Yes, this is an older pic, but it's the only one I like.
Hi – my name is Ray and I am a designer with extensive experience in both print and digital. I prefer a fast-paced, collaborative environment. I like clean, effective design and well-crafted user experiences. Grilled Cheese sandwiches are pretty awesome, too.
Quick Points:
• UX/UI/IxD/IA for two FDA-approved, HIPAA-compliant telehealth devices
• Created a UX/UI concept for a digital magazine which resulted in a 400% increase in both page views and clickthrus
• Designed and produced a game for iPhone
• Created and implemented processes and best practices for start-up teams
• Self-managed problem solver, handling multiple concurrent projects from start to finish
• Experienced with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, XD, Sketch, InVision, Figma, Balsamiq, and many other tools
Specialties: UX/UI, Lean UX, Agile UX, Visual Design, wireframes, prototypes, concepts, strategy, marketing design, typography
Likes: cultural consciousness, animal welfare, Lego, Star Wars, sci-fi/fantasy, games, puzzles, kinetic toys, low-brow art, animation, music and movie nerd, making pickles and fermented foods
GOAL
I want to produce great, positive experiences that help enrich people's lives. I am looking for an organization that understands how UX can make a difference, takes UX seriously, and has some structure already in place that I can work into.
Personal Statement
My journey to UX started with my learning HTML-2 and building my first website, well before things like CSS, and having to do things like slice images that hopefully would flow correctly when placed into fixed tables. The site I called The Front Porch was meant to be a place where my friends and I could hang out, and we could have discussions and share things. Except everybody was into building their own sites, and I was more into printing and books. But I still dabbled in digital art and creating websites, Blogger, and my own domain.
It was when I read The Design of Everyday Things that i realized that EVERYTHING has a basis in user experience. Any THING a person has to interact with requires the understanding of how a person might best interact with it. In my head, I started redesigning experiences everywhere I went. Noticing things like how businesses used customer flow, how tangible products are designed and they could be better, and how online experiences could better cater to the users.
I didn't get to start working with these concepts until around 2009 when working at a multi-channel marketing agency that was expanding from print catalogs into the digital arena. I went from a print-production manager role to a UX/UI design/project manager role, joining a new, small development team producing microsites, landing pages, web apps, and lots of banner ads for larger customer-based teams that serviced clients like Adidas, American Express, RadioShack, eBay, Dell, Nautilus, and USAA. This is when i started trying to formalize the processes and my understanding of UX/UI and digital workflow. Unfortunately, when my company merged with a true digital agency, my team got shuffled out of the deck.
How I work
I was schooled in Rubylith and Photostats. One of my first jobs in college work-study was to disassemble two rooms full of Compugraphic typesetters and setup a digital design lab of 24 Macs with Photoshop, Illustrator, and QuarkXPress. I use time and efficiency skills i learned from print production in digital production. I still think end-of-day means however long it takes to finish, not when the clock says five-p.m.
Most of teams I've worked with have been standard Waterfall process and Lean UX, but I HAVE worked in Agile settings in standard design sprints, which I prefer. The teams I've worked with primarily like to use eMail and verbal instructions, with few meetings or discussion prior to viewing some sort of mock-up.
I still go through many of the UX processes for myself, starting with basic research, hand sketches, wireframes, low-resolution mockups and then prototypes, until I can get to a point where I can present material that the requestor can empathize with.
I like efficiency in process. I like collaboration and feedback. I like being able to work with developers directly so that we both quickly understand each other's pain points and can provide solutions without having to have large meetings or discussions. I like interacting with high-level stake holders, so that goals are met clearly and concisely.
I utilize principles of Atomic Design. I use an 8-point grid system for my base grid, and a 4-point system with typography to help maintain a vertical rhythm that's good for short or long reading.
Tools
I haven't met a software tool I couldn't adapt to, but my tools of choice are Illustrator, Photoshop, Sketch, Figma, InVision, and Balsamiq.
For more information, please contact me through email, or one of these many social channels: