Randy Ellis

Product Design Leadership

Chicago, Illinois

Leading cross-functional teams of designers, developers, and stakeholders to resolve complex design challenges, resulting in a 20% faster project completion and a 15% reduction in design errors.

Work Experience

Lead UX Researcher

Clockwork

Apr 2023 - Oct 2023

Produced mid-fidelity wireframes and user journey flows for a financial client to reduce onboarding time for their non-profit banking program by 12%.
Interviewed more than 30 internal financial planners and advocates to analyze the user experience and enhance their financial planning tools.
Conducted internal user interviews to recommend a best-in-class PIM solution, resulting in a 23% reduction in inventory management bottleneck costs.

Head of Design

Nagarro

Mar 2022 - Oct 2022

Facilitated 1:1 coaching sessions with 15+ junior designers to enhance user-centered design skills, resulting in a 100% positive impact from team members and a 40% increase in junior designer retention rate.
Orchestrated the IT firm's design evangelism strategy roadmap, aligning with the firm’s vision and goals; grew brand recognition by 50% and generated 100+ leads via design events and webinars.
Represented the company's brand at international design conferences, organizing and leading workshops on design thinking that inspired 150+ attendees from diverse backgrounds.
Produced and disseminated 15+ leadership articles on industry trends and design best practices to 10k+ subscribers; drove a 40% improvement in website traffic and a 25% boost in lead generation.

Director of DesignOps

NagarroDV

Feb 2020 - Mar 2022

Guided a design ops strategy that streamlined design processes and collaboration across teams, dropping design cycle time by 35% and growing design quality by 40%.
Collaborated with product and engineering teams to establish design and development roadmap; ensured continuous feedback and alignment between design and development phases; reduced design and development time by 30%.
Defined weekly design reviews with cross-functional teams and provided in-depth feedback on design quality and adherence to design principles, with product usability up by 23% and customer satisfaction by 38%.

Associate Director of UX/Product Design

Innovation Lab, Alight Solutions

Sep 2018 - Jul 2019

Authored and managed UX design documentation, including wireframes, prototypes, interaction models, and design guidelines.
Conducted user research through surveys, heat maps, and A/B testing, improving user engagement by 50% and a drop in bounce rates by 25% with the innovation lab products.
Guided product launch for an AI anomaly payroll detection system for the internal accounting team that improved the detection of errors by 60%. Leading to B2B white-label solutions for resale opportunities.
Supervised a team of junior designers/developers to launch an analytics-focused career-tracking mobile app for the platform audience. Improving customer success of job placement by 35%.
Introduced the latest trends and best practices in UX design, technology, and industry standards to drive product strategy, innovation and enhance the user experience.

Lead Product Designer

DigitasLBi, North America

Jul 2018 - Sep 2019

Prepared UX deliverables, such as wireframes, prototypes, user flows, and interactive mockups that communicated design concepts and interactions to clients and team members.
Managed creative direction and mentorship to junior UX designers, creating exceptional user experiences and fostering professional growth.
Planned collaboration with visual designers to align UI design with overall UX strategy, usability standards, accessibility guidelines, and brand requirements, growing website engagement by 25%.

User Experience Strategist

Eight Bit Studios

Mar 2016 - Jun 2018

Initiated a comprehensive UX strategy by drawing website traffic by 45% and reducing bounce rate by 20%; aligned design changes with customer feedback from 20+ user research sessions.
Designed and executed mobile app usability testing using metrics, including task completion rate and user satisfaction rating; identified and resolved 50+ usability issues and increased user retention by 15%.
Analyzed user behavior data and feedback via heatmaps, surveys, and interviews; used insights to optimize seven essential user journeys, lowering drop-off rates by 25%.

Teaching Experience

ThriveDX

Adjunct User Experience Instructor

May 2021 - Nov 2022

Conducted lectures, led discussions, and facilitated activities on product design principles, processes, and methodologies.
Developed and led workshops on effective writing techniques and provided personalized feedback to 20+ students, improving writing skills by 25% and increasing overall satisfaction by 30%.
Prepared, developed, and improved the program curriculum, assessment methods, and learning outcomes based on industry trends and feedback from students and employers.

General Assembly

Lead Product Design Instructor

Aug 2015 - Jul 2021

Taught product design courses to a diverse group of students, ranging from beginners to advanced professionals, using instructional methods and technologies.
Coached students on professional growth by conducting mock interviews, reviewing resumes, and providing constructive feedback; increased students' job offer acceptance rate by 25%.
Achieved a student success rate of 95%, as measured by student retention, completion, and job placement rates, in alignment with the program's target goals.

Volunteering

Amicus Curiae

SCOTUS (303 Creative LLC v. Elenis)

Aug 2022 - Nov 2022

Served as a ‘friend of the court,’ providing expert opinions of design procedures and best practices when onboarding a new client. This case involves whether applying a public accommodation law to compel an artist to speak or stay silent violates the free speech clause of the First Amendment.

Contributing Author

LIFTOFF! - Practical Design Leadership to Elevate Your Team

Mar 2019 - Aug 2020

Authored a 700-word leadership perspective for managing teams and outcomes.

Judge

Webby Awards

Oct 2021 - Current

Evaluated and rated thousands of creative submissions from across the globe.

Skills

Figma
High Fidelity Design
Inclusive Design
Product Design & Management
Prototyping
Quantitative Data Analysis
Remote Teams
Technical Products
User Engagement
User Research
User Testing

Wireframes

Education

BA, Advertising & Design

International Academy of Design & Technology

BA, Business Administration

Westwood College

Tools

Adobe Creative Cloud
BallPark
CSS
Figma
HotJar
HTML
Lingo
LookBack
Maze
Optimal Workshop
WCAG