Gitta Salomon is a pioneer in User Experience Design, bringing 30 years of experience applying user-centered, design thinking methodologies to defining interactive products.

Gitta originally studied mathematics at UCLA, and went on to MIT to obtain her Master’s degree from the Media Laboratory. After graduate school, Gitta worked as a Team Leader in the Human Interface Group at Apple. Her work at Apple focused on defining innovative user interfaces, and she published numerous conference papers, presented internationally and obtained several UX patents during her time there.

In 1994, Gitta took a position at the worldwide product design consultancy, IDEO. As Director of Interaction Design, she defined client engagements and undertook design work for clients such as Kodak, Steelcase, NEC and Sony.

In 1996, she founded Swim, a San Francisco-based UX consultancy that assists startups and Fortune 500 companies alike. Over the years, Swim’s work has ranged across many domains, including consumer, enterprise, aviation and medical. Clients include GoPro, Gap, Metromile, Neuropace, Boeing, and Nike.

Gitta has taught at San Francisco State University, the University of San Francisco and the Royal College of Art in London. She is currently mentoring both product managers and new design graduates in how to approach user experience design. Recently, she has been invited to speak at numerous startup accelerators and incubators, where she provides insights and tips on how to apply design thinking techniques effectively.

Jason Ward is a meticulous problem solver, who successfully applies his skills in both ethnographic research and visual design to craft appropriate and engaging UX designs.

Over his 15+ year tenure at Swim, he has worked on an exceptionally wide range of products — from dedicated medical devices to commercial aviation navigation tools to consumer applications. Jason astutely grasps the fundamental needs of users, regardless of their domain, and creates designs clearly addressing them. Recently, Jason’s work has focused on delivering complicated medical data to doctors, and providing the control interface for a solar lighting system used in medical clinics in the developing world.

Prior to Swim, Jason worked in cultural resources management at Parsons, a global engineering organization. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology at Oregon State University and also holds an Associate's degree in Graphic Design.

Beth Mitchell, a trained fine-arts painter, brings an artistic sensibility and a measured rationality to her role as interaction designer. Over her years at Swim, she has contributed to new omnichannel and responsive design initiatives at Gap Inc., designed enterprise-level tools, created detailed user task flows and specifications for GoPro, and defined and designed native mobile apps for startup clients such as Metromile. She is a stickler for details and an excellent communicator, which make her an exceptional designer of easy-to-use interfaces.

Beth has a BA in Art Theory & Practice from Northwestern University, an MFA in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, and spent a year studying Art History and Philosophy at the University of Sussex in England. Her artwork has been exhibited in San Francisco, Chicago, Santa Fe, and Colorado.

Conor Mangat is an exceptional graphic and information designer who brings over 20 years of experience to all aspects of visual design — from brand identity to custom iconography to screen design for responsive web applications. Conor has worked with Swim since 2002.

His previous exploits — covering a range of brand-building projects that have included both print and interactive work, strategy, and implementation — have included spells at Metro Newspapers in Silicon Valley, Boag Associates in London, and MetaDesign in San Francisco.

Originally from the UK, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Visual Communication from Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication in London, and graduate degrees from the California Institute of the Arts and the University of Reading, the latter in Typeface Design. His work has been widely recognized and is included in the Conran Foundation Collection in London. He is a member of the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD), and has acted as a lecturer and guest critic at, amongst others, the California College of the Arts in San Francisco and the London College of Communication.

Noa Shneorson graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a Bachelor's of Science in Business Marketing and Interactive Media. Prior to joining the Swim Team, she worked in the Cybersecurity startup world as a brand designer. Now based in San Francisco, she has joined the team to create and aide meaningful user experiences.