I led a large cross-functional team covering UX, content, and brand creative while crafting complex business critical experiences.
Hands-On Examples
B2B eCommerce Platform
B&H had a large B2B operation, but online tools to support it were scattered, inconsistent, and out of date. I designed and launched a comprehensive B2B e-commerce platform that serves 12 business segments, drove significant revenue (it eclipsed consumer sales in the first 6 months), and greatly reduced manual processes for support staff allowing them to focus on high-value activities. I was involved in all stages from product strategy to crafting all design deliverables, user testing, QA, and subsequent iteration. One of the most rewarding parts of this work was successfully driving alignment between the functional and C-level stakeholders.
B2B segment landing pages
Cooperative purchasing contract landing pages and registration
B2B feature integration throughout checkout. Ex. team management, net terms, purchase orders
Product Detail Page
As design owner of the Product Detail Page, I transformed this critical piece of the funnel in a number of ways, balancing its many jobs and key metrics while creating a more intuitive and enjoyable shopping experience and leaning into B&H’s exceptional brand and differentiated content. I addressed the overall layout as well the media viewers, easing the consumption of massive amounts of product content. I added Q&A and Reviews sections, driving engagement and “add to carts”. I created a new Accessories panel that significantly increased the attach rate and order totals. And I designed a content slider that reduced leakage from the sales funnel to the editorial experience.
Industry leading media detail layer
Content slider to allow for reading blog content without leaving the shopping experience
Holiday Promotion System
For many retailers, the holiday season is responsible for a bulk of the year’s revenue. I redesigned B&H’s holiday promotion system to drive sales and provide a better experience for customers. This helps them more easily filter and navigate sale items, understand holiday delivery expectations as key dates approach, and understand the return policy. The result was a surge in sales and less time administering the program by the several teams involved each year.
Leading the Team
The balance of my work shifted from mostly hands-on design work to mostly directing projects and driving strategic and operational initiatives with functional and C-level leaders. I significantly increased the efficiency and maturity of the design practice, leading to major improvements in the shopping experience and improved ROI on design and product development. I was responsible for structuring, coaching, unblocking, and otherwise supporting the team.
Introduced Usability Testing
I introduced usertesting.com as our UX testing platform and led the designers in developing their skills in conducting moderated and unmoderated studies. Designers learned when and how to test efficiently. They were then able to catch design surprises early and arrive at better solutions before handing anything off. Project teams were able to proceed with greater confidence, reducing costly churn.
Streamlined Embargo Release Program
The embargo release program manages the frequent and sensitive practice of making new, high-demand products (and related announcements) available as soon the the manufacturer allows. There is a lot of money involved in being the first to release. And the penalties for violating manufacturer contracts are extremely high. Much preparation and coordination are required. After leading several releases myself, I implemented a new process that made it much cheaper, more accurate, and reliable, while reducing the late-night, high-stress demands on those working to execute and coordinate all the pieces. My calmness under pressure was helpful and appreciated in this setting.
Experience Audit and Story Mapping
I led a project to document at a high level all of the of the parts of the existing experience with user stories. Each designer executed this on their part of the product. It helped identify experiences that were no longer needed and could be deprecated as well as cases of duplication and overlap that could be addressed more efficiently. It also introduced a common language to cross-functional project teams that led to a more efficient and customer-centric approach throughout the product development process.
UX Metrics Dashboard and HEART/GSM Frameworks
Building on the experience audit and working with business partners, I created a dashboard of experience metrics to accelerate conversations about success criteria for design work. At the same time, I introduced designers to the HEART (happiness, engagement, adoption, retention, and task completion) and GSM (goal, signal, metric) frameworks through a presentation and worksheet to help them design with measurable outcomes in mind.
Responsive Design Strategy
I conducted a research project to create a strategy for dealing with the variety of device types and sizes used by customers. Data indicated that customers with smaller viewports were struggling with the shopping experience. This study led to the adoption of a clear responsive design strategy. Afterward, project teams were able to move forward with increased speed and confidence with an established set of breakpoints and policies for device support. Over time, we saw a steady increase in sales metrics for users in the smaller screen segment.
UX Project Worksheet
I created a design planning template to help designers accelerate the early stages of UX projects while improving the overall quality of design engagements.
Managing Contracts for Design and Research Tools
I was responsible for managing the contracts for design tooling (Ex. Sketch, Zeplin, usertesting.com) as well as identifying and procuring any additional tools needed.
