particular expertise informing interaction, I most recently helped craft patented approaches to some of Apple's most complex interaction design challenges.
Throughout, I have cherished working within thoughtful world-class design teams, striving to support designers in our pursuit of the most considerate solution to problems. I aim to bring awareness and consideration to what people are truly trying to achieve and how best to support it.
Apple
UX / Human Factors Researcher
‘20 – '23
Embedded within a design prototyping team on the visionOS Apps team, I was the sole researcher, responsible for informing design concepts upfront and throughout. I worked on a range of topics across core interaction and app experience design, resulting in several patents.
Most notably, I worked with interaction designers to help conceptualize and iteratively evaluate the way a user uses hand-tracking input to move windows and objects around in space.
Facebook Reality Labs
UX Research Lead
‘19 – ‘20
I led UXR & human factors on wrist-based AR input, in which Meta invested over $1 billion.
— Identified, designed, & ran experimental / interaction / experience research
— Uncovered & conveyed insights to scientists & design to inspire prototyping
— Led UXR to inform & drive alignment across vision, principles, & use-cases
— Acted as bridge between research & product. Maintained XFN collaboration to inform UX targets and align research prototyping, incubation, & product.
— Authored paradigms to evaluate AR inputs on input primitives. Oversaw implementation, verified data/measure output, & trained RAs.
Fitbit
Sr. Human Factors Researcher
'15 – ‘19
Led UXR & human factors on HW & UI for all devices (wrist & headphones)
— Led XFN initiatives (ID, ME, EE, FW, UX) in roadmapping, incubation, development, & implementation of interface HW (display, input, haptics, etc.)
— Devised & executed strategic foundational research on the value of smartwatches to users. Insights transformed leadership’s perspective on smartwatches and later drove architecture, ID case size, UX, & marketing.
— Informed architecture selection of 2 device families (device size, display tech& PPI, haptic motor & driver, & input HW). Imbued component selection with human-centered consideration by relating experience to low-level HW specs.
— Created device UI guidelines for menu navigation based on visual search &spatial memory. Validated in studies & used in Fitbit Ionic. Refined for Versa 2.
— Created additional guidelines on text size, display size, button force, display resolution, touch targets, & other design factors
— Co-led needfinding field research in new category (wireless headphones)
UX Researcher
2 – 12/'15
Led research on complete redesign of Facebook App posting flow, which persists unchanged to this day (2023).
— Summarized literature to shift leadership’s concern away from paradox of choice (i.e., # of menu options) to need to support spatial memory in UI
— Led small-N studies on posting behavior, revealing a stereotyped sequence later validated to entire user base.
Google X
UX Research Assistant
'14 - '15
Assisted senior researchers in UXR dutues, with particular skill in quickly investigating a space and producing compelling literature reviews
— Conducted 10+ lit reviews for Glass, Daydream, Loon, Makani, Wing, & Verily
— Led human factors for conveying information via on-eye LED (contact lens)
— Designed & ran program-impacting benchmark usability study of Glass V2
— Assisted needfinding research for nascent Loon & Wing programs
Texas Tech University
B.A.
Psychology
M.A.
Ph.D. (ABD)
Experimental Psychology
- Human Factors
3
0-to-1 products
3
Flagship products
6+
AR/VR Patents
2.8B
Users of UX flows
My research approach is rooted
in human factors psychology, a
discipline that endeavors to keep
people at the forefront of design.
When informing the very edge of
emerging technologies, I pair first
principles of perception & action
with 10 years of mixed-methods
product research experience.
While leveraging a deep scientific
understanding of how people work,
I deliver practical insights that fit into
and show respect for designers' craft.
What people say about working with me
Jonathan Ravasz, Apple
Human Interface Designer
Trevor's extensive knowledge of human-computer interaction and keen design sensibility make him an invaluable member of any product and design team. His dedication to his craft ensures that his team remains at the forefront of interaction design. Through his research work and collaboration with designers, he has made direct contributions to some of the core interaction features of Apple's Vision Pro headset.
Jonah Becker, Google
Director of Industrial Design
Trevor blends his human factors expertise and rigorous process with a collaborative spirit. Team members valued his partnership on foundational and evaluative research efforts, and his work helped to guide several generations of successful Fitbit wearables.
Aditya Nadkarni, Google
Sr. Product Design Engineer
When you need UXR to deliver new and unique experiences from hardware, software, and HMI (e.g., inputs & haptics), you need someone like Trevor to help elevate that product to a delightful and meaningful user experience. He enables HW/SW teams to understand and validate user needs, set user-centered product definitions, and have confidence during development.
Daniel Amara, Movano
VP of UX Design
Trevor has the rare gift to take academic knowledge and translate it into practical processes, tools, and models to solve real-world problems. He combines this with his relentless drive to make human interactions easy for all people. I’m never less than impressed by the results.
