Learn more about me here, including my skills, my experience & my passions.
Learn MoreI solve business and brand problems by fusing creativity & interactivity with technology. I focus on opportunities to develop and design beautiful, engaging online presences and applications using clean, equally beautiful design.
I thrive in environments where inspiration and collaboration are valued and I enjoy all forms of design. From application to web, identity, marketing, video and branding, all while inviting new challenges that require me to build my skill set and add diversity to my craft.
My approach to developing a design strategy is to find a balance between design. that is action oriented, user-centered, aesthetically appealing and solution-focused towards the desired expectation. There are so many paths to take when solving a problem, and the ambiguity of the design process pushes me to discover and create. I derive inspiration from my surroundings to stay motivated to design products that are relatable and accessible.
Specialties: Product Design and Direction, UX Design and Direction, UI/ UX Design, Interactivity, Product, UX/UI DesignProduction, Team Mentoring & Management and Animation.
I have 18 years of design experience and currently serve as a Product/UX/UI Director. My passion lies in shaping the future of digital experiences by transforming user interactions into meaningful life experiences. Through innovative design solutions, I strive to deliver outstanding products and services that exceed expectations.
My expertise extends beyond design, encompassing research and strategy, which greatly informs my approach to design. I possess a track record of building teams, leading designers, and cultivating a design-centric culture that fosters creativity and collaboration. I am well-versed in navigating complex Design Systems and managing the entire product development lifecycle.
With extensive skills in UI and Interaction design, I specialize in creating compelling experiences for web, mobile, and wearable products. I excel in crafting intuitive and visually elegant designs that address complex problems and provide intuitive solutions. My work spans across various platforms, including desktop, mobile, tablet, VR, and Al, as I am driven to deliver world-class products and elevate the brands I work with.
An effective communicator, I can articulate my design vision at any level, ensuring that stakeholders understand and align with the design direction. I am deeply passionate about creating immersive experiences that are both beautiful and intuitive, whether it's for web, web applications, or mobile applications. I thrive in fast-paced environments and have a proven ability to motivate and inspire team members to deliver exceptional creative work, even under tight deadlines.
In summary, my experience and expertise position me as a Product/UX/UI Director who is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of design and delivering impactful digital experiences. I am driven by a desire to solve complex problems, create visually stunning designs, and foster a culture of creativity and innovation within my teams.
As a Senior Product Director and Designer, I have extensive experience in working with design systems. Design systems are essential tools that help ensure consistency and efficiency in the design process, and I have utilized them in various projects throughout my career. I first started utilizing and familiarizing myself with Design Sytems at Dexcom in 2014 and have been working with them ever since.
One aspect of my design systems experience is creating and maintaining a comprehensive design language for products. This involves establishing a consistent visual style, defining typography, color palettes, and iconography, and creating guidelines for spacing, layout, and interactions. By developing a design language, I ensure that all elements within a product align with the brand identity and provide a cohesive user experience.
In addition to defining visual elements, I have also worked on developing and documenting design patterns and components. This involves creating reusable UI elements, such as buttons, forms, and navigation menus, that can be easily implemented across different screens and platforms. By building a library of reusable components, I streamline the design process, improve consistency, and facilitate collaboration between designers and developers.
Another important aspect of design systems is establishing a workflow for versioning and updating design assets. I have implemented tools and processes to manage design system documentation, ensuring that it remains up to date as the product evolves. This includes establishing clear version control, managing component libraries, and providing guidelines for design system contributors.
Collaboration and communication are crucial when working with design systems, and I have experience in leading design system initiatives and facilitating cross-functional collaboration. I have worked closely with product managers, engineers, and other designers to gather feedback, iterate on design components, and address any challenges or inconsistencies that arise.
Overall, my experience with design systems as a senior product designer has enabled me to create scalable and consistent designs, improve collaboration within teams, and enhance the overall user experience. I understand the value of design systems in building successful products, and I am always eager to leverage my expertise to drive design excellence.
I have a strong skill set in Product Design Direction and Product Design. Additionally, I possess expertise in various disciplines such as Visual Design, UX Design, UI Design, Sketching & Prototyping, User Research, Interaction Design, and Responsive Design. My meticulous attention to detail fuels my passion for tackling complex design challenges.
I find great enthusiasm in creating aesthetically pleasing design flows, developing user-friendly applications, and exploring groundbreaking new technologies. Moreover, I derive a sense of satisfaction from enhancing work processes, where I have successfully introduced innovative ways of working, efficient project management tools, and effective communication systems.
My leadership style can be characterized as direct and leading by example. I find fulfillment in assigning tasks and assuming project leadership roles, while also maintaining active involvement to inspire my team by demonstrating my willingness to work alongside them and provide assistance whenever necessary.
