DIGITAL
EXPERIENCE
DESIGNER
What is it? It’s easier to start with what it is not. It is not a graphic designer or a web developer, and can be referred to as User Experience Designers, UX/UI Designers, Digital Product Designers, and so on. We leverage art, technology, and human behavior to create visual content and interactive experiences that blend aesthetics with functionality.
METHOLOGY
Design Thinking, a methodical approach engaging the customer to identifying the problem, researching and analyzing customer behavior, and developing and testing creative solutions.
WHY?
Research-backed designs and lightweight, interactive prototypes that engage the customer and create quick feedback loops. Businesses save not only money and time, but build great designs and delight customers along the way.
EMPATHIZE
DESIGN THINKING
DEFINE THE PROBLEM
IDEATE
PROTOTYPE
TEST & MEASURE
IMPLEMENT
UX DESIGN
A local, 100-year-old family-owned business in Wisconsin sells seeds, plants, and garden supplies through catalog sales and a regional brick-and-mortar presence. Competitive research shows this business is behind the competition in its e-commerce capabilities. A fresh design with enhanced e-commerce capabilities will attract and retain customers, lower cost to convert sales, lower customer acquisition rates, and decreasing cart abandoned rate.
This high-resolution prototype works like a fully developed app without the development costs. It could be used to test ideas in the market and determine their desirability, feasibility, and viability.
I used the Design Thinking Process, Design Principles, and the following tools: Figma, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop.
WEB & DIGITAL
DESIGN
In a professional capacity, I’ve designed and built various websites, each tailored to meet the business’s unique needs. Here's a few web projects showcasing my experience.
RESEARCH
Helping Parents with the
Cost of Childcare
The University of Wisconsin Madison Institute of Research on Poverty sponsors a program called The Alliance for the American Dream: DreamUp Wisconsin, which sponsors events to pitch ideas on how to help increase the wages of the middle class.
In 2019, an initiative called We Care for Dane Kids, a four-pillar approach to reduce the cost of childcare, won the national competition and earned over $1M of funding. As one of the four pillars, I researched the industry and developed a marketing strategy to increase participation in dependent care flexible spending accounts.
ENTREPRENEUR
IN RESIDENCE
With the research I gathered,
I established a B2B partnership with a start-up B2C childcare marketplace that connects parents with in-home and childcare center providers.
The vision was to build technology to seamlessly share transaction data between a childcare provider, parent, and third-party administrator for dependent care reimbursement. Easing the burden parents face with claiming reimbursement today to save 30% on child care costs.
E-COMMERCE
MODEL
My more recent experiment was taking Human Resource compliance services, which are typically sold through a Broker to a business, and build an e-commerce experience and business model.
A challenge!? Yes, it was! Over 6 months, I conducted research and analyzed results, conducted customer surveys, designed and re-designed wireframes, developed a marketing strategy, created an operational workflow strategy, and more. Click the case study below to view my strategic proposal and recommendation.
INSTRUCTIONAL
DESIGN
As an independent study overseen by leadership at UW-Madison Information School (iSchool), I conducted user research, analyzed results, and proposed a new approach to the class structure and content for creating a professional portfolio, resume, and cover letter.
The new content include a new class Syllabus, a Student Guide, and Peer-to-Peer Critique criteria to help students create and execute a plan over a 7-week online course.
My suggested approach is strategic and emphasizes the importance of developing a plan, setting goals, and receiving feedback from peers through-out the process.
COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
Recently, I helped lead a team of parent volunteers organize and execute our school’s largest annual fundraising event as an Adult Social and Silent Auction. Through our efforts, we successfully raised over $120k to fund educational enrichment programs for our students.