The long story…

 

I have 12+ years of experience in UI, UX, product and entertainment design. I’ve worked as a partner, employee and contractor and know how to efficiently manage my time, communication and workload within those constraints.

PROFICIENCIES AND TOOLS

UX, UI, Wireframing, Low/High Fidelity Prototyping, Delivery

● Figma, Miro, Zeplin, All the usual suspects

User Interviews, Moderated and Unmoderated Testing, Script Writing

● Miro, Figma, Dovetail, Qualtrics

Documentation, Proposals, Discovery Sketching and Sprint Sessions

● Miro, Dovetail, Word/Docs

Illustration, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Concept Art, Game Engines

● Photoshop, Figma, Procreate, CAD and 3D Modeling, Unity


EXPERIENCE

Product Designer, Farm Credit Services of America

February 2017 - Present

● I implement each project’s UX and UI strategy across multiple teams and products.

● Lead research sessions with internal and external usergroups.

● Design interactive prototypes and coordinate handoff to developers.

● Work with a team of peers to create and evolve our design system and best practices.

● Evolve and help implement new tools and pipelines.

● Prepare for and facilitate internal workshops to advance our design culture.

● Work on innovation focused cross functional teams.

 

Freelance Artist

July 2014 - 2021

● I contacted and coordinated with clients to gather requirements, communicate progress and manage expectations.

● Created concepts, thumbnails, orthographics, animations, Illustrations, UX prototypes and UI assets for a wide range of entertainment types, including but not limited to mobile games, apps, web applications, board games and marketing campaigns.

● For each client I was able to work within their budget and schedule delivering the highest quality content while working within their constraints.

● As a freelance artist I utilized the client’s project management tools or, if none were provided, proposed my own that were suited to the job and work.

 

Creative Director and COO, Anvilhead Studios

February 2015 - 2017

● Communicated job expectations by planning, appraising, and reviewing contributions.

● I discussed and set quality standards and balanced the infinite demands of perfection against finite limitations of time and money.

● Oversaw and managed the product.

● Set and adjusted project milestones.

● Created GUI art and assets when needed.

Adjunct Faculty, Metropolitan Community College

April 2013 - 2017

● Modernized all applicable syllabi and integrated them into Google Documents for easy manipulation and use. Connected all class documents into a webpage that could be accessed off site by students.

● Cleaned up and removed antiquated document structures for easy sharing between faculty.

● Utilize a variety of technologies and instructional methodologies to keep courses updated, fun and engaging.

● Spent one-on-one time mentoring students outside of class hours and on a continuing basis once their class was completed.

 

Senior and Lead Artist, SkyVu Entertainment

February 2009 - 2014

● Created thumbnails, callouts, reference models, orthographics and illustrations while discovering what the AD/PO wanted and what the game needed.

● Spearheaded UX prototyping and development for the majority of projects worked on. Pioneered use of development tools, conducted AB testing, created final assets and implemented them into Unity with aid from the developers.

● Guided development and software quality assurance to ensure optimal progress and product stability for end users.

● Established company branding and oversaw marketing on the iTunes Store and Android Marketplace.

● Built an art department from the ground up - researching and implementing application and asset management pipelines before they were needed.

● Gathered and produced actionable style guides.

● Strove to make the team as efficient as possible in all things and implemented changes to software, pipeline and project management techniques.

● Liaised with remote outsourcers and clients over multiple projects where I managed assets, cross team communication, requirements, documentation and troubleshooting.

● Oversaw multiple, simultaneous projects across all phases of development.

● Collaborated with the development team to plan project sprints, manage scrum and document retros.


EDUCATION

Metropolitan Community College, Associates, Digital Media

2006 - 2008

My time at MCC was really encouraging to me, and the freedom I had to explore 2D, 3D and Animation helped me gain the fundamentals I use daily.

 

Interface School, Foundations of Web Development

2017

Took 80 hours of coursework to improve my frontend HTML and CSS skillset.


COMMUNITY WORK

Organizer and Administrator, Omaha Digital Artist Association

2015 - Present

I organize monthly meetups where local area artists and designers can share what they’ve been up to and discuss what is going on in their craft and community.

 

Organizer, Omaha Game Developer Association

2009 - 2017