About
Greetings! I’m Chris, a full-stack UX designer on a mission to infuse empathy into the digital landscape. I’m a curious designer with a pragmatic approach to the user-centered design process.
Early in my career, I discovered my passion for researching user behaviors within in-house built software and providing actionable insights for teams. Since then, I have refined my skills across the entire UCD process—from UX strategy definition, research, engineering collaborations, and design sessions, to managing stakeholder reviews, providing team leadership, and mentoring designers.
Leading end-to-end UX for business applications and e-commerce has been an exciting journey. Collaborating with talented colleagues and seeing the tangible impact of my work on business outcomes and user experiences has been incredibly fulfilling, a career I never knew was possible.
Let’s dive into the world of UX and build something remarkable!
What I'm Currently Exploring
- AI/ML, its impact on business and creative work, and how to design for it
- Animations and motion as it pertains to micro-interactions and visual experiences
- UX sound design and it’s application within digital products
- Visual design trends and techniques that blend utility, usability, and delight
LOCATION
Minneapolis, MN
EDUCATION
University of Maryland
B.Sc Computer Sci. & Info. Systems
Minor in Psychology
Research Experience
Interviews & Observations
Usability & A/B Testing
Card Sorts
Tree Tests
Personas
Heuristic Evaluations
Surveys
Data Analysis
Journey Mapping
Design Experience
HCI & UCD Principles
Information Architecture
Interaction Design
Responsive Web & Mobile
Wireframes
Prototypes
Accessibility
Design Systems
HTML, CSS, JavaScript
Delivery Experience
Business Outcomes
UX Strategy
Design Thinking
Agile & Scrum
Stakeholder Presentations
Development Collaboration
QA Support
Executive Interactions
Mentor to Designers
Work History
Costco Wholesale
Issaquah, WA
July 2013 – April 2022
UX Designer
Championed and led UX strategy and methods across B2B applications within membership, merchandise and supply chain domains, and B2C e-commerce targeting the shopping, checkout, and post-checkout member journeys optimizing key touch points and delivering measurable improvements across projects.
Mentored designers in research, design and project management, defined core team competencies and established a framework for growth and promotions within the team, and engaged in team interviews and the selection of new talent.
Initiated and developed a design system, advocating the atomic design philosophy and creating reusable UI components which improved design work efficiencies for the UX team.
Online Checkout Redesign
U.S. and Canada
Achieved a 7% increase in conversions and a notable decrease in support calls post-launch leading UX in the redesign of online checkout.
Self-Service Returns
U.S. and Canada
Reduced product return support calls by 20% leading research and design for the company’s first online self-service return process in the U.S. and Canada.
International E-Commerce
South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom
Established a unified visual design and code base of several Costco international e-commerce sites to the design standards of the U.S. and Canada, working directly with stakeholders in the U.K., Taiwan, and South Korea.
Master Data Vendor Onboard & Maintenance
U.S. – Merchandise & Supply Chain
Eliminated 33% of duplicate merchandise and supply chain master data through UX best practices to complex data systems, on-going usability studies with employees, and a defined design framework for future projects within the application.
Employee Portal
United States
Defined product vision and a comprehensive roadmap leading UX research strategy and co-leading design process to improve the business strategy and approach during discovery of an ambitious project to upgrade the company-wide intranet with new technology.
Albertsons
(Was SUPERVALU, INC. before merger)
Eden Prairie, MN
March 2006 – May 2013
UX Designer
December 2010 – May 2013
Led comprehensive user research and usability tests for diverse internal business applications, including customer service reporting, dashboards, merchandising product and promotions, Cub Foods mobile app, and other proprietary tools.
Provided actionable insights and best practice recommendations derived from usability tests, interviews, and other research studies, aligning outcomes with HCI and UCD guidelines.
Engaged in project updates and presented UX proposals to our executive sponsor, fostering a culture of design thinking and buy-in from leadership.
Co-facilitated initiatives to embed user-centered design practices and principles across the Information Technology (I.T.) department, including training sessions for managers and colleagues to ensure widespread understanding and adoption of UX principles.
Business Systems Analyst
March 2006 – December 2010
Acted as a main Subject Matter Expert in the I.T. Portfolio & Project Management Office on a $2 million implementation of new Clarity tool that was delivered on time to over 2,000 internal end-users.
Developed, maintained and prioritized a backlog of Clarity product upgrades, facilitated requirements sessions with functional areas, and presented updates to the I.T. project and portfolio managers.
Developed business requirements, created UAT strategy & plans, coordinated user acceptance activities, and performed application testing.
Shared best practices with other analysts, and provided training/guidance on elicitation techniques, and various tools that aid in determining business user needs.