I’ve been a designer for 15+ years and, currently, manage a team working on Google Cloud’s Contact Center AI. I work closely with my cross-functional partners to craft inspirational visions, build actionable roadmaps, and drive impactful launches.
Here’s a brief summary of my experience that including some back-in-the-day jams!
Interaction designer, August 2014 - January 2019
I’ve contributed to the Google Workspace through a mix of complex design work, product planning, and team management
Explore, launched in September 2016, is a hub for intelligent, content-based suggestions within Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
I helped define the strategy and led UX for Slides layout suggestions. This Explore feature intelligently surfaces professional side design ideas based on a user’s content and applies them in a single-click. I helped define heuristics, behavior, and oversaw the creation of 500+ slide designs.
Press: Forbes, VentureBeat
Team: Cross-team UX leads (I was one of three), PM lead, Eng lead, in-house engineering teams
One thing that made it challenging: Explore needed to work across three products and display very different suggestion types
This feature provides actionable insights about a document's view history and is available in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
Working closely with my PM partner, we determined our users’ most-wanted analytics.
As UX lead, I was responsible for working with our research team to understand user privacy expectations and designing both customer and admin-facing experiences.
Press: The Verge, 9to5Google
Team: UX lead (Me), PM lead, Eng lead, in-house engineering team
One thing that made it challenging: Careful consideration of privacy settings
Google Slides Q&A allows users to accept and display audience questions. Thanks to the up/down-vote feature, presenters always know which answers a group will find most valuable. The project involved designing separate presenter and audience experiences for iOS, Android, mobile web, and desktop.
Press: Google blog, TechCrunch, EdSurge
Team: UX lead (Me), PM lead, Eng lead, in-house engineering team
One thing that made it challenging: Needed to think through sessions since multiple users can present the same deck simultaneously
UX lead, 2013 - 2014
Spies was the innovation lab within the agency, KBS (now Forsman & Bodenfors). My ITP background and love of tinkering made joining this group of "thinkers, makers, innovators, and collaborators," an easy choice.
Dick's needed a crowd-funding platform where underfunded youth sports teams could apply to be featured and, upon acceptance, raise the money they need to keep playing. Spies took on the task of building a custom solution where I designed the administrator, team, and donor-facing experiences. I advised on the product concept, created the sitemap, and designed detailed UX flows.
Team: UX lead (Me), Eng lead, Visual designer, in-house engineering team
One thing that made it challenging: Considerations around user privacy and content moderation
HomeGoods did not want to get into e-commerce, but wanted a digital presence. "The Goods," gives the store’s super-fans (they exist!) a way to see new items at their favorite locations and even communicate local employees. Customers can check the app, then head to the store feeling confident there will something they’re interested in. I led design for two mobile apps, customer-facing and associate-facing, along with a desktop admin experience.
Team: UX lead (Me), Eng lead, Visual designer, in-house engineering team
One thing that made it challenging: Keeping the brand safe while allowing all employees to represent it through the app
Interaction designer, 2011 - 2013
Being a UX-led agency, I partnered with other designers to conceptualize and rapidly prototype solutions for clients including Lowe's, Comcast, Pizza Hut, and Kirsch
During my time at Huge, I had the opportunity to design for several Lowe's mobile features including their in-store product locator as well as customer and employee in-store mobile checkout experiences.
Team: Interaction designer (Me), Visual designer, UX lead
One thing that made it challenging: Designing around the fact that not every item had all pieces of information
My work for Comcast was another chance to contribute to tools that truly save countless hours of time across millions of users. The mobile QuickPay experience is one example where we helped alleviate the pain of detailed information entry of a mobile device by introducing new input mechanisms that harness OCR and streamlined flows that eliminate unnecessary steps.
Team: Interaction designer (Me), Visual designer, UX lead
One thing that made it challenging: Making filling out a lot of required information feel easy
Technical producer, 2009 - 2011
As part of the innovation team responsible for creating experiences for the networks of NBC, I worked with TV talent on projects ranging from SMS audience polls to AR and even some creative writing (like this Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights choose-your-own-adventure interaction... spooky!)
This set-top-box concept allowed MSNBC subscribers to access on-demand video, answer interactive polls, and have a home-base for news and stock quotes that’s only a click away on the big screen. My role was to create wireframes and concept mocks that helped gain the leadership buy-in to fund development.
Team: Tech producer (ME), Product manager, Eng advisor
One thing that made it challenging: Designing for proprietary platform and adhering to broadcast design standards around color, navigation, etc
OxygenLive allowed fans to access exclusive photos, video clips, and even watch their favorite programs along with the show's stars. Using a third party video provider, talent including Tori Spelling would stream themselves watching and reacting to premier episodes and answering questions user-submitted through the app. I helped define and scope the product as well as oversee vendors through launch.
Team: Tech producer (ME), Product manager, third-party development team
One thing that made it challenging: Making the app engaging between live events
UX team management
Product design
Product visioning
Software prototyping
Physical computing/hardware prototyping
Technical writing
Creative writing
NYU, ITP
MPS - 2009
Parsons School of Design
BFA - 2005
