elliot trotter

content designer/ux writer

My Story

From innovative technologies to bioscience to sharing cultural voices, I’m driven by taking complex challenges and building experiences that reach people, increase understanding, create meaning, and inspire action.

I’ve supported organizations that tackle multifaceted topics like paleontology, misinformation, community violence, medical research, and how to combat Islamophobia.

Through Psychology, UX Design, Writing, Video Production, and Content Strategy, I’m interested in interactions people have with visual language, with words, with sentence structure, with tactile object-based experiences, and more.

Professionally, I’m excited about learning what’s possible, understanding the decisions we make, and helping organizations and teams realize their amazing potential.

Work highlights:

  • At Microsoft, managed the operations, comms, and productization of a 40k member internal research platform that generated actionable insights for Microsoft’s marquee products including Teams, Copilot, Azure, M365 Office, Outlook, and Bing.
  • Launched a fortune cookie company with extremely snarky fortunes.
  • Translated research at Allen Institute into easily consumable content for broader audience.
  • Founded Skyd Magazine which became the largest media resource for the sport of ultimate.
  • Organized launch of video campaign combating Islamophobia for American Muslim Empowerment Network
  • Created a board game about privilege in America called Reality Check: The Game of Privilege that raised $21k on Kickstarter

Experience

2021 - 2024
Content Program Manager at Microsoft
2021 - 2021
Communications Consultant at The Allen Institute
2019 - 2021
Digital Content Producer at Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
2020 - 2021
Communications Specialist at Center for an Informed Public
2017 - Now
Game Designer at Reality Check Games
2012 - 2020
Content Strategist at Moon Rock Creative
2010 - 2016
Editor-in-Chief at Skyd Magazine

Education

Master of Arts in Psychology
Harvard University
2023 - 2026 (exp.)
Master of Communication Leadership in Digital Media
University of Washington
2018 - 2021
Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing (Poetry)
University of Puget Sound
2004-2008
Certificate in Gamification
The Wharton School
2017

Portfolio

Unfortunate Cookies

Unfortunate Cookies

Fortune cookies with a dreadful twist

Thwarting Misinformation on Facebook with UX Psychology

Thwarting Misinformation on Facebook with UX Psychology

Research paper with UX suggestions to improve Facebook

#FactsOverFear Campaign

#FactsOverFear Campaign

Video series combating Islamophobia

Reality Check: The Game of Privilege

Reality Check: The Game of Privilege

A board game about privilege in America

MonkeyGuard (Concept)

MonkeyGuard (Concept)

An in-browser solution for privacy policy confusion

Infographic: 15 Most Inspiring Women-Led Startups

Infographic: 15 Most Inspiring Women-Led Startups

The Allen Institute Communications

The Allen Institute Communications

Copywriting and UX for Bioscience

BitcoinByMail (Concept)

BitcoinByMail (Concept)

Printed greeting cards with Bitcoin

Cure Violence

Cure Violence

Digital Strategy/Web development

Bounce Powder Cricket Protein

Bounce Powder Cricket Protein

An environmentally friendly protein concept for serious athletes