Head of Design Innovation & Product Experience
Automattic | 2018 - present
Heads the newly-established Product Experience Design practice by defining process and coaching designers. Created our Product Experience Playbook to establish consistent best practices for product designers. Leads project teams in designing improved site-editing interfaces and experiences. Responsible for developing new organizational capabilities around innovation, including creating internal vision for future product development.
Chief Design Officer
Axios | 2016 - 2018
Early-stage hire who has played a key role in developing and executing the overall vision for the company. Heads up design across product, editorial, and brand. In the first 18 months of the company, led the creation and launch of 5 major products — the axios.com web/mobile site, 13 newsletters, an internal writing & publishing platform, a writing product for external contributors, and a native app (to launch in fall 2018). In addition to product design and strategy leadership, also oversees a team of visual journalists who create editorial illustrations and data visualization and guides the overall branding and visual language for Axios.
Creative Director
The New York Times R&D Lab | 2013 - 2016
Led a team of creative technologists in the creation of innovative experience prototypes exploring the future of media. Developed a multi-faceted research agenda and synthesized clear points of view on the emerging media and technology landscape. Communicated the outcomes of the lab's research to groups throughout The New York Times as well as to a broader audience through extensive public speaking and writing. During the tenure of my leadership, the lab has become internationally renowned and the projects I led have been covered in numerous publications, including WIRED, The Atlantic, Make Magazine, Le Monde, The Awl, Columbia Journalism Review, and more. The lab also received a 2015 Silver Medal for Best Innovation Program at the Corporate Entrepreneurs Awards. Project portfolio available at www.nytlabs.com.
Creative Technologist
The New York Times R&D Lab | 2007 - 2013
Responsible for researching technology trends and creating award-winning prototypes of future interfaces for news and media consumption. Led user experience and design for the lab as a whole. Prototype development entailed concept creation as well as visual design and front-end programming. Other responsibilities included giving presentations on future visions for technology, news, and content to a wide variety of audiences, as well as writing white papers and articles on current technology topics. Awards received include the Knight-Batten Grand Prize for Innovation in Journalism and a New York Times Chairman's Award.
Co-Creator and Designer
News.me | 2011
Responsible for concept development and visual and interaction design for News.me, a personalized news reading app for the iPad. News.me was initially developed as a prototype at The New York Times R+D Lab, and was subsequently sold to bit.ly / betaworks. Engaged in a 6-month residency at bit.ly to design and launch the first version of the News.me app.
Adjunct Faculty
Parsons School of Design | 2009 - 2010
Adjunct faculty in the Design + Technology MFA program. Created and taught courses on data visualization and design for ubiquitous computing. Also acted as thesis advisor for MFA student theses.
Senior Interaction Designer
Columbia University | 2001 - 2006
Designed compelling user experiences for a wide variety of interactive projects, including websites, digital collections, online courses and multimedia exhibition kiosks. Established organization-wide standards for information architecture and interaction design. Created site maps, wireframes and functional specifications, and collaborated to create elegant visual design solutions. Worked with clients both within and outside of the university, including the New York Historical Society, PBS, Columbia Digital Libraries, and the BBC.