UX Design Direction | Building Human-Centered Digital Products
Hello! Good to meet you.
I'm Dawn.
I believe in making technology serve people, rather than the other way around.
For over a decade, I've worked with clients and employers ranging from Fortune 500 companies and universities to small start-ups and non-profit organizations, so I understand how to scale projects to meet needs; I'm equally comfortable managing a team of 60 or serving as a one-stop shop for marketing strategy, content writing, UX/UI design, front-end development, SEO, and social media. (And yes, I've done all of the above.)
I'm not your typical designer: I've trained and worked professionally in almost every area of the arts (named "Best Stage Performer" and "Best Dancer" by the Chicago Reader, as well as runner up for "Best Singer-Songwriter" and "Best World Music Act"), created experiential marketing strategy for one of the largest brands in Asia (Tiger Beer), designed graphics for the largest beer company in the US (Anheuser-Busch), traveled to 26 countries, published essays in award-winning SF/F magazines (Uncanny Magazine), worked at a senior level as a front-end developer (NCSA), and written about design (TechCrunch). I've danced with literal fire on network TV and sometimes eat it. (Don't worry, I'm a trained professional.)
Right now I'm doing product design with the CDC to make COVID-19 data reporting easier; for the last year, I led UX design on a project to get Medicaid regulations and supplementary content online in a form that’s more accessible for research.
Skills
Expertise: UX/UI design, product design, management, marketing strategy, HTML, CSS, copywriting, UX writing, responsive web design, livestreaming (Streamlabs OBS, OBS Studio)
Solid Proficiency: Javascript (jQuery), Slim, Sass, Mailchimp, SEO, information architecture, audio editing
Working Knowledge: PHP, ASP.NET, Ruby on Rails, GitHub, Sitecore, Drupal, SEM/paid search, Wordpress, OmniUpdate, Convio, Slate, Customer.io, Omniture/Adobe SiteCatalyst, video editing (Adobe Premiere Pro), Google Analytics
Usual Tools: Sketch, iTerm2, Adobe Creative Suite, Trello, Slack, Sublime Text, Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Figma
Publications
TechCrunch, Uncanny Magazine, The Learned Fangirl, The Bias, Invisible 3 (anthology)
Press
MSN, Daily Kos, O'Reilly, WGN-TV, WCIU, The Daily Mail, WTTW - PBS, Scapi Magazine, Broadway World, Time Out Chicago, Voyage Chicago, Toledo Free Press, WCSR, UK Channel 4 TV, Chicago Reader, Chicago Tribune
