Better systems create better experiences.

We work and live within systems everyday, but they rarely come to our attention. They may help us or hinder us, create harmony or put us in conflict. At their best, they can help make the world more equitable. They can even save lives. 

Let’s make things better.

Art Direction

2006 - 2015 I have been leading teams in the creation of marketing communications and content since 2006. My experience includes every part of the creative process from concept to delivery.

  • Visual Systems

    These images were photographed with specific lighting and angles so that they would work together within a flexible system allowing users to create multiple on-brand combinations with minimal Photoshop work, while saving time and money by eliminating the need for photoshoots of each individual arrangement.

  • Stories

    This packaging update for SA8 Concentrated Liquid Laundry Detergent coincided with a new Amway focus on the under-35 market. Instead of high-end aspirational concepts, we focused on the circumstances in which adults between 18 - 35 might actually do laundry.

  • Change Management

    These visuals were created to support the eSpring brand’s updated product positioning and communication for our internal marketing and sales teams, as well as our customers.

  • Bands & Music

    This work displays a variety of logos, posters, press packs, and merchandise for local and national bands.

  • Identity & Communication

    This work focuses on identity, brand, and communication pieces for local business in Grand Rapids, MI.

Content Distribution

2015 - 2019 In 2015 I moved from Art Direction to work with a team on creating a new experience for content distribution. Delivering content through digital systems didn’t provide the same context for brand structure and intended use as a traditional brand guide. Using Human Centered Design principles, we created a new story-based experience that grouped visuals and copy for users in “kits”. My focus was leading a team in page design which included creating and maintaining a production schedule and consistent user experience. Over the next few year I became the project owner and led a UX overhaul which offered more flexible production deadlines, better mobility between high-level brand structure and story content, increased complexity and flexibility within stories, and an improved download experience.

A third iteration of the Content Digest was initiated with the intention of making it the front-end experience for our DAM (Digital Asset Management system). I designed a new experience which served as both a work assignment and a “real-world project in my UX class.

Due to my work on these experiences I was eventually assigned to work directly with the DAM.

  • Content Digest

    The Content Digest was a story-based corporate marketing content distribution website that released new content on a bi-weekly basis for use by global affiliates.

  • Content Next

    This experience was designed, based on the Content Digest, to become the front-end experience for our DAM.

  • DAM

    Our business objectives could not be met if users engaged work-arounds instead of the DAM. Our objective was to create the best, most accessible, top-of mind experience.

Digital Asset Management

2018 - 2022 DAM (Digital Asset Management) is a platform, practice, and community that creates and nurtures systems that organize and distribute digital content. In 2018 I was assigned to lead an update to our DAM’s user experience. The objective was to move from 6 on-prem instances to a single, global, cloud-based, SaaS experience. I led a cross-functional team including Marketing, Technology, and various vendors to identify and interview over 70 global users and stakeholders, evaluate the present system, benchmark against available technology, create user profiles, write user stories, identify functionality deliverables, write requirements, schedule and evaluate demos from new technology vendors, and work with them on configurable functionalities. We were able to identify a vendor that could meet our functionality and configuration needs to create the desired user experience.

For a more in-depth understanding of our research and findings please see my article, Experience matters: How UX provided a new direction for digital asset management at Amway, in the Journal of Digital Media Management, Volume 9, Issue 2, a peer reviewed journal of Henry Stewart. This article is also part of the HS Talks Business & Management Collection.

  • Users

    We started by identifying users who engaged with the system and stakeholders who did not but were invested in specific outcomes. As our research progressed, their profiles became more extensive.

  • Research

    We completed both user feedback research and a comprehensive system evaluation. We were able to interview 70 people in 80% of our global markets. This was followed with research on available functionality to support user needs.

  • Consolidation

    We analyzed our research for patterns and gaps, and consolidated it into Agile user stories, functionality deliverables, and business objectives. These were used to write a comprehensive set of requirements.

  • Technology Demos

    We identified the top candidates who could handle our level of complexity, functionality needs, configuration for desired experience and scaleability over time.

  • Validation

    Once a final vendor was chosen, we participated in client interviews and I led an in-depth validation of all requirements. Our team created an impact map and we worked with the vendor to schedule a pilot.

  • Experience Design

    I created and shared UI designs with our vendor as a touchpoint to understanding the configurations that would support our user experience.

Content at Scale

2021 - 2022 Content at Scale is the people, processes, technology, and data that allows companies to communicate through multiple channels with one, cohesive voice. Omni-channel communication is supported by and ecosystem of connected systems such as DAM, PIM, CMS, Social Calendars and many more. This Mar-Tech (marketing technology) stack will vary depending on the needs of the company.

My work on DAM led me to Content at Scale because a modern DAM doesn’t work as an isolated repository. It’s the content hub of your communications ecosystem that is a resource, not just for people, but for multiple systems. I coordinated with other cross-functional teams to understand our existing systems, evaluate use cases recommend new technology, lay the groundwork for data orchestration, and discuss building coordinated governance for multiple systems.

  • Disconnected Experience

    Disconnected content results 
in a disconnected experience.

    Amway’s DAM had 6 global instances, plus each market has its own set of channels. These instances were not connected to other systems, so every user in every market had download then re-upload content to use it in a channel.

    Due to a slow, difficult experience, users stored corporate assets in local systems and didn’t upload 
new local assets. This prevented them from tracking where assets were used, how effective they were, whether they had expired, and what was being created in the Markets.

    This created legal liability, prevented asset ROI understanding, and created an inconsistent global experience for consumers and sellers.

  • Connected Experience

    Connected content results 
in a connected experience.

    A modern global DAM is a central hub connected to workflow and creative software such as Workfront and Adobe Creative Cloud, other systems such as CMS and PIM, and content channels such as web and social. This creates a “single source of truth” where all users can access the most up-to-date content so every global channel has a cohesive voice.

    Assets can then be placed directly from DAM into other systems and channels, which allows us to track asset use and placement, send notices and automatic updates for expiring or updated assets, and track analytics for deployed assets to assess their effectiveness and ROI

    It encourages global collaboration and efficiency, allows global content and system governance, global content re-use.