Southern-born, New York City-based
I'm a multi-disciplinary designer with over 14 years of experience, currently freelancing in New York City.
I have created entertaining, engaging and useful websites and mobile experiences for some of the most beloved media brands including Food Network, Travel Channel and HGTV. I have helped athletes discover events and information on Active.com, and innovated ways for job-seekers worldwide to find jobs for Monster.com
In January 2018, I completed the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) for UX certification program from MIT CSAIL.
I take projects from brainstorm to low-fidelity concepts to polished experiences. My process includes user research, design iteration and prototyping. I am most at home working with teams to brainstorm novel solutions to problems and define product strategy. I get nerdy over things like pixels, design systems, and reducing clutter. I spend a lot of time reading about about design leadership.
I have a proven track record of creatively tackling complex problems to increase user engagement and satisfaction. I enjoy focusing on pixels and global brand strategies alike. I'm no stranger to navigating long discussions about usability versus creativity, form versus function, performance versus beauty, contrast versus legibility.
I love to travel. In my spare time you'll either find me on a plane, a beach, deep in the desert, or exploring a new city. I'm a part time DJ. I've spun for crowds in Black Rock City, New York, SF, LA, Sydney and more. I almost chose to work in film, and love cutting edge video technology. I enjoy tackling side projects I find interesting to learn new skills.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I approach design leadership?
No company is free of challenges and problems to solve. One measure of a good design leader is their ability to rise to the challenge. For the sake of creating a happy design team, the primary question that needs to be answered is “are these problems and challenges valuable to solve?” and the second is “am I empowered to solve them?” The worst thing to do to a talented person is put them into a position where they can’t do their best work. I like the idea of smoothing the path for designers so they can just do their absolute best work. I get excited about improving communication, implementing holistic design systems, and fostering healthy design teams.
What does good design mean to me?
At it’s root good design is about strategic problem solving, and understanding and improving people’s lives. It’s a process combining empathy, pragmatism and creativity with research and validation of ideas to create an purposeful solution. Good design results in intuitive, delightful and beautiful experiences, benefiting users without users ever having to think about it. While design tools and mediums may vary depending on what is being designed (a building, an app, an object,) I believe most concepts and principles of how people interact with and perceive things are universal. The future of design is always improving, inspiring and motivating.
What’s the difference between a good and great designer?
A good designer has great software skills, the ability to pinpoint problems, interpret research and offer solutions. Great designers tend to be visionaries, focusing on how individual decisions fit within the big picture. Great designers are opinionated, able to map out the reasoning behind every design decision they make. Great designers are dedicated to the problem, not their own solutions.
What valuable skills do I feel I bring to the table?
A clear understanding of the design process and all the moving parts in completing a project. The ability to take a product from inception to completion. A hyper-focus on making things beautiful and simple to use. Discipline working with teams to create designs that are flexible, easy to use, and lean. A willingness to collaborate with engineers to figure out the best way to execute a product design. Hands on experience coding, marketing, and launching a variety of personal projects. Humility to admit when I am wrong. Naturally drawn to step in and try to address problems or find someone who can.