“What works good is better than what looks good, because what works good lasts.”
— Ray Eames
© Calder Powers
I believe that starting with a solid, well thought out foundation is priority one. My approach to UX is informed by a combination of my experiences from web design, customer service, and my natural draw to problem solve. I want to make things looks good, but fell in love with with the opportunity to solve problems with a user-centered approach to design.
Both in my career and in my personal life, I enjoy learning and honing new skills and finding inspiration in uncommon places. Whether it’s woodworking in my tiny garage or learning a new technique in Brazilian jiu jitsu, I feel the most satisfied by learning new techniques. Practicing and learning from mistakes and feeling the satisfaction that comes from proper execution sparks joy for me.
My Current Obsession:
Building storage solutions the french cleat wall in my shop.Resume
Sr. Product Designer
March 2021 – Present
San Mateo, CA
Helped form hypotheses based on user research, statistics, and user feedback to craft design solutions that focus on lifting user conversion rates. Guided projects from initial idea phase through design, development, and launch as well as post launch iterations.
Worked with pod and project stakeholders to identify and align project goals with the company roadmap
Collaborated closely with a multidisciplinary team to help shape hypotheses into design solutions geared towards growth and conversion
Worked primarily in Figma using our design system to rapidly create designs for A/B testing and validation
Created empathetic user experience solutions for Apple and Android tablets and phones and web formats
Partnered with copywriters to ensure the tone of a project matches the Epic! brand
Articulated design decisions and shared and received design feedback in our bi-weekly design critiques
Worked closely with engineers to kickoff and build projects and negotiated any concession needed to ship final design
Participated in test parties to bug test features before launch to ensure design quality in maintained
Worked with data analysts to use statistically significant numbers from A/B tests to determine project iteration steps
Attended weekly research readout meeting to stay abreast of the latest user research analysis
UX/UI Manager
May 2017 – March 2021
Oakland, CA
Led a team of UX/UI designers across multiple casino and game apps designing simple, compelling user experiences. Responsible for coordinating schedules, understanding of end-to-end design process, and communicating with engineering and stakeholder teams.
Led the team through a store redesign to increase store package purchases by 38.4%
Partnered with our remote research team to assess user testing needs in order to create mocks and prototypes for various feature
Guided career development of direct reports through regular 1:1's, reviews, and access to external training and conferences
Led weekly sync meeting to schedule tasks, update calendars and progress, as well as identify and help to clear up any pain points on current projects
Oversaw brainstorming sessions that allowed new ideas to be shared and ensure everyone on the team understood the upcoming tasks
Coordinated with cross-disciplinary teams to work out scheduling and team work assignments
Helped flesh out assets lists, feature costing, timeline approval and various organizational tasks to shape project timelines
Worked with engineering team to export and implement UI assets into the game
Sr. UX/UI Designer
December 2012 – April 2017
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Translated MyVegas’ web experience into their first ever mobile app, MyVegas Slots, which led to the creation of several mobile titles such as MyVegas Blackjack, Konami Slots, and POP! Slots.
Worked collaboratively with technical artists and engineers to design and improve technical guidelines
Relied on to solve creative challenges in conjunction with project art director and project managers
Was responsible for assessing UX requirements and flows, creating wireframes, and delivering game-ready UI designs and assets for games and applications
Designed highly engaging UI/UX for PLAYSTUDIOS’ first mobile slots apps myVegas Slots, myKonami Slots, and myVegas Blackjack all of which maintain a top 10 and top 50 rating in the Apple app store’s casino games category
Met with product managers to build or improve specs for mobile and web features and deliver wireframes, mocks, and final assets to developers
Improved existing features such as the myVegas Blackjack store which saw an 8% boost in engagement by designing a clearer, more concise UI
Created presentations for feature reviews with executive level staff and other key stakeholders
Lead collaborative multi-disciplinary UI/UX brainstorming sessions for new initiatives
Ensured a consistent UI language across various platforms and products
Prioritized workload across various platforms to meet deadlines in a timely manner
Sr. UX/UI Designer
May 2011 – November 2012
San Francisco, CA
Was part of a team that created and maintained record-breaking million-dollar revenue days for FarmVille by supporting the company goals through work with project managers, engineers, and artists. Helped to teach more junior level designers both technical and design requirements and expectations as well as acclimating to our SCRUM development process.
Created compelling features while working under the general supervision of the lead UI/UX designer
Was responsible for directing the work of more junior level Designers on the team to help them stay on schedule
Designed intuitive in-game user flows merging business goals with user needs
Redesigned the FarmVille store to optimize for larger screen real estate, feature larger images, and clean up the user interface for an overall better user experience
Met with product managers on a weekly basis to help develop new feature ideas and work on user flows
Provided guidance to junior level UI Designers on best practices and processes
Participated in the SCRUM development process to stay abreast of project progression
Participated in high level concept creation for new features
Created developer ready flash files for coding
Web Designer
October 2010 – May 2011 Atlanta, GA
Responsible for assisting the design team with web page layouts, image editing, creating image templates, and assisting developers with mocks and asset management.
Was responsible for assisting the design team with web page layouts, image editing, creating image templates, and assisting developers with mocks and asset management.
Collaborated with other designers to create assets for the refreshed Home Depot product pages
Created mock designs for several sales events pages for black friday weekend sales events
Edited XML to import imagery created from mocks that I helped to design
Web Designer
January 2007 – October 2010
Atlanta, GA
Collaborated closely with designers, producers, writers, art directors, and developers to create countless pieces of ad media, dozens of show pages, several Cartoon Network web site redesigns, and other larger initiatives such as Cartoon Network FusionFall User Interface designs. Successfully delivered on honing my design skills, punctuality, and teamwork.
Worked as a part of a tight-knit team of designers, producers, writers, art directors, and developers to create countless pieces of ad media, dozens of show pages, and other design needs
Worked on other large initiatives such as Cartoon Network’s FusionFall MMOG user interface designs
Instrumental in several Cartoon Network web site redesigns
Expanded my 3D skill set by learning Cinema 4D, which I used to create a custom branding area on the Cartoon Network home page
Designed show pages for new or existing shows using show style guides and assets
Worked closely with producers and writers to create various web initiatives
Was a key designer in the 2011 redesign of the Cartoon Network website pages
Web Design T3
February 2005 – August 2006
Atlanta, GA
Working as a part of the T3 (Turner Trainee Team) allowed me to become an embedded member of the Cartoon Network New Media team for 11 months. During this time I learned how to become an integral part of the team responsible for helping with everything from organization of assets to creating ad media and show pages.
Performed weekly updates for the Adult Swim & Cartoon Network websites
Created content for an Adultswim.com redesign
Responsible for the organization of the new media assets
Created show pages and mobile wallpapers
Participated in weekly design share and critique meetings
Professional Skills
Creative
Sketching
Layout Design
User Experience Design
User Interface Design
Brainstorming
Storyboarding
Animation
Applications
Figma
Adobe Creative Suite
Sketch
Asana
Balsamiq Mockups
Jira/Confluence
Many more
Soft Skills
Customer Service
Empathy
Critical Thinking
Collaboration
Desire to Learn
Management
Education
Art Institute of Atlanta
Bachelors of Fine Arts, Graphic Design
1999 – 2003
The focus of my education was on the broad field of Graphic Design. Most of the electives I chose were in multimedia design and animation to prepare for a more digital focused career.