Hello, I'm
Jan Balata
UX Researcher & Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction
Over 15 years of experience conducting studies in human-computer interaction and UX — making digital technology work for everyone.
Research focus
What do I research?
About me
Who am I?
I'm a UX researcher with a Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction from the Czech Technical University in Prague (2018). I bring over 15 years of hands-on experience designing and running user studies across a wide range of industries and user groups.
My work has always focused on making technology understandable and usable for real people — whether that means older adults navigating a smartphone, blind users finding their way through a city, or enterprise teams wrestling with complex data tools.
Outside of client work, I lecture at the Prague University of Economics and Business and supervise student research. I am also co-founder of Naviterier, a navigation system for people with visual impairments built on how humans naturally describe routes to one another.
Ph.D. in HCI
Czech Technical University, Faculty of Electrical Engineering (2011–2018)
Co-founder, Naviterier
Navigation system for the blind describing routes the way a human would
Lecturer & Mentor
Prague University of Economics and Business — teaching and supervising thesis projects
Research in Czech Republic
On-site qualitative studies in Prague with local recruitment contacts
Research output
What have I published?
KoalaPhone: touchscreen mobile phone UI for active older adults
BlindCamera: Central and golden-ratio composition for blind photographers
Collaborative navigation of visually impaired
Landmark-enhanced route itineraries for navigation of blind pedestrians in urban environment
Automatically generated landmark-enhanced navigation instructions for blind pedestrians
Misalignment in semantic user model elicitation via conversational agents
What I offer
How can I help you?
UX Research
Qualitative research — user interviews, usability testing, and contextual inquiry. I help teams understand the behaviour and needs of their users, from framing the right questions through data collection to presenting actionable findings. For teams targeting Czech users, I can run studies locally and help with participant recruitment.
Mentoring
Planning to conduct user research on your own but looking for expert guidance and feedback? Let's create a hands-on mentoring plan tailored to your needs to help you grow your skills with confidence.
Operations
I have experience both leading my own UX research team and contributing to teams of various sizes. From setting up research operations to optimising existing processes, I specialise in creating efficient and impactful UX strategies.
Training
Looking for a UX course for your product team — in-person or remote? With years of experience teaching master's students at Czech universities and supervising thesis projects, I offer practical, engaging training sessions. All course materials are yours to reuse.
Get in touch
Ready to work together?
Whether you need UX research, mentoring, operations support, or team training — I'd love to hear about your project. Write in Czech or English, whichever you prefer.