Summary

With over seven years of experience as a design lead for Playboy, I have combined my solid understanding of user experience, graphic design, and front-end development to create many of Playboy’s most successful online properties. I work regularly with outside agencies, advertisers, and Playboy’s business owners and maintain strong collaborative and effective working relationships. I have been consistently recognized for superior performance through promotions and selection for high-priority projects.

Strengths

  • More than 12 years designing for the digital space. Creating consistent user experiences from wireframes to finished products.
  • In-depth knowledge of designing for the end-user, including wireframes, user testing, and the strengths and limitations of Flash, multiple browsers and platforms, and iterative design.
  • Over 10 years working with Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Fireworks and hand coding HTML and CSS with tools like BBEdit and Coda. Extensive experience with WordPress, InDesign, Balsamiq Mockups, Flash, JavaScript, JQuery, Google Analytics and the Agile Process.
  • Experience completing large scale site launches and redesigns while managing designers and working daily with project managers, front and back-end developers, user experience architects, copywriters, marketers, stakeholders, and end-users.
  • Proven history managing multiple projects simultaneously, solving problems quickly with a strong attention to detail and quality while meeting aggressive deadlines.

Professional Experience

Playboy Enterprises, Inc.March 2000 – Present

  Digital Design Director
  Director of User Experience
  Online Art Director
  Earlier Positions: Associate Art Director, Senior Designer

  • Redesigned Playboy.com, from wireframes through to final design. Worked closely with all business units to meet their needs and with front and back-end development to implement in WordPress. This redesign facilitated an increase in 2011 page view guarantees and brought in new advertisers such as Harley Davidson, Sony, and Spike TV.
  • Redesigned the direct-marketing webpages and e-mail newsletter for Playboy’s premier subscription site, The Playboy Cyber Club, to align with the look and feel of the redesigned Playboy.com. This consistent look-and-feel along with an improved user experience increased traffic and conversion rates.
  • Created a final design for the Playboy.tv subscription site. Worked closely with Brightcove, an online video platform business, on front-end implementation. The entire cost of the development was recouped in less than five months.
  • Functioned as creative lead on the redesign of Playboy’s premier subscription site, The Playboy Cyber Club. The redesign incorporated results from user testing and community feedback, helping to make it the most successful design the Club has ever had. The redesign helped to firmly establish the site as Playboy Digital’s most profitable online business.

UnileverNovember 1998 – February 2000

  Designer

  • Designed and coded websites and online advertising for brands such as ThermaSilk, Lever2000, ckOne, Suave, and Elizabeth Arden. Worked collaboratively and effectively with developers and art directors from MSN, AOL, Calvin Klein, Modem Media, Fort Point Partners, Inc., and DrugStore.com.

Freelance

  BlaineCPS.com

  • Serving as a volunteer parent and working with school administrators, teachers, the PTA, and other parents, installed WordPress and redesigned the website and logo for Blaine Elementary School in Chicago.

  AutoRecap.com

  • Designed and coded this automobile review website. Hand-coded templates to allow for non-technical editors to easily update the site. My design of Autorecap.com was featured on two design inspiration websites, The Daily Slurp and Most Inspired.

  TheBonMots.com

  • Developed the site concept, shot original photography, designed, and coded the website for the band the Bon Mots.

Education

Art Institute of Chicago School of Continuing StudiesSeptember 1995 – June 1998

Studied digital design and attended studio critiques

Columbia College – BA, Fine ArtsSeptember 1992 – June 1995

Concentration in Fine Art. Graduated with honors.

Western Illinois University – Fine Art, Elementary EducationAugust 1990 – June 1992

Transferred to Columbia College for a more in-depth art education