Web, UX, Brand, and Graphic Designer with 14 years experience, helping genre fiction authors sell more books through the WordPress platform.
Owned and operated a freelance design company that provided user experience design, identity, graphic, and web design services to a variety of creative professionals in the publishing industry. Provided consultation services to optimize user behaviour on web and mobile properties, while establishing style guidelines for sub-contractors. Managed budgets, final production, and quality assurance.
Led the development of the UX/UI strategy for Groupe Dynamite’s web and mobile initiatives; translated business product vision into a cohesive user experience by reconciling user needs with business goals, technical capabilities and best practices in interaction design and usability; facilitated design brainstorming and working sessions with business stakeholders and execution team through the use of collaboration techniques, interactive prototypes, visual mockups and interface demos; conduct research into competitor products and UX to identify opportunities in digital products and designs that provide a competitive edge; Worked with the Web Analytics Manager to establish performance indicators and measure business value and return of the developed products. Ensured compliance with external standards (e.g.: WCAG) and internal brand guidelines for use by Product Owners, brand teams, and IT departments. Championed user-centered design thinking, who understands that the best products are designed when the team embraces a collaborative and agile culture and process.
Conceived, executed, and tested interface designs for the Luxury Retreats website and digital presences while leveraging their brand recognition. Offered research and insight on trends and best practices associated with web design, ergonomics, and user experience. Collaborated with stakeholders and Product Managers to conceptualize new products and improve existing solutions on the company's website, in their internal and supplier tools, and apps. Followed initial concepts, wireframes, mockups, and prototypes through to production and user testing, while playing a key role in the visual design of new features and ongoing refinements to existing features.
Conceptualized, planned, and executed design and strategies that leveraged the company’s brand image, social presence, website, marketing, and corporate identity online, in print, and at industry trade shows. Collaborated closely with the other members of the marketing department and contributed significantly to the brand’s visual evolution. Adapting quickly, working through iterations, and producing clean, efficient designs that met deadlines was a work standard. Managed a team of three direct reports, and oversaw the rebranding effort.
Conceptualized and designed an interactive, flash-based Cd-Rom presentation and website for the Logo Cities symposium, followed by a sibling website with new content, continuing the project, a year later.
Designed multiple web properties, identity packages, and print resources. Collaborated with stakeholders to ensure objectives were met, and outsourced design services in signage, installation, printed collateral to non-profit partners.
Owned and operated a freelance design company that provided user experience design, identity development, graphic design, and web design services to a variety of clients. Executed deliverables for a variety of commerce platforms including WordPress, xCart, Big Cartel, and Etsy. Provided UI and UX design and consultation services to optimize user behaviour on web and mobile properties, while establishing brand and style guidelines for sub-contractors. Managed budgets, final production, and quality assurance, while offering a variety of product design services including wireframe, rapid prototyping, user research, competitor analysis, data-driven design, and usability testing.
The goal of this design solution was to reduce friction and accordingly, user drop-off before completion. We reduced the number of steps required for a user to complete the checkout process while still supporting best practices for login and guest checkout, added smart completion and pre-population of address fields by leveraging the Google API, and included a simplified ship-to-store feature. We also included a share cart feature to improve conversion in mobile users after finding that mobile’s conversion was drastically lower than that of desktop.
Our objectives for the W3 redesign of the Luxury Retreats website were to respect the existing user flows but bolster conversion by improving upon existing systems: ensure that users were able to either find properties in regions they were looking for easily, but also encourage discovery and exploration of similar areas of the world that they might have not yet considered.
My WordPress website is the heart of my author platform. Using the website to focus building market interest in my career as a horror and dark fantasy writer for young adults, it’s a portfolio of written work, a place to share news with fans of the genre, and a vehicle for generating interest in the topics I write about. It’s a strange and curious venue, where the fantastic is made possible. This is its third iteration.
Martin Shannon, January 2019
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Designing and building author websites for almost 20 years.
Cork, Ireland
Designer and WordPress developer with extensive experience creating eye-catching yet functional custom websites for authors of all genres.
Nashville, TN, USA