Thacker
I am a passionate and focused Design Director with an extensive background in UX and Visual Design. My focus is on creating stunning and highly usable mobile experiences.
I have a proven track record of successfully translating product visions and goals into exceptionally effective user-centric designs.
My experience across the entire project life cycle has given me a thorough and intricate knowledge of product strategy, UX & UI design, branding and development.
I have built and lead design teams for businesses large and small — from AOL to PopCap Games. I can successfully manage a creative team in any environment to deliver the highest quality work while meeting internal goals.
I believe in a balanced strategy that produces results, while making the user a top priority.
Core Competencies
Product Strategy
UX & UI design
Mobile first design
iPhone, iPad, Android experience
Wireframe creation
Protype development
Art direction
Dev team management
Mentoring, coaching and teambuilding
Usability testing
Drupal Development
Client management
Work Experience
EXPERIENCE DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL, Awesome Giant LLC | Seattle, WA :: 2007 - Present
Boutique agency focused on UX design & strategy, brand development, and mobile apps
- Provide visual design and user experience expertise to businesses and agencies nationwide
- Work with numerous product and dev teams, defining the brand, creative direction, and product UX for Web and Mobile Applications
- Provide full UX analysis and recommendations to improve usability and conversion
- Manage a team of UX designers, brand designers, developers and illustrator for client projects
- Collaborate with Clients to provide strategic recommendations for product UX, design, and feature set
CREATIVE DIRECTOR, Doyenz, Inc. | Bellevue, WA :: 2010 - 2011
Doyenz is a startup that provides cloud-based disaster recovery services for managed service providers
- Lead the creative vision, user experience and web development
- Spearheaded & executed on full rebrand and corporate site redesign
- Conduct usability tests and presented a UX analysis report with optimization recommendations
- Assist marketing with all creative needs both online and offline
- Manage a team of contractors as well as provide hands-on contribution
- Manage web development; Architected recent website redesign in Drupal 6
CREATIVE DIRECTOR, Alphabox Creative | Seattle, WA :: 2010
Alphabox Creative was a startup full-service creative agency
- Spearheaded a full rebrand offline & online for this early stage startup
- Established and managed the creative direction for all client projects
- Led client pitch meetings, prepared supporting visuals and pitch work
- Sourced talent to build a new in-house creative team
FOUNDER, SparkleShelf.com | Seattle, WA :: 2007 - 2009
Sparkle*Shelf was a vibrant social network and webzine for fashion and beauty addicts
- Sold sparkleshelf.com in August ‘09 to a Seattle startup
- Successfully built a community of thousands of registered members, and unique visitors on a minimal budget
- Contributed entirely to the concept, design, development, and maintenance for the web property
- Responsible for full brand development, product design, and product development
- Managed an editorial team of 15 writers
WEB ART DIRECTOR, PopCap Games | Seattle, WA :: 2006 - 2007
PopCap Games is a leading casual games developer, releasing titles such as Bejeweled and Plants vs Zombies
- Established and managed the creative vision and user experience for PopCap.com
- Key stakeholder involved in strategic decisions affecting PopCap.com
- Built and established an in-house team of designers and front-end developers
- Provided art direction, strategic planning, innovative solutions for design challenges
- Lead a total site redesign and rebrand which greatly improved usability and contributed to an increase in download conversions
- Managed an ongoing effort to optimize site performance that lead to increased conversions
- Responsible for team planning, budget, hiring, management, contractor management, resource allocation, scheduling, and mentoring
DIRECTOR OF UX & CREATIVE, CarDomain Network | Seattle, WA | 2006
CarDomain Network is the web’s largest community of car enthusiasts
- Lead the creative vision and user experience for the company’s online community and retail store
- Interfaced with multiple departments to accurately translate goals to the finished product
- Required a thorough understanding of the creative design process, UI (user interface) design, branding strategy and cross-departmental project management
- Managed a team of designers and developers, providing mentoring and team building
- Implemented a new working process and team strategy to increase efficiency and better allocation of resources
DESIGN DIRECTOR, Donordigital | San Francisco, CA :: 2004 - 2006
Donordigital is an agency that provides fundraising solutions for non-profits, advocacy and candidates
- Managed the design and development for all projects supporting offices in San Francisco and Washington D.C.
- Provided art direction and established the creative strategy for this agency
- Required a thorough understanding of all aspects of web design, programming, and Flash
- Required extensive knowledge of online marketing strategies and campaign creation
- Implemented a company wide project management process that increased efficiency of the project lifecycle
- Established, managed and mentored a team of designers, developers, and production staff
- Projects included marketing campaigns, interactive media and website designs for high profile clients such as ACLU, Amnesty International, The Human Rights Campaign, Humane Society and NARAL Pro-Choice America
SENIOR WEB DESIGNER, Classmates.com | Seattle, WA :: 2002 - 2004
Classmates.com is a service-oriented Website connecting people
CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, Ash White Multimedia LLC | Seattle, WA | 1999 - 2002
Oversaw start-up of this boutique agency specializing in online marketing and interaction design
Education
BA in Painting 1996, University of Washington