I'm a product designer with a focus on user-centered design. I've co-founded a digital agency, helped a number of startups design & develop their first product and currently lead cross-disciplinary design teams for State Farm's UX practice in Atlanta, GA. I believe great design is measured by the effect products have on people’s lives. And great companies are measured by their ability to consistently create products that deliver amazing user experiences.
Building a product is easy. On the other hand, building the right product is extremely difficult. Everyone wants to build a product and toss user experience on top of it since it's the new buzz. However, building the right product takes strategy.
I help ensure the right products are being built by getting businesses to understand their user's desires and needs. These desires and needs must then match the goals of the business to the degree that the needs of both parties are met.
I started my career in web application develop and design, back when all of the hip kids were using Macromedia Flash. Which is kind of funny because now I get to watch everyone essentially reinvent what Flash did in HTML but act like it's ground breaking interaction design.
I don't code as much as I used to but having a solid understanding and technical know-how to speak the language of a developer goes along way in product design. It's also a great skill to have when you want to churn out your own native or web application for kicks.
I'm a traditional artist by nature that transitioned from pencil and charcoal drawing to digital mediums. I really love great design whether we're talking car or mobile app design.
I think being a visual designer really helps to immerse yourself into a full empathetic experience as you design for your users. The externals of a product say a lot about your brand, attention to detail, relentlessness for perfection and care for what you do.
I launched a digital agency in another life. It was an extremely trying but oddly fulfilling experience. After a 5 year stint I decided to part with agency life and shut it down. But that didn't keep me from startups.
I ended up working with other startups, helping them launch their own products either by way of designing, coding or both. I love the startup life and crave opportunities to create products that help people. Which is precisely why the digital agency won't be the last startup I launch. They say you never shed the startup bug.
I'm honored to know Terrence. His desire for creating the best user experience has made us wildly successful.
They laughed at me when I told them we're moving beyond selling books. Everyone but Terrence.
I've been paid quite a bit of money to be the front man of Apple's design department when really it's been this chap.