Learn more about me here, including my skills, my experience & my passions.
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I'm a Product/UX/UI Director with 18 years of design experience. I currently hold a position as a UI/UX Director.
My background also includes research and strategy which notably aids my design approach.
I'm skilled at Product Design Direction and Management.
I am also skilled at Product Design, Visual Design, UX Design, UI Design, Sketching & Prototyping, User Research, Interaction Design and Responsive Design .
I have a passion/obsession for the details which lends itself well to solving difficult design problems.
I get excited about beautiful design flows, remarkably uncomplicated apps & mind boggling new tech.
I also get a “kick” out of improving work processes & have introduced ways of working, project management tools & communication systems.
My extensive experience focuses on working in an agile environment to execute across a number of design stages, from requirements definition, wireframes and user flows, to working directly with development teams, defining detailed interactions, iterating high fidelity prototypes and final visual design production. Leveraging research, analytics, usability testing, customer insights and other quantitative/qualitative data to advance ideas and the products.
I also get a “kick” out of improving work processes & have introduced ways of working, project management tools & communication systems.
I would describe my leadership style as direct, and leading by example. I enjoy delegating tasks and taking the lead on projects, but I also like to stay involved and inspire my team by showing that I'm working hands-on to help them, too.
My role in leadership positions is to bring out the very best in others even when they know more than I do. The learning process never stops and I love leading, learning and working with people. I always make sure I am available to answers questions, be supportive, make sure team members are on track and that deadlines are met.
I am a Director level designer with eighteen years management and direction experience with a proven ability to create teams, lead designers and foster design culture. I have hands-on knowledge of complete product development lifecycle. I am an excellent communicator and able to articulate design vision at any level. I am focused on leading the creation of immersive, memorable experiences and design work that’s visually elegant, modern solves complex problems with intuitive solutions for world-class products and brands across all viewing devices.
As a Design Director I lead through the design process by expertly facilitating collaborative design sessions, planning and leading varied project plans and leading clients and teammates toward delivering beautiful digital design solutions. I have over 16 years of leading, managing, or providing senior experience design leadership on large and/or highly complex client engagements while ensuring high-quality output.
I have over 16 years of leading nationally and internationally, managing and providing senior experience design leadership on small, medium, large and/or highly complex projects.
I have experience building teams as I worked for Apex Systems from 2016 through 2019 on an NDA and trained recruiters on what to look for in Designers and the difference between a UX Designer, UI Designer, Product Designer, Visual Designer, Interaction Designer, etc. I also provided talent screening services as recruiters wouldn’t always understand the clients’ needs from the job descriptions.
My role in leadership positions is to bring out the very best in others even when they know more than I do. The learning process never stops and I love leading, learning and working with people. I always make sure I am available to answers questions, be supportive, make sure team members are on track and that deadlines are met.
My management experience consists of but is not limited to:
• Leading or collaborating with visual experience designers, content strategists, developers and clients throughout a project lifecycle.
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with senior management level of clients and clearly presenting your rationale to those people.
• Planning and expertly facilitating collaborative design workshops with clients.
• Creating and executing a strategic product roadmaps.
• Selecting and utilizing appropriate UX methodologies for projects such as, but not limited to, heuristic evaluations, content/IA analysis, user research tactics, collaborative workshops and user testing options.
• Providing mentorship and coaching to other team members in area of expertise.
• Contributing to process improvement and idea generation.
• Managing new feature implementation including creating wireframes, product requirement documents, and analytics requirements.
• Demonstrating mastery of a given subject area by interpreting trends, identifying opportunities for the company, and collaborating with a wide cross section of internal employees on best practices.
• Expert understanding of experience design best practices and principles such as, but not limited to, accessibility, performance and usability considerations.
• Ability to explain and articulate the connection from research to design decisions through storytelling and effective client presentations Interest in and ability to smoothly facilitate client meetings and collaborative working sessions.
In leadership roles I have noted that the role becomes about fostering the creativity of others, which requires a different skillset than what made me successful as a Designer. Leading designers is not easy. They can be emotional and passionate; over-confident or lacking in confidence. All hell can break loose the moment a project pushes them in a direction that doesn’t match their ideals. To be a successful Design Director, I am good at mentoring. Designers like to progress. They need to be taught how to empathize, design, collaborate, communicate, present and sell. Diplomacy – Design is hard, it’s easy for teams or people to clash. I am sensitive to everyone’s feelings and find resolutions when there are disagreements. Positivity – Life in design has its ups and downs, we can’t afford to get down when deadlines are looming. I know how to refocus the team onto the next opportunity and make sure we all learn from our mistakes and keep pressing forward to deliver the best possible design solutions.
I am a talented, passionate and multifaceted Design Director, Manager and Designer who is excited to take on new challenges with the right culture and team.
I would like to work with one company in a leadership role and team long term as opposed to several contract projects. I would like to apply the UX processes and learnings I have gained professionally and academically to solve complex design problems.
Once research & solutions have been concluded, I can then apply my Product Design and Visual Design skills to bridge the gap between UX and UI.
I follow IDEO's Human-Centered Design and the
Lean UX Design Thinking process.
I use the the below research methods as I feel this process is the best way to accumulate quantitative & qualitative data on users and competitors in most industries. This in turn informs my design with a research & evidence based solution.
Usability Tests
Depth Interviews
Online Surveys
Competitive Benchmarking Analysis
Affinity Diagram
Customer Journey Map
Personas
Flow Diagram
Defining Navigation
Sketching
Wireframing
Low, Medium and High Fidelity Prototypes
Interactive Prototype
Finalize Design and Strategy
Usability Tests
Depth Interviews on Prototype
Iteration
I like to keep on top of relevant trends and tools to build my skill set. Here's a few I've got the hang of.
