As a product designer and design director with over 15 years of experience in the field, I specialize in creating intuitive user experiences that meet the needs of businesses. Based in Austin, I am open to full-time roles, freelance projects, and consulting opportunities. If you'd like to discuss a potential collaboration, please don't hesitate to reach out.
I have a passion for helping businesses grow by working with clients to solve problems through a process that includes listening to their needs and the needs of users, conducting thorough research, creating detailed wireframes, exploring various visual design options, and building prototypes for testing. I prioritize both functionality and aesthetics in my work, striving to create products that not only work well for users, but also feel great to use. If you're seeking a designer who can deliver on both fronts, I may be the person to help.
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, laughing, and creating memories through activities like cycling, mountain biking, surfing, snowboarding, and wakesurfing. I also find satisfaction in using my hands to build and create, such as by working on bikes or remodeling houses.
As a manager, Jon taught us how to all be leaders by giving us autonomy. He trusted us to make smart decisions and made sure to never micromanage. By knowing our strengths and weaknesses, he encouraged us to go out of our comfort zone but also gave us projects that played to our talents. He offered swift, direct, and actionable feedback, delivered in a way that never made us feel bad, but rather motivated us to be better, guiding us in directions we could effectively explore. When presenting our work, he was always humble about the part he played and would give credit where it was due. He made sure each and every designer felt included and recognized for their contributions. Jon genuinely cared about the wellbeing of every person on our team and was always looking out for us and helping us grow. Our design team was happy knowing that Jon had our back and our best interests at heart.
Jon embodies so many qualities of a good leader and designer. He has a strength of character, coolness under pressure and confidence that I suspect are the reasons so many of his designers want to follow him wherever he lands. He leads from a place of genuine care and respect for each of his team members. His passion for good UX design and typography is endless and so inspiring. I count myself among the many designers that would follow Jon anywhere.
Working together with Jon is a blessing. He has strong knowledge of the latest design trends and knows what the team needs to do in order to succeed. When it comes to design, Jon can see the big picture and still loves the little details. I can always learn a lot from his design feedback. All of our team members adore him. He creates a safe and positive environment for the team to share and gives each other honest feedback. When it comes to problem solving, Jon is the first person that we go to for advice when we get stuck. No matter what he might be dealing with at the moment, he always responds with a friendly smile and calm attitude that chills us down. The design team is willing to work at its best even when Jon is not available, because we all know that he trusts and cares for us and we respect him and feel thankful for an awesome captain like this. He is a true leader who believes, pushes, and inspires the team. Having a dream leader like this, no one would ever want to leave the team. I really hope that we will be able to work together again in the future!
Jon and I have worked together for 15 years. He has demonstrated time and again a broad hard and soft skill set that is truly amazing. He was widely-known admired, and liked, approachable, engaged and supportive not just of his team, but across the larger organization. Both at DIRECTV and FOX, his creative vision and leadership was a key strategic asset. He was instrumental in developing a collaborative Design Thinking culture to solve business challenges, encouraging everyone to pursue forward-thinking design and push the boundaries of the possible. Throughout, his clarity in distilling complex processes into simple, intuitive user interactions was an amazing resource we returned to again and again. Finally, his ability to lead a team, collaborate across groups, and develop an environment where we all can do our best work is unmatched. He is a pleasure to work with, and every day provides tremendous value to the organization.
I have constantly been impressed with Jon's eye for design and user experience and attention to detail. Even more importantly, Jon has a can-do, positive attitude, and is a fantastic manager of designers. He brings out the best in his team, they love working for him, and consistently great ideas come to the forefront. I would recommend Jon to anyone looking for a team player who consistently produces brilliant work.
I have experience working with both large and small companies, both as an in-house designer and as a freelancer. Ultimately, the size of the company is less important to me than the people who make up the organization.
If you're interested in discussing your next project, please don't hesitate to reach out via email or LinkedIn.
