a thought…
“The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose.”
The theatre critic John Mason Brown very simply put into words what has taken me at this point years and years of thinking to realize. This thing we call designing, is in all its glory, a lifetime spent stuck in difficult problems that need solutions, large and small.
While the struggle at times feels like it’s going to drive you mad, the path to solving it has some moments of pure magic and delight. If you can stay mindful enough to feel them when they happen, then boy what a great life to live. I’ve had some luck and felt those snippets of time when it all comes together. Ive also had times were i’ve blinded myself to those instances. But every day I try again. And Every day I give it everything so see if I find my way back to a great solution.
Most Recent Experiences
Experience
Apple Inc.
Current: Design Manager, Apple Media Products
Manager of a small team established to focus on content art systems inside the larger Apple Media Products Team. We work cross-functionally to develop and implement scalable solutions for everything from tools for templated designs for Apple music playlists to supporting images and assets for the product detail views in TV. We also work to develop and implement new content features across our media product landscape.
March 2011 - Present, Cupertino, CA
Education
Carnegie Mellon University.
Mdes. in Interaction Design -
Masters in Interaction design with a focus on Human Computer Interaction and design business models. Thesis: Adding dimension: Ideas for building meaningful & broader social network within academic departments. Focus on developing toolkits to aid in the creation of lasting bonds between members of a community and their schools. Early focus on the creation of identity in new environments.
August 2009-May 2011, Pittsburgh, PA
Additional History
Apple Inc.
Sr. User Experience Designer, Apple Media Products
Product & experience designer for the iTunes store group. I worked to conceptualize and imple- ment new store features across all Apple platforms. Worked with a small team dedicated to test- ing and improving basic store interactions, such as navigating music and movie catalogs, as well as building a standardized hierarchical system for how product information should be displayed. Designed and developed contained experiences like the stores gifting flow as well as the current experience of iTunes Extras, the behind the scenes experience of movies on Apple products.
June 2011 - March 2016, Cupertino, CA
netlfix Inc.
Sr. Interactive Designer, User Experience Group
Designer working as part of the main product design team focused and designing, testing and implementing new and improved website features. Was also part of the team that brought the Netflix experience to outside partners through embedded versions of our service on TVs, and other set top boxes. Was also on the team that designed the online silverlight player and its controls for video playback on the web.
April 2008 -August 2009, Los Gatos, CA
Silverpoint
Web & Visual Designer, Design
Web designer in charge of developing entire site designs and interfaces for school websites. Proj- ects usually ranged from developing an entire schools web presence to smaller self contained ex- periences for special events such as fundraisers or anniversary celebrations. Systematic design of the online experience also encompassed the design of ancillary items such as email campaigns, icon designs, logo and branding projects as well as occasional collateral items relating the web site design and or launch.
July 2006-April 2008, Baltimore, MD
Inphonic
Sr. Web & Visual Designer, Design
Senior designer in charge of developing multiple projects, ranging from, web page design and development, to Flash banner adds for promotional runs on partner sites such as AOL, MSN and Yahoo, as well as product photography for In-house and Partner use.
July 2006-April 2008, Washington, DC