In leadership positions, my primary objective is to empower others to reach their fullest potential, even if their knowledge surpasses mine in certain areas. I firmly believe in the continuous nature of the learning process and I am passionate about leading, learning, and collaborating with individuals and team members. I consistently make myself available to answer questions, offer support and guidance, ensure team members are on track, and meet project deadlines.
With eighteen years of management and direction experience at the Director level, I have a track record of successfully creating teams, leading designers, and cultivating a design-centric culture. I possess extensive hands-on knowledge of the complete product development lifecycle. As an excellent communicator, I have the ability to effectively articulate design vision at any level of an organization.
My primary focus is on leading the creation of immersive and memorable experiences. I strive to produce design work that is visually elegant and modern, while also addressing complex problems with intuitive solutions. Whether it's for world-class products or renowned brands, I am dedicated to delivering exceptional design outcomes across all viewing devices.
In my role as a Design Director, I excel at leading the design process through effective facilitation of collaborative design sessions. I am skilled in planning and overseeing diverse project plans, and I guide both clients and teammates towards the delivery of stunning digital design solutions. With over 16 years of experience, I have consistently provided strong leadership in experience design, whether as a leader, manager, or senior team member, particularly on large and complex client engagements. I am committed to ensuring the production of high-quality design output in every project I undertake.
With more than 18 years of experience, I have taken on leadership roles on both national and international levels. Throughout my career, I have successfully managed and provided senior experience design leadership across a wide range of projects, varying in size and complexity. Whether the projects were small, medium, large, or highly intricate, I have consistently demonstrated my ability to lead and deliver exceptional design outcomes.
During my tenure at Apex Systems from 2016 to 2019, I gained valuable experience in team building. Working under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), I played a key role in training recruiters on the nuances of different design roles such as UX Designer, UI Designer, Product Designer, Visual Designer, and Interaction Designer. I provided comprehensive guidance to recruiters to help them effectively identify and evaluate candidates based on specific design skill sets.
Furthermore, I offered talent screening services to ensure that recruiters fully understood the clients' requirements beyond what was mentioned in the job descriptions. This allowed for a more accurate alignment between candidates' expertise and clients' needs, resulting in successful placements and satisfied clients.
In leadership roles, I have recognized that fostering the creativity of others requires a distinct skillset from what made me successful as a designer. Leading designers can be challenging due to their emotional and passionate nature, varying levels of confidence, and strong attachment to their ideals. Projects may encounter turbulence when designers are pushed in directions that do not align with their visions.
To be an effective Design Director, I have honed my mentoring skills. Designers thrive on progression, and it is crucial to teach them how to empathize, design, collaborate, communicate, present, and sell their ideas. Diplomacy plays a vital role in managing design teams, as clashes and disagreements can arise. I am sensitive to everyone's feelings and strive to find resolutions when conflicts arise.
Maintaining a positive outlook is crucial in the design field, where ups and downs are common, especially when deadlines are approaching. I have the ability to refocus the team on the next opportunity and ensure we learn from our mistakes, continuously pushing forward to deliver the best possible design solutions.
With a diverse skill set and deep passion for my craft, I am a talented and multifaceted Product Design Director, Manager, and Designer. I thrive on embracing new challenges and am particularly enthusiastic about finding the right cultural fit and team to collaborate with. I am eager to contribute my expertise and drive to create exceptional design solutions.My preference is to work with a single company in a long-term leadership role, rather than taking on multiple contract projects. I aspire to apply my expertise in Product Design and UX processes, drawing from both my professional experience and academic background, to tackle intricate design challenges.
After conducting thorough research and formulating effective solutions, I am equipped to utilize my skills in Product Design and Visual Design. This allows me to seamlessly bridge the gap between UX and UI, ensuring a cohesive and compelling user experience throughout the design process.
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.
07/2022 - Present and 06/2004 to 01/2022
Directing and designing the user experience, interactions, process flows, visual design across native mobile applications, web sites, web applications, tablet applications, wearable connected devices, e-commerce and SaaS platforms.
Requirements definition, wireframes and user flows, product roadmaps.
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.
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 GTM products.
Coordinating, directing and managing creative and technical resources along with presenting UX/UI solutions to colleagues & stakeholders.
Candidate interviews & selection. On-boarding process planning and training.
Driving force behind improving work processes & best practices within merging design teams.
Proven track record of leading product roadmaps outlining the vision, direction, priorities, and progress of products over time.
NDA Employer - 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 x-rays are reviewed. The software design also included patient information so treatment the patent could not afford would not be recommended.
Conversational Chatbot and voice design for iAdvize: https://www.directorofdesign.com/chatbot.html.
Mentoring and management of junior/mid level designers.
Design Patterns
Design Systems
Usability Testing
Customer Journey Maps
Interaction Design
Product Roadmaps
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
• Design Systems
• Usability Testing
• Customer Journey Maps
• Interaction Design
06/2011 - 09/2011
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