SUMMARY
A national award-winning designer and leader in all phases of product design with valuable experience in the areas of UX design,
UI design, UX Research, rapid prototyping and effective collaboration. Over 10 focused years in designing user-centered products. A creative professional that is responsive, flexible, highly motivated self-starter who takes initiative, builds relationships, solves problems, and thinks creatively.
CORE COMPETENCIES
● UI/UX Design ● Wireframes ● Interactive Prototypes ● Style Guides ● Research
● Infographics ● Presentations ● Branding ● Graphic Design ● Illustrations
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
VIDEA (COX MEDIA GROUP) Atlanta, GA 04/14 to Present
SENIOR UX/UI DESIGNER
Integral lead in designing online application for start-up; Create personas, user stories, user flows and sitemaps; Maintain and contribute to corporate style guide; Design low and high fidelity prototypes; Built UI components and assets; Understand and participate in an agile/scrum environment; Work with development teams to establish UI standards; Work daily with cross-disciplinary/off shore teams; Collaborate with Research and Development team on brainstorming and design of innovative products; Update UX/UI wiki for internal company communications; Participate and conduct user testing of internal/external clients and collect findings to refine business and design requirements; Oversaw brand requirements throughout development process; Work closely with business analysts, product managers and QAs on feature products; Create illustrations, custom iconography and departmental logos; Design and contribute to UX team monthly newsletter; Collaborate with Marketing on designing corporate materials; Create presentations for Senior Leadership for high level meetings; Introduce infographics on processes for internal and external clients.
WEBMD Atlanta, GA 10/10 to 03/14
SENIOR VISUAL DESIGNER
Brainstormed and created revenue driven products; Sketched, wireframed, and designed UI interfaces based on client requirements; Created innovative prototypes for new business presentations; Built and developed dynamic Flash-based ads; Worked directly with developers for seamless implementation of designs; Collaborated with stakeholders in program kickoffs; Delivered high fidelity prototypes for client approvals; Created deliverables within confines of clients’ brands and identities; Created and optimized low file-size Flash and Photoshop assets; Delivered original creatives for video production; Introduced, implemented and created informational graphics; Researched and gathered information for data visualization.
MEDICINE NET/ RX LIST
Charged with creating interfaces and UI elements; Created mockups and comps of projects from small to large endeavors; Effectively translated branding and marketing strategies into responsible designs; Maintained branding across digital products and created style guides in support of brand; Ensured accurate completion of client deliverables within specified deadlines and budgets.
UNIVERSITY OF WEST GEORGIA Carrollton, GA 6/10 to 9/10
SENIOR GRAPHICS DESIGNER (Contract)
Designed alumni magazine cover; Maintained regular backups and archives of all art files for each publication; Provided additional design support for marketing materials; Lead and participated in informal and formal brainstorming sessions to drive successful campaigns; Provided a consistent level of quality work while staying on-brand; Executed university design format, standards and style guide.
ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION Atlanta, GA 6/99 to 5/09
MULTIMEDIA DESIGNER – AJC.COM
Pioneered and built rich interactive projects; Experienced designing within digital requirements and advocate for a strong user experience; Worked closely with clients to gather and present core information through graphics in a extreme deadline driven environment; Built wireframes for internal and external client; Developed user-focused online graphics and illustrations for various news topics; Responsible for the design, development and production of interactive data visualizations; Created high volume flash-based games; experienced with asset optimization within Flash and Photoshop; Analyzed online opportunities and pursued them creatively and aggressively; Partnered with development team to ensure design experience was translated; Created assets for video team.
BUSINESS GRAPHICS COORDINATOR
Tracked Atlanta’s business community for information on potential graphics daily; Created eye-catching original illustrations/graphics for business fronts and various periodicals; Gathered data sets for creating data visualizations; Interpreted complex information and simplified them into comprehensible graphics; Managed and mentored interns Daily to develop their skills and abilities; Educated business editors and reporters on opportunistic use of infographics.
SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Excelled at creating daily breaking national and local news graphics; Created graphics with awareness of web-first approach; Created clean and informative 3D graphics for digital and print; Organized and designed explanatory graphics to show processes, define elements and clarify a sequence of events; Delivered detailed informational graphics on long-range enterprise stories; Identified and interviewed appropriate sources for accurate information for content in graphics; Created custom illustrations in various styles.
MYRTLE BEACH SUN NEWS Myrtle Beach, SC 11/98 to 6/99
SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Tasked with building and managing art department; Prepared charts, graphs, and maps for daily use; Created style guide for print graphics; Created custom illustrations and iconography; Researched and created infographics of all sizes; Demonstrated the initiative to respond quickly to breaking news; Worked with news team to creatively present stories and data on digital and print platforms; Created simple data visualizations out of condensed information.
THE GAZETTE Colorado Springs, CO 6/97 to 11/98
VISUAL DESIGNER
Created compelling infographics with original graphics reporting; Balanced stories and visuals for easy navigation; Presented visual storytelling graphics in print and digital platforms; Collaborated with editors and reporters to assist them better tell their stories through great visuals; Created custom graphics and illustrations for all sections; Designed special sections and covers for major enterprising projects; Designed and produced data-driven infographics and illustrations for use in print and web; Translated complex concepts into easy-to-read presentations using charts, graphics, or visual aids; Inspired creative collaboration across the organization.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS
Charlotte, NC 10/96 to 6/97
GRAPHIC DESIGNER / ASSISTANT EDITOR
Responsibilities included designing, planning, scheduling and distribution of Hornets team magazine; Created effective newsstand covers that engaged and motivated consumers; Coordinated with outside service vendors, including delivery, reproduction and printing through commercial printers; Assisted marketing account executives in creative solutions for community outreach; Completed marketing projects from concept to completion; Delivered high impact projects in tight deadlines consistently; Led and directed in-house and on-site photo shoots; Maintained consistent style and design quality in accordance with editorial and marketing goals.
THE HERALD
Rock Hill, SC 6/95 to 6/97
GRAPHIC DESIGNER / ILLUSTRATOR
Practical application of design, typography and illustration standards; Created imaginative page designs for all section fronts; Oversaw department in creative manager’s absence; Responsible for design of feature publications; Created charts, graphics and other data visualizations daily; Managed time efficiently to meet all project deadlines; Anticipated and resolved creative challenges by using appropriate solutions and resources; Trained and taught interns the fundamental procedures of newspaper design.
EDUCATION
● Winthrop University, School of Visual and Performing Arts - BFA Graphic Communications
● Adobe - Actionscript 2.0 certification
● New Horizons - HTML certification
TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY
● Photoshop CC ● Illustrator CC ● InDesign CC ● Axure RP ● Sketch ● Balsamiq
● Microsoft Office ● Flash CC ● Poser
ACCOLADES AND AWARDS
● Two-time NABJ Artist of the Year ● SND Award ● Colorado Press Association ● Fellowship, Newspaper Association of America
● Georgia Press Association ● Cox Artist of the Year ● South Carolina Press Association ● PICA Award ● Cox Employee Spotlight