Who is Rob?

I've got an insatiable curiosity to understand the world around me and to create tools to make it better for people. I'm autodidactic, dyslexic, and a lifelong tinkerer. I'm an engineer trapped in an artist's body who loves to blend beauty with function. I'm a multifaceted designer and creative problem solver.

I resisted design as a profession for a long time. Childhood was an obsession with art and science, but for some reason I wanted to keep that passion separated from "putting bread on the table." This guided me towards a non-traditional path to find my career, and I am glad for it.

After high school, I was getting bored with working in the SCUBA industry as dive guide. At 20, I joined the Navy with a SEAL contract. Honorably discharged 6 months later after discovering an allergy, but wow that was an adventure. I've worked in restaurants back-of-house for years, studied green power technologies in Europe, nearly got an international business degree, and I have a handful of patents for industrial paper packaging. Graduating with a BFA in Industrial Design at 26 left me feeling little behind ... but my circuitous journey formed me into a deeply empathetic and well-rounded professional with a giant respect for other people's expertise. Here I am 10 years into my design career, and my craving to learn and craft new things is still red hot.

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Alright cool ...
what does Rob do?

As you may have picked up from reading the novel above, I carry a diverse set of tools. I can integrate and add value to virtually any team I'm a part of. That sounds great, but isn't exactly specific. Here's some highlights of a few strengths that I'm proud of.

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Design Systems

Contributing to the burgeoning Design System at Spectrum in 2018 gave me a foundation to build on and nurtured my understanding of how they create value. I took that and applied it to create a custom Design System for the startup I led design for which significantly boosted productivity.

icon of a mobile device in front of a laptop

Mobile / Desktop Design

For the last 7 years, I've had the privilege of working with some fantastic dev teams for iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows operating systems. I've created detailed style guides, UI, and unique design / color systems for each client. I'm fluent in their terminologies and visual languages.

Stylized Vitruvian person icon, symbolizing accessibility

Accessibility

Designing for everyone is paramount in my mind. I've found that wrestling through issues with my a11y architect friends makes my designs better visually and for screen readers - 100% of the time (including this site). WCAG aficionado and advocate for details, I strive for mass usability.

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Prototyping

Steeped in usability testing since college, I've always had an eye for early stage prototypes to solicit feedback and collect data. I've fallen in love with the Figma prototypes ever since they introduced variables to the mix. I'm also well versed in Principle, InVision, and Protopie.

My Work Experience

TruU, Inc.

Denver, CO
Nov 2022 - Sep 2024

Head of UX / Principal Product Designer

Nov 2022 - Sep 2024

Spearheaded design efforts for a Passwordless Identity Management startup with a suite of AI models which makes access to secure environments both secure and seamless

  • Creative direction and Production UI for macOS, Windows, iOS, Android and Web clients to produce user-friendly, intuitive, scalable, and aesthetic products
  • Collaborated with senior leadership to develop product strategy, identify constraints and systemic issues, connect business with customer needs, and increase clarity in ambiguous discussions
  • UX/UI for a SaaS program enabling IT departments to efficiently monitor authentication events, manage security policies, link to existing directories, and add new hires and remove former employees with a high level of customization
  • Developed and maintained a robust Figma Design System serving unique design assets for macOS, Windows, Android, and Angular Material
  • WCAG compliance as well as persistently advocating to push accessibility best practices past status quo and to set standards for inclusive usability

Interim Product Owner, Mobile Apps (iOS & Android)

Feb 2024 - Jul 2024

Worked as Product Owner for mobile teams alongside creative direction, UX research, and production UI for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and Web

  • Worked with VP of Product, Customer Engagement, and C-Suite to define product direction and strategy
  • Prioritized development backlog weekly to keep a clear pipeline of work
  • Ran Sprint Grooming and Planning meetings to scope size of tickets and assign then into sprints as capacity and priority allowed
  • Hosted standup which included daily evaluation of bug tickets with Dev and QA teams

Achievement: During the 6 months I acted as Product Owner for mobile, the iOS team and I updated the app in its entirely with both UX and UI improvements. We implemented a custom semantic color system to honor light and dark themes. During this redesign effort, we also shifted the entire app from using UIKIT to SwiftUI. This was all very well-received by internal stakeholders and end users alike. Android started this effort a little later, and is on its way to make a similar UX/UI update including shifting from Material 2 to Material 3 (Jetpack Compose) in a full-app redesign.

Spectrum (Charter Communications)

Denver, CO
mar 2018 - sep 2022

Product Designer - Video Platforms Strategy

sep 2021 - sep 2022

UX Generalist linking early-stage design exploration to tangible deliverables to aid UI designers in producing successful designs

  • Develop, document and deliver design strategy to a variety of platforms including iOS, Android, Apple TV web, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, and Spectrum STB
  • Create low fidelity and refined prototypes to communicate with stakeholders, drive conversations on architecture and data analytics, and to gather insights from user testing
  • Create inspirational UI for platform designers to refine into their constraints
  • Work closely with Product teams to create and execute design experiments that produce meaningful data and benefit the business and consumer
  • Collaborate with architects and development teams to prove feasibility of Design and Product strategy
  • WCAG compliance and general Universal Design advocate to ensure that anyone can use our products, no matter their physical or cognitive abilities

Lead Product Designer - Video Platforms Upgrades and e-commerce

feb 2020 - sep 2022

Dedicated designer for a years-long project aimed at enticing "internet-only" customers into upgrading their package to include a video subscription

