I’m a creative director and design leader with a solid portfolio and holistic view of design.
My career is built upon a strong foundation of branding and experience design. I think strategically, execute diligently, and pay it forward by teaching, publishing and speaking on these topics.
Also, I believe in hard work. In being nice to people. That talking to one user is worth a 1,000 meetings. In taking calculated risks.
I’m curious about how AI can improve our lives. If we design for it properly. What the world will look like when my kid is 40. What I can do right now to make it better, safer, cleaner. What the next generation can teach me.
I’m not afraid of super complex, hard to solve problems. Sensitive topics and challenging situations. Designing for new technology paradigms. Even that which do not yet exist.
I will always make prototypes, not excuses. Cultivate my craft. Check my ego. Give credit where it is due. Design with real people in mind first, last, and always. Learn from those around me. Laugh loudly.
Design experience
Design Director, Brillio
NOV 2023 – NOW
Leading product design engagements and pitches for a global, multi-disciplinary design consulting organization inside a large tech transformation company. Directly overseeing and managing Visual Design and Design Research craft vertical organizations of ~20 designers. Led and executed the creation of first-ever Designer Career Playbook for an organization of ~60 multidisciplinary designers.
Creative Director & Design Principal, IBM Research
AUG 2019 – NOV 2023
Led human-centered experience design strategy for IBM Research client engagement program. Collaborated with multidisciplinary product team to launch an award-winning IBM Research Portal in 2022, and continuously delivered user insights through design research leadership. Created and maintained a comprehensive service blueprint representing the IBM Research client journey to align global team around a shared vision.
Senior Design Lead, IBM Research
OCT 2017 – AUG 2019
Led multidisciplinary design team responsible for designing digital experiences that made emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing consumable and understandable by non-expert audiences. Facilitated design thinking workshops for several strategy and project teams.
Incubator Lead, IBM Design
MAY 2016 – OCT 2017
Selected, scoped and led 12 unique projects staffed by early professional designers and product managers to envision new digital products for IBM with executive sponsorship. Managed stakeholders, contributed to program development, taught and facilitated IBM Design Thinking.
Senior Visual Designer, IBM Verse
2015 – 2016
Designed user interface visual components and accessibility patterns for IBM Verse email product. Led creation of the product’s first reusable component library.
Assistant Design Director, Shedd Aquarium
2011 – 2015
Led creative strategy teams for digital media design projects including video narrative and interactive touch displays in exhibitions. Storyboarded and art directed TV commercials that appeared during 2014 Academy Awards and the Sochi Olympics opening ceremony. Tripled output of in-house media production during time in role.
Senior Graphic Designer, Shedd Aquarium
2003 – 2010
Designed and wrote brand guidebooks, which drove consistency and creative flexibility across an enormous range of print, exhibition, and digital applications for 15 years after implementation. Led graphic design for $70 million Oceanarium renovation project that attracted 2.1 million guests during re-opening year. Led graphic design for Jellies exhibition, which opened to the highest rating of any previous special exhibit and increased aquarium attendance by ~200k people over a two-year period.
Teaching experience
Adjunct Professor, NC State College of Design
Spring 2021
Taught Design it Forward course with IBM colleagues involving client partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Lectured on design thinking methods. Introduced students to advanced technologies including artificial intelligence and quantum computing with a focus on human-centered design. Led and managed classes in a fully virtual setting with the use of several collaboration tools including WebEx, Slack, Box and Mural.
Facilitator, Archeworks Chicago
2014
Facilitated group of multidisciplinary students seeking certificate in Social and Environmental Urban Design at alternative design school for City of Chicago Transit client. Oversaw research, conducted brainstorming and prototyping sessions.
Adjunct Professor, Columbia College Chicago
2010 – 2014
Instructed students enrolled in design courses including Intro to Graphic Design, Advertising Design, and Portfolio Development. Created syllabi, conducted critiques, created and presented lectures, formally evaluated projects, submitted grades, and mentored and coached students on portfolios, resumes, and internships.
Affiliate Professor, North Park University
2006 – 2010
Instructed students enrolled in Advanced Graphic Design course. Created syllabi, conducted critiques, created and presented lectures, formally evaluated projects, submitted grades, and mentored and coached students on portfolios, resumes, and internships.
Skills and fluency
Highly proficient in creative direction, design leadership/management, product strategy, and design thinking facilitation. Experienced in user research (protocol development and interview methods) and UX design prototyping (Figma, Sketch), and visual assets production (Adobe Creative Suite). Working knowledge of front-end web/app development languages and product engineering. Familiarity with emerging technology domains including artificial intelligence, quantum, cloud and edge computing.
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Manage project lifecycle from blue-sky discovery through prototyping, launching and iterating
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Balance team priorities and product roadmap based on desirability, viability, and feasibility
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Investigate and analyze other experiences to define competitive
advantage whitespace -
Own timelines, project reporting and resource allocation
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Define research protocol, methods,
participants, timeline, location -
Conduct studies such as observations and interviews to capture
user behavior, needs and pain points -
Make sense of insights, identify patterns of behavior/sentiment
and communicate them to stakeholders -
Define “frontstage” and “backstage”
experience across end-to-end user journey -
Design for different users and variation of contexts based on real insights
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Create and/or utilize existing repeatable component libraries
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Build preliminary, low-fidelity models
and wireframes gather, feedback from users and iterate -
Build refined interfaces with clear annotations for developers
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Design interactions that enable users with disabilities to have the
best possible experience
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Articulate connection between business goals and design output
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Construct narratives that build empathy with users and describe design vision
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Develop, test and iterate several viable options for a creative approach
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Use color, typography, imagery etc. to effectively communicate and build emotional connection
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Ensure design is implemented with alignment to vision, attention to detail and craft
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Plan & facilitate activities that align teams around user-centered principles, set direction and gain clarity
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Facilitate effective and constructive feedback forums with teams that
lead to stronger design outputs -
Manage teams using goal-setting, sprints, retrospectives, scrums and prioritization
Business acumen
Research & UX design
Creative direction
Frameworks & methods
Education
ADMCi School for Digital Craftsmanship, Chicago
2014
Interaction Design Certificate
Archeworks, Chicago
2004
Social and Environmental Urban Design Certificate
Syracuse University
2001
B.F.A. Communications Design, with Honors