I am a UX Design Manager born in Pittsburgh, PA, raised in South Florida, and now living in Pittsburgh again, where I live and play with my wife Nikki and our dogs Layla and Cassidy. When I’m not designing, I’m trying to learn how the human mind works by studying psychology and behavior, or I’m talking someone’s ear off about the importance of designing for emotions. When I need a break from all that I like to grab my camera and get out in nature to get my ‘zen on’ taking photos. Nature and wildlife photography is my artistic outlet and mental salvation.

What I do

Strategy, Architecture & Design

  • Requirements gathering
  • Mapping flows and experiences
  • Information architecture
  • Sketching, wireframes, and mockups
  • Prototyping (Axure and HTML)

Research, Testing & Analysis

  • User interviews and observation
  • Usability and IA testing
  • Kano analysis and JTBD studies
  • Satisfaction surveys (NPS, C-Sat, CES)
  • GA analysis

Universal Design & Accessibility

  • Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC)
  • Compliance audit
  • Code review (web only)
  • Design recommendations
  • Accessibility usability testing

Content Strategy & UX Writing

  • Content audits
  • Page table co-creation
  • Content testing and scoring
  • SEO strategy
  • URL strategy

Consulting & Workshops

  • 1- to 3-day training workshops on UX, usability, accessibility, research, and testing
  • Design sprint workshops
  • Consulting
  • Contact me with any questions about pricing and availability

Speaking & Blogging

You may have guessed by the name of my site that I love talking about UX. I love to connect with others and exchange thoughts on all things UX. To that end, I blog, I’m active on social sites, I’m starting a video channel, and I present at conferences and local meetups.

How I do it

Below is my Universal Experience Framework (UXF). It outlines my core goals, principles, and process as a designer. It guides and informs everything I do.

The Universal Experience Framework describes how we experience everything through the lens of the end user and the designer.

Designer perspective

  • Goals: Compassion > Inclusion > Appropriate
  • Principles: Useful > Intuitive > Meaningful
  • Process: Content out > Context informed > Enhance and adapt

End user perspective

  • Context: Circumstance > Contraints > Capabilities
  • Inclusion: Access > Ability > Equity
  • Goals: Emotional > Social > Functional

Why I do it

One simple and selfish reason – I’m designing the world I’d like to live in.

I love solving problems and trying to make things better. UX is the perfect career for me to do both. This is my way of leaving the world better than I found it.

How I got here

Work history at a glance. Read description in the following accordion with the same title.

 

Employer history

  • 1986 to present: Freelance and consulting
  • 1990-1993: G•Neil Corporation, graphic designer
  • 1995-1998 & 2000-2002: Rexall/Sundown, designer to senior designer
  • 2002-2004: JKG/Solnex (agency), design manager and designer
  • 2004-2006: Habitat for Humanity, site supervisor
  • 2008-2013: Jarden Consumer Solutions, senior designer to senior web designer
  • 2013-2019: Citrix, UX architect to senior UX architect, accessibility specialist
  • 2019-2022: Dick’s Sporting Goods, Sr. UX Designer, accessibility specialist
  • 2022-present: Highmark Health, lead accessibility designer, now UX Design Manager of Design Systems and Standards

Skills added

  • 1986: Graphic/visual design for print and packaging
  • 2002: Web design, information architecture (IA), front-end development (HTML/CSS/JS), management and leadership
  • 2010: UI/UX design, responsive web design (RWD), e-commerce design, conversion rate optimization (CRO)
  • 2011: Content strategy, UX research (quant and qual), search engine optimization (SEO)
  • 2013: Usability testing, design workshops
  • 2014: UX strategy, accessibility, and public speaking
  • 2017: Change management, design systems
  • 2022: SharePoint design
  • 2023: People/team management

My other passion

Contact me

Give me a shout

  • Got questions?
  • Got a job opportunity?
  • Looking for a workshop?
  • Need a speaker?
  • Just want to talk UX?

No more contact form

I’ve removed the contact form due to the overwhelming amount of spam coming through. Sadly every bot, marketing agency, and web development company around the world is using the form. If you’d like to contact me, please find me on LinkedIn. My sincere apologies for the inconvenience.