Elisha Cohen

UX designer and researcher based in Berlin

Also: a feminist, knitter, dancer, and ex-architect

About

My name is Elisha Cohen and I'm currently a UX desinger and researcher at Wikimedia Deutschland, doing community-led product work to make it easier to edit Wikipedia as part of the Techinical Wishes project.

Design perspective

Good design is not exclusionary. What matters to me is if people can use a product to accomplish the things they want to, in the way the want to. Is it an empowering experience? If yes, for who?

Technology can create as many barriers as it can take down. I prioritize participatory and inclusive processes to try to ensure that the things I make fall into the second category.

Projects

Templates are one of the key building blocks of Wikipedia articles, but since they are editor-created and come in many different forms, they can be very difficult to use. I completely re-designed the interface for editing templates and adding custom content. Try it out by editing any article on Wikipedia in the visual editor and opening a template.

I have also conducted research on alternative modes of pedagogy, peer-to-peer education, and flat hierarchies through running the tuition-free Free School of Architecture (FSA). If you're curious about it, my co-organizers and I were interviewed here about the summer we created.

Sometimes I also design and code small websites. This portfolio site is one example, where I did branding, web design and development.

For a full portfolio, including my research and case studies, please get in touch below.

Thoughts

Are.na is where I collect and organize my thoughts. It's a platform that helps me think. Below are a couple channels you can explore to see some topics I'm currently thinking about.