Lou

Ghaddar

Senior UX/UI Designer & Digital Design Manager

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If a message doesn’t fit the needs and language of its intended audience, then it won’t resonate. Digital tools can make any product or organization look great, but the best way to build connection is to start from the user’s viewpoint.

STORY

Lou is a Renaissance man for the digital age. He grew up just as the internet itself matured and technological changes brought dramatic new options to the American workforce. With a background in fine arts, music and video, and a fascination with new media, Lou found his true calling in the convergence of digital technology, creativity and user experience.

 

As the University of Montana’s first graduate student in integrated digital media, Lou explored his interest in the roles that media play in helping people understand and engage with the world. After completing that degree, he began working as a user-experience developer and media producer. But even that work wasn’t enough to fully satiate Lou’s diverse interests and talents. Attracted to video’s potential to tell a longer story, he dove into video editing and animation — work that engaged his creative talents as well as his digital chops.

 

Today, he brings all of those skills to bear as he creates apps and websites, produces TV commercials and digital videos, and guides our digital department’s focus on user experience design.

 

CONVERSATION STARTERS

You’ve gotta ask Lou about the time when Eric Clapton (yes, THE Eric Clapton) chewed him out on the phone. Really, it wasn’t Lou’s fault!

 

When the subject of holograms comes up (as it usually does in any decent Star Wars conversation), ask Lou about how he and some colleagues (including our very own Amber Bushnell) built a 3D hologram projection machine out of spare computer parts and Plexiglas. This story has strange ties to the Great Pyramid of Giza.

 

Lou serves a mean drink. Try and wheedle him into creating you a concoction. But don’t ask him for a whiskey coke — it was the most over-ordered drink back when he was a bartender.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Boy Scouts Montana Council volunteer

EDUCATION

University of Montana MFA, integrated digital media; B.S., business administration with management of information systems emphasis

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