  • Lead designer for a multi-disciplinary team delivering e-commerce UX design solutions to platform specific design and development teams
  • Coordinate business requirements, user research and discovery, content design, WCAG/Accessibility considerations, and stakeholder management
  • Develop, monitor, and analyze multi-variant and A/B testing for Web, Mobile and 10-foot experiences
  • Communicate design intent and outcomes to company leadership

Product Designer - iOS & Android Streaming Apps

mar 2018 - feb 2020

One of a team of two delivering UX and UI assets to in-house iOS and Android dev teams

  • Product Designer dedicated to iOS and Android development teams
  • Responsible for creation and upkeep of UX documentation to highlight and explain solutions based on user needs, habits and preferences, as well as current UI trends and data analytics
  • Sketch style and symbol library development with integration of Charter's Design System
  • Interface closely with development, product, research, data analytics, and accessibility teams to deliver delightful and user-centric designs
  • Codeless prototype extraordinaire - quickly string together both high and low fidelity prototypes for user testing, stakeholder buy-in, as well as streamlining communication with development teams

Graphic Packing International

Atlanta, GA
Nov 2014 - Nov 2016

Packaging Design Engineer

May 2016 - Nov 2016

This was a really fun job. Designed new and refined old designs for large scale beverage paperboard packaging. Lots of hats in this role, and I learned how to operate as a designer in an enterprise level organization

  • Worked closely with Clients, Manufacturing Facilities, Marketing, Project Management, Engineering and a package integrity testing lab to produce scalable, profitable and functional paper packaging
  • Developed a comprehensive Design System to enhance design efficiencies and streamline manufacturing requirements, created and maintained design macros based on the system. This is what got me into UX
  • Created new designs and refined old ones to fulfill broad innovation requests while maintaining manufacturing scalability for blue chip brands like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, InBev, MillerCoors
  • Designed and patented proprietary GPI Coolerbox retaining significant MillerCoors contract. They liked it enough to display it in their innovation showcase area in their Golden, CO headquarters for a while
  • Created white paper documents based on US and EU design specs; standardized design practices worldwide
  • Applied for about 20 patents over two years, 4 of which were awarded

Junior Packaging Designer

nov 2014 - may 2016

Supported senior designers until I got my feet under me, after which point I was given the affordance to work directly with engineers

  • Develop user-centric packaging solutions linking branding with unique package geometry
  • Work closely with manufacturing, printing and sales divisions to output scalable designs
  • Visits to breweries to troubleshoot and resolve any machine and logistics hang-ups

I'm not making this stuff up!

Anyone can make a website and type a bunch of stuff to make them look good. What do people say about me? I'll make that easy for ya. Here's a few thoughts that others have thought and kindly agreed to allow me to publish on my site. Feel free to reach out to them.

Jeff Friedsams's LinkedIn photo

Jeff Friedsam

VP of Product management

I had the great pleasure of working closely with Rob for his entire tenure at TruU.  Rob joined my team to lead UX across our platform.  Rob developed design systems to make development simpler (easily repeatable) and to make the product more intuitive and easier to use.

Rob brings great creativity, passion and attention to detail to everything he does. Rob is truly a team player and happily stepped in as product owner, in addition to his primary role, to keep the team running smoothly!

Jeff's LinkedIn
LinkedIn Picture of Shawn Clisby

Shawn Clisby

Senior Android developer

I had the pleasure of working with Rob at TruU. As a Head UI/UX Designer, Rob consistently impressed me with his exceptional skills, dedication, and ability to deliver outstanding results.

Rob is a true professional who possesses a rare combination of technical expertise and creative vision. He has a knack for finding elegant and intuitive UI solutions that not only meet business objectives but also delight users. His ability to collaborate effectively with development teams and stakeholders ensures smooth project execution.

What truly sets Rob apart is his ability to juggle multiple projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines without compromising quality. He consistently delivered exceptional work, even under pressure.

Beyond his technical skills, Rob is a highly intelligent and communicative individual. He is always eager to share his knowledge and insights, making him a valuable asset to any team. I wholeheartedly recommend Rob to any organization seeking a talented and dedicated UI/UX designer.

Shawn's LinkedIn

Education

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Savannah, ga
2011 - 2014

BFA, Industrial Design

cum laude (3.69)

SCAD Industrial Design is consistently ranked as one of the best design programs in the world. The training I received there set me up for understanding and designing for real people’s needs, building business cases for designs, working with manufacturing and engineering teams, as well as guiding me in developing my communication skills. I learned how to approach rapid sketching, graphic design, prototyping, 3D modeling, illustration, and storytelling with confidence. I am grateful to have studied under experts in product design and will carry my lessons with me throughout my career.

University of North Florida

jacksonville, fl
2009 - 2011

International Business

After my brief stint in the Navy, I found myself with a deep commitment to learn and grow my mind as much as I could. Fascinated with trade, economics, and learning about other cultures, I dove into the field of international business. These years were formative, and I learned to lean further into the creative and problem solving side of my brain. While I transferred to design school before graduating, it significantly altered how I approach business thinking and the world in general.

Palm Beach State College

Lake Worth, FL
2005 - 2008

Associate of Arts Degree

I early admitted into college while in high school, and then took classes off and on for the next few years while trying out various career directions. I dipped my toes into a variety of fields including economics, psychology, construction management, architecture, literature, and music.

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