06/2004 - Present
Directing and designing the user experience, interactions, process flows, visual design across native mobile applications, web sites, web applications, tablet applications, wearable connected devices, ecommerce and SaaS platforms.
Working in an agile environments with multiple development teams to execute design across enterprise web applications for B2B, B2C, Cybersecurity, US Military, US Government and law enforcement.
Requirements definition, wireframes and user flows.
Detailed interaction, iterating high fidelity prototypes and final visual design.
Leveraging research, analytics, usability testing, customer insights and other quantitative/qualitative data to advance ideas and the products.
Coordinating, directing and managing creative and technical resources.
Presenting UX/UI solutions to colleagues & stakeholders.
Candidate interviews & selection. On-boarding process planning and training.
Worked on an elegantly designed smart home family console that does it all with voice and chat capabilities. This connected device preserves legacies, shares life’s major events, organizes activities and helps accomplish day-to-day tasks in a secure environment where you have full control over your private information. Worked on the native mobile application for iOS and Android and the web application. The device is the world’s first private, multi-generational smart home family console to offer carefully selected communication and organizational services.
Worked with a dental software company on creating dental software with advanced AI for dentists and dental assistants to better diagnose and treat dental patients and find the issues with the advanced AI so nothing is missed when a dentist or dental assistant reviews an x-ray. The software design also included patient information so the dentist would not recommend treatment the patent couldn’t afford.
Driving force behind improving work processes & best practices within merging design teams.
Mentoring and management of junior/mid level designers.
01/2022 - 07/2022
Directing and designing the user experience, interactions, process flows, visual design across native mobile applications, web sites and web applications tablet, wearable connected devices, e-commerce and SaaS platforms.
Created visual and interaction designs for new features and identify opportunities to improve existing designs for multiple products for B2B, B2C, C2C, Cybersecurity, US Military, US Government and law enforcement.
Produced materials for user journey maps, wireframes, and mockups to drive alignment across teams.
Contributed to a culture of experimentation by formulating clear design hypotheses, testing product concepts, and evolving designs as a result.
Worked closely with Anno.Ai’s creative team as well as the larger cross functional product teams’ to iterate toward solutions our customers love to use.
Combined research, data insights, and feedback into a user-centered design process.
Helped lead user tests, interviews, and synthesis sessions to help validate product direction and influence strategic next steps.
Facilitated design thinking workshops to increase the rigor around design systems, research, prototyping, and testing across the organization.
03/2014 - 12/2019
Working with Dexcom as a Senior UX/UI and Senior Product Designer on their websites, product dashboards, diabetic device and native mobile applications for Android and iOS.
Worked on the Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) applications for all platforms to make certain diabetics can read and understand their results without having to use fingersticks.
The applications clean and minimal design is necessary in case a diabetic has blurry vision or other health issues that may impede or impact their vision.
• Design Patterns
• Usability Testing
• Customer Journey Maps
• Interaction Design
2012 - 2015
Produced high impact pieces for advertising initiatives, product collateral, direct mail, and inhouse programs.
Created designs, concepts, and layouts and aesthetic design concepts compatible with all browsers and mobile.
Conducted user experience research to inform design variables.
Developed, refined, and implemented high-quality user interfaces using strong information, architecture, visual design, and interaction design skills.
SaaS application design, including wireframes and mock-ups for HSI’s proprietary booking engine for clients, inventory application and business engine for vendors.
Worked with Human Resources to develop interactive training for new hires and sales teams.
Analyzed business requirements, user feedback and determined appropriate scenarios and workflow, and created and presented UX, UI prototypes to reflect solutions.
06/2009 - 10/2010
Responsible for the design direction and creation of 36 NVRHC Online University instructional courses in record time, exceeding employer expectations.
Leading team members through design solutions with a collaborative approach.
Mentored and managed team members.
Interviewed and selected creative and technical staff for projects.
Designed and developed the UX and UI for courses and exams in Flash, Photoshop, and Illustrator, and created eLearning programs in Camtasia.
Interacted with team members at multiple levels of the organization, and managed projects, including schedules, planning, coordination, within defined deadlines and budgets.
01/2005 - 05/2009
Created, designed, and developed interactive eLearning solutions for multiple industrial verticals, including automotive, healthcare, and government.
Interacted with team members at multiple levels of different organizations, and managed projects, including schedules, planning, coordination, within defined deadlines and budgets.
07/2004 - 12/2004
Leading the creative design efforts for the most engaging user experience and brand recognition for lincoln.com.
Communicating with clients to target their specific media needs.
Presented ideas and comps at client pitch meetings with great success.
Led creative and technical teams.
Directly interacted across multiple levels of the organization, both internal and external, to properly implement brand direction, recognition, use, and compliance.
12/2003 - 07/2004
Created, designed, and developed interactive eLearning web-based and video classroom solutions.
Directed design solutions for creative and technical staff to follow.
Directly interacted across multiple levels of the organization, both internal and external, to properly implement brand direction, use, and compliance.
Created online templates in Dreamweaver, Flash to facilitate further course creation.
2020-2021
During this University-accredited, industry-approved Diploma, I gained a deep learning of UX through project & exam based work.
Course modules included:
• Design Principles & Patterns
• Usability testing
• Online Surveys
• Affinity Diagrams
• Customer Journey Maps
• Interaction Design
• Prototyping & Wireframing