Hi, my name is Nick, and I'm a UI and UX designer.

I love to make sites, apps, interfaces, and experiences that are intuitive and compelling.

My Skills

  • Research
  • User Interviews
  • Persona Creation
  • Usability Testing
  • A/B Testing
  • Wireframes
  • Paper Prototyping
  • Omnigraffle
  • Balsamiq Mockups
  • Invision
  • Figma
  • Visual
  • Adobe CS
  • Sketch
  • Front-End
  • HTML5
  • CSS3
  • WordPress
  • Git, GitHub, JIRA

My Background

I'm a designer with backgrounds in studio art, print design, and front-end development, and I've worked in cultural institutions, arts publications and nonprofits. I make not just products, but cohesive experiences & designed ecosystems. To that end, I see projects from conception all the way through to launch whenever possible.

My Process

Research & Ideation

I start with user research to determine needs & desires. This can include surveys, interviews, and card sorts. Generally results in user personas.

Next up is ideation, where my team and I generate tons of possible solutions. This is the part where we use tons of Post-Its.

Then, I create lo-fi wireframes of the best solutions. These help to determine user flows and user journeys.

Refinement & Implementation

From the lo-fi wires I create a clickable prototype. I'll put it online and in front of peers for usability testing.

I tweak the design and create hi-fi mockups in Adobe or Sketch. I'll work with a developer (or a few) in case they find any red flags.

I'm not often asked to do any front-end implementation, but I know enough HTML, CSS, and jQuery to be dangerous.

My Experience

UI & UX Designer at Mosaic • 2019-2020 • Oakland, CA

  • Helped brainstorm, research, plan, and execute design-based projects that grew Mosaic's market share within the solar and home improvement industries.
  • Made Mosaic’s product experience the best and most frictionless it possibly can be for Mosaic’s user base of contractors.
  • Evangelized design thinking at an organization whose product team had traditionally been structured around engineering.

UI & UX Designer at OneMain Financial • 2016-2019 • Chicago, IL

  • Worked with design & front-end teams to standardize a web styleguide following merger of two large finance companies.
  • Executed on a data-driven revamp of OneMain’s web information architecture, focusing on the site’s emergent mobile audience.
  • Strove to bring iterative, research-based processes to OneMain’s workflow to compete with modern fintech market leaders.

User Experience Designer at Dose • 2016 • Chicago, IL

  • Led a research-based UX audit for Dose’s internal CMS, including user interviews, card-sorting and usability testing.

User Experience Consultant at Signal • 2015-2016 • Chicago, IL

  • Conducted onsite user interviews with employees of prominent media & advertising agencies.
  • Developed detailed, data-driven, enterprise-level user personas.

Visual & User Experience Designer at The Field Museum • 2011-2015 • Chicago, IL

  • Launched a new single-page application template for Museum exhibition sites: designed sites for Vikings & China exhibitions.
  • Helped evolve the web department from a subsidiary of IT to a fully-resourced marketing & product team.
  • Performed extensive user research, analytics, and A/B testing as part of the Field's website overhaul in 2014.
  • Set graphic standards for main Field Museum website & other Museum-related online & social properties.

Visual & User Experience Designer, Freelance • 2010-present • Chicago, IL

Projects included:

  • Hiromi Tanaka: Designed & launched a mobile-responsive artist portfolio site using WordPress.
  • Foodfeed: Researched, designed, and prototyped a recipe-finder mobile app for a client who was a novice cook.
  • Shanutherford: Designed full suite of Chicago-themed wedding invitations & programs.

Credentials & Speaking Roles

  • Presenter, The Basics of Mobile Websites, presentation at American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting • 2014 • Seattle, WA
Download Resume  

Like what you see? Contact me and let's work together!