nathan
I am a...
Experience
I love finding creative, simple solutions to complex problems. I've spent most of my career working in agencies (large and small), and thrive in fast-paced teams, but can operate just as effectively as a sole-contributor.
When I'm not in my work chair you might see me coaching my son's baseball team, playing guitar at an open-mic night or exploring the hidden gems of Michigan with my wife & 3 kids.
Ally Financial
Principal User Experience Designer - Auto Dealer
- 8 months
- Creative lead for new Ally dealer-space design system
- Creative & UX strategy for white label auction platforms
- Mentor for junior designers
Rocket Mortgage
Senior Experience Designer
- 2 years & 8 months
- Creative lead for paid search conversion
- Creative & strategy lead for 0 to 1 Rocket Rewards program
- Mentor for junior designers
- Engineering liason for creative team
- User research establishment, refinement & recommendations
Merkle / HelloWorld / ePrize
Creative Director
- 11 years & 10 months
- Creative strategy using gamification techniques for fortune 500 companies
- Creative direction for workstream
- Mentor & career development for junior designers
- Process development and Agency Agile implementation
Cobaltcow (freelance)
Creative Director
- 23 years (current)
- Sales, Marketing, Promotions & Billing
- Creative design, Print facilitation & Front-End development
- Branding & Social media development
Other
Digerati Solutions, Pinn Deavin, Intermedia & PGD
- B2B & B2C web solutions
- Creative strategy & Sales
- Creative design & Front-End development
- Platform, product & process enhancements
- Marketing & Promotions
Summary
Timeframe: April 2022 - Current
Project type: Responsive web & mobile native app
Synopsis: In the massive US mortgage market downturn of 2022, Rocket Mortgage was looking for a foothold with the first-time homebuyers market. The business decided to invest in loyalty, and leverage gamification to build connections with home seekers that were inside the 6-24 month window to purchase.
The challenge: Build a scalable loyalty program from scratch, to make an immediate impact on home purchase lead-to-close, with a focus on first-time home buyers.
Results
The program has exceeded all goals to date.
- Launch was on-time and on-budget
- User research showed 98% comprehension of the program.
- At the Feb '23 earings call (4 months after launch), it was announced that the program has over 1 million users, that have redeemed over $600,000 in closing cost credits
Nathan's Ticket To Fun
- Company: Nathan's Famous / Smithfield
- View Project Detail & Creative
- Official Program Details
- AdWeek Press Release
- MarketingDive Press Release
Summary
Timeframe: July 2015 - December 2017
Project type: Responsive web
Synopsis: Approaching their 100-year anniversary the iconic hotdog brand was looking to develop a purchase-based program that would also be worthy of attracting some media buzz.
The challenge: To build a program that would tangibly boost sales, increase media attention, highlight the history of Nathan's Famous, elevate the brand, and build a platform for collecting live user analytics for the first time.
Results
The program's success metrics weren't made public, but it was so successful that it was extended by another year. The parent client Smithfield Foods also asked us to create a virtual town of Smithfield, VA. to support their product lines.
We were able to achieve a number of sigificant milestones for the client;
- Establish a comprehensive CRM for targeted digital and direct-mail marketing
- Track household product usage & frequency
- Increased 4th of July event viewers by over 150k
Branding
Freelance design lets me practice effective listening, data collection, research and branding periodically. Here are a few examples of my work.
About Me
When I built my first website from scratch at 19, it was rudimentary, but it inspired me to explore how the web can reach, engage, and inspire. When given a problem, I see solutions very quickly. I'm honest, hardworking, and loyal. I love clean and purposeful experiences. There's more to work than just finding a job; I'm looking for a company and team to grow with.
Software & platform competencies
- Figma
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Photoshop
- Illustrator
- HTML/CSS
- Adobe XD (some)
- Invision
- JIRA
- Mac & PC literate
- Very comfortable with standards for
- ADA compliance (WCAG AA/AAA accessibility)
- GDPR & CCPA requirements (privacy)
- COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act)
Other relevant information
- I was born and grew up in Australia
- Moved to Michigan in August 2008
- Work status: US Citizen (naturalized)