UX Design
Featured Work
Clean & Modern
Web Interfaces
I focus on broad use of negative space to invite users to explore and linger, while dramatic hero images and font elements engage them and structure their experience.
Web Design LookbookElegant Mobile Layouts
My mobile-first design process prioritizes the concision and readability of mobile layouts and their style consistency with web-based experiences.
Mobile Design LookbookProfessional Branding & Assets
Production-grade images for any branding package: from synthwave games to printed posters to restrained and modern designs.
Branding & Assets LookbookMy Toolkit
A designer is an expert, but not an island. It's best to scaffold all sorts of tasks with a strong process, from idea generation to communication with Product and Development. Here are some tools I use do the work.
Setting our Sights
How do we define a feature to create or improve? Roadmap Voting and a User Engagement Pyramid are powerful Product tools that help us define our problem and our space.
Then we hold a Kickoff: a cross-functional meeting where we validate Objectives and KPIs collaboratively.
Ideation is the Word
Ideation is a brainstorming process that's open-ended, creative, and mostly idependent - to avoid groupthink.
I use a short warm-up
and then a few well-defined exercises like Crazy Eights, Braindump, Story Mapping, or Mini Design Studio.
Research Methods
Now clear our minds and look at the problem with no preconceptions.
I start with a Research Plan, formulate questions, and start interviewing users. Observed workflows (pictured) and Google Analytics are also great sources of data.
Mocks and Prototypes
It's time for graybox or "low-fi" mockups. For now, we keep them simple since we still need to test them. I like to use Sketch, Adobe XD, Balsamiq, or good 'ol paper.
I get them working with Invision or as paper prototypes, shown on the left.
The Power of a Library
How can we do this quickly while still maintaining design consistency? A well-engineered and well-maintained Design Library.
I typically use Sketch with Abstract source control to maintain thousands of symbols across many work stations.
Testing - and Pivoting
Script-controlled prototype tests are my gold standard for testing, but I also do A/B tests and surveys, or even field tests (pictured).
This is when things change, so I'm always ready to pivot based on what we learn.
High-Fidelity Design
Testing reveals strong elements and major flaws. Now I can transform what I've learned into high-fidelity mocks, like this one for a Dashboard element.
Even still, we remain flexible until the end and focus on represening both the function and the feel of the design.
Seal the Deal: Handoff and QA
The Handoff is another powerful design tool! It is a "mini demo" of the solution and an opportunity to collaborate with Development and even Serives and QA.
Finally, I support release with manual QA and automated QA.
Case Study: "Quick Action" Google Design Sprint
This is a story about how I transformed key learnings from a pioneering One-Day Design Sprint that I planned and lead into an elegant and targeted software solution. The feature? Quick Actions.
The Foundation: User Research
What's a good sprint candidate? A risky, exciting idea that addresses user pain.
During field observations (left), we noticed a pattern:
users struggled with in-app navigation constantly. Enter our topic: Quick Actions.
A One-Day Design Sprint
Director of Product Kimberly Gant adapted the famous Google Design Sprint into an intense
1-day exercise. We ideate, storyboard, and test with real users...all before 5pm!
Learn more about Gant's One Day Design Sprint here.
Storyboard to Prototype
Halfway through the Design Sprint the team creates a storyboard of the solution we'll test.
This is the real Quick Actions Storyboard which I drew and which co-designer Brenna Zumbro is making into an Invision prototype in this picture.
Validate through Testing
The real goal of a Design Sprint is to test something risky and bold with your real users.
In this sprint we had 4 testers who we observed via video so as not to bias results (pictured). Observers recorded everything on stickies. Colorful!
The Final Result
Quick Actions was released only a few months after the prototype and
it turned out to be one of our most popular features on mobile, getting a major enhancement within a year.
Here's a comparison between design sprint sketches and a final high-fidelity mockup.