About Me

My mission is to help people and organizations find design solutions that work.

How I can increase a company’s revenue

[tg_accordion title=”Creating” icon=”pencil-alt” close=”0″]Adding to their “owned-media” via research, writing, and testing, measuring, reporting and finally (but not least) designing.[/tg_accordion]

• Creating / Adding to their “owned-media” via research, writing, and testing, measuring, reporting and finally (but not least) designing.
• Gaining Loyalty / Gaining and retaining customer loyalty by reinforcing a brand’s trustworthiness and value.
• Clarifying / Improving customer’s experience with all of the company’s touchpoints by more clearly defining the company’s message, and helping the user take a specific action the company defines as a “conversion”.
• Leading / Thinking globally about the company’s placement within their industry, and strategically advancing them toward leadership.
• Solving / Finding and executing solutions for everyday business “pain-points” such as task bottlenecks, inefficient processes, time-limitations, and low-information projects.

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Academic & Business Timeline

Expertly trained in the fundamentals of design, and vetted by experience.

Academic Training. A graphic designer should be familiar with fundamentals of design: color theory, typography, brand management, visual literacy, and creative problem solving. The University of Minnesota has a state-of-the-art program that encompasses all facets of graphic design. Also, any designer employed by Northern Tool enjoys the opportunity to be mentored by expert designers.

Business Experience. A graphic designer should also be comfortable within a business environment: collaboration, task management, work-life balance, thinking strategically, and able to deliver quality work quickly.

You’ll find with my cumulative experience, I’ve thrived in both areas.

• 2014 to Present / Northern Tool + Equipment – Started with Northern Tool + Equipment, a large company with a massive e-commerce presence in addition to catalog sales and physical stores scattered across the nation. Currently employed as a user interface designer for the Northern development team.
• 2014-2021 / Freelance Work – Maintained an exclusive group of clients while employed full time at Northern Tool + Equipment.
• 2012-2014 / Stephanie Claussen, Professional Harpist – Consulted an independent musician in website best practices, enabling her to lead a full-time music practice.
• 2010-2014 / Snap Agency / Probus One Touch – Started work for Probus One Touch, an e-commerce company based in Minneapolis in 2010. Probus launched a service division, Snap Agency, in 2011. Worked here for 4 years.
• 2009-2010 / Intepro LLC – Landed a brief contract job for Intepro LLC, to develop custom icons for their software, Beacon Auditor.
• 2008-2009 / Hormel Foods – Completed two summer internships at Hormel Foods in 2009.
• 2004-2009 / University of Minnesota – Graduated from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Graphic Design in 2009.

Career Quick Stats

Collaborated toward the completion of 70 Websites.

31 non-ecommerce websites built
28 non-ecommerce mobile-friendly websites built
11 e-commerce websites designed

Content management systems used while completing these projects:

Collaborated toward 140 design & marketing projects:

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Social

42

Social media accounts designed. 2 managed by me.

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Favorite products used while completing these projects:

Completed projects for 91 accounts across a wide variety of industries.

Foundations, Institutions & Government

Foodservice & Beverage

Health, Medical Devices & Beauty

Technology

Consultants

Home Goods & Manufacturing

Sporting, Recreation & Outdoors

Machinery & Mechanics

Construction & Landscaping

Fine Arts & Creative

Law

Other

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Contractors trained in best practices

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People I’ve worked with:

Account Managers

Project Managers

Developers & IT

Creative Directors

Execs / Business Owners

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Copywriters

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Developed a simple process that can be applied to a multitude of task types.

Even though my principle skill is in design, the process I use to come up with design solutions can fit with just about anything—from technical search engine optimization to designing a logo. Depending on project size, sometimes the process can take weeks, but others, a mere 15 minutes. Each time a task is carried out, the process and expertise in that specific “thing” is perfected and refined.

Step 1
– Gather readily available, pertinent information.
– Obtain measure of success.

Step 2
– Research similar projects for visual inspiration.
– Synthesize research. What works and what doesn’t?

Step 3
– Map out plan of action / delegate tasks.

Step 4
– Develop mockup / layout / wireframe.
– Present findings / obtain feedback.
– Refine design / repeat feedback loop until satisfied.

Step 5
– Apply a rigorous quality assurance process.
– Launch campaign.

Step 6
– Reflect and refine process.
– Gather data on results and conduct usability tests.

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