Product Designer
Resume:
Eric Curb
UX/UI Product Designer
****@****.**
www.curb.ws
Education
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Designing & Building AI products Memphis College of Art: Masters Digital Media
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff: Bachelors in Graphic Design Core Competencies
User Experience: UX/UI Design, Wireframes, Prototyping, User Research IOS and Android App Design, Journey Mapping. Atomic Design, Design Sprints, Information Architecture
Design Tools: Figma, Sketch, Adobe Suite, Abstract, Asana, Notion, Jira Methodologies: Agile, System & Design Thinking, process, Lean UX, Competitive Analysis, A/B Testing, Usability Testing, Focus Groups, Accessibility Evaluation
Leadership: Mentorship, Team Management, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Stakeholder Engagement
RentSpree
UX Design Lead
2022 to Present
RentSpree Overview
RentSpree is a platform that simplifies rental applications and tenant screenings for residential properties, servicing both landlords/property managers (B2B) and potential renters (B2C). The platform allows landlords to efficiently manage applications, conduct background checks, and access credit reports, while renters can apply for and manage their rental applications seamlessly. As the Lead UX Designer, I developed the strategy for our design system, Beacon, where I designed components and established thorough documentation guidelines as a single source of truth for design elements. My primary objectives included creating robust design principles, enhancing collaboration between the design team and marketing/product management, streamlining workflows, and ensuring cross-functional alignment on our design language. I prioritized flexibility, benchmarked against industry leaders, and emphasized accessibility and efficiency to adapt to diverse user needs.
My role at RentSpree
As a Lead UX Product Designer at RentSpree, I managed and mentored two junior designers while leading a governance team of designers and engineers tasked with evaluating the accuracy and functionality of our design system components. I guided my team through best UX design practices in developing the design system, focusing on a comprehensive end-to-end evaluation of the existing product, including colors, icons, UI patterns, and accessibility features. I established foundational design principles and created a comprehensive library that included typography, color palettes, patterns, components, and assets. To ensure consistency, I created documentation and templates that provided style and usage guidance, alongside a well-organized component library. I also delivered constructive feedback on delegated tasks to junior designers and facilitated component build reviews with engineers to guarantee quality before production approval.
My Team Management Approach at RentSpree
I employed a collaborative leadership style that fostered an environment for junior designers to thrive through mentorship and constructive guidance. Regular design reviews and workshops were conducted to share best practices and encourage open discussions about design challenges. By implementing clear feedback mechanisms and establishing a governance process, I ensured the team remained aligned on project goals and upheld high standards for design fidelity and functionality. This approach not only enhanced the quality of our deliverables but also empowered team members to take ownership of their contributions. My Initiatives and Outcomes at RentSpree
The initiatives I undertook significantly contributed to RentSpree's mission of leveraging scalable and reusable components to simplify the rental experience for all users. The Beacon design system established a clear design language that improved our design processes and product development with user-friendly scalable components and guidelines. Moreover, the governance process I introduced became the standard for evaluating any new components, resulting in enhanced cross-functional collaboration across the organization. This ensured consistency and markedly elevated product quality, aligning with our strategic objectives. TaxAct
Principal Designer and Individual contributor
2019 to 2022
TaxAct Overview
TaxAct is a provider of online tax preparation solutions for both individuals and businesses. In my role as a UX/UI Product Designer at TaxAct, I focused on the design and user experience of our native Android and iOS applications, the shopping experience, authentication processes, and created the product’s mobile first strategy and design system. My roles at TaxAct
As a Principal Designer, I established a scalable modular framework and implemented a mobile-first design process, which included a responsive grid system. My responsibilities involved creating step-by-step guidance, coaching team members, and developing modular design templates for the design team’s use. I also led a governance team that addressed high- value issues across the product, enabling swift and effective design decisions. This framework played a crucial role in the development of the design system, where I collaborated closely with another principal designer and the broader UX team.
In my capacity as a product designer for Android and iOS, I ensured that features on both platforms were consistent extensions of the desktop experience. My collaborative efforts with product owners, researchers, engineers, and our quality assurance team enabled us to maximize OS features, resolve bugs, and minimize design debt between full and point releases. Notably, we integrated OCR APIs for driver’s license recognition, enhancing the user experience by simplifying the initial steps in the tax filing process.
As the product designer focused on authentication, I redesigned the sign-in process to mitigate privacy risks and improve usability. By streamlining the customer journey from eight steps to four and implementing two-factor authentication, we significantly reduced friction for both returning and new users, resulting in a 2.0% increase in conversion rates. I worked closely with the product owner and engineering team to develop a strategic approach and test prototypes to create the new customer journey.
As the product designer for the shopping experience, I crafted compelling reasons to purchase and established consistent UI patterns that effectively showcased our product’s value propositions. This initiative led to a 30% increase in performance metrics (improved accessibility and SEO), the adoption of a mobile-first responsive grid system, the implementation of a new content management system, and an overall 2% increase in the start rate. Collaboration with the product owner, researchers, and engineers were key to formulating our strategy and testing prototypes for production.
Mentoring at TaxAct
I actively mentored junior designers through design critiques, offering constructive feedback on project tasks and conducting one-on-one working sessions. These sessions focused on exploring additional ideas from a systems perspective and addressing the challenges they faced in their problem-solving efforts.
Additionally, I collaborated closely with the marketing team and their brand designer to conceptualize and implement responsive landing pages using the modular templates and grid system I developed. By providing working examples and guiding the thought process during ideation sessions, I empowered the marketing team to create landing pages that maintained visual consistency across partner sites while functioning responsively. With the introduction of the CMS, the modular components streamlined the creation and editing of marketing pages, reducing the time to market from three days to just one hour.
Thomson Reuters Westlaw
UX Design Lead
2014 to 2019
Thomson Reuters Overview
Westlaw is an online legal research service and database for legal professionals in over 60 countries, offering access to case law, statutes, regulations and secondary sources. As a Lead UX Designer, I lead design for Westlaw’s iOS apps, 14 internal tools that support Westlaw, and designed for Westlaw’s desktop experience while serving as a accessibility ambassador.
My roles at Thomson Reuters Westlaw
As the lead designer for Westlaw’s iOS app, I designed from zero to one Westlaw’s iPhone app and refreshed the iPad experience to align and be an extension of the desktop experience. I spearheaded the ux process collaborating with both onshore and offshore engineering teams to create wireframes and high fidelity mockups. My role involved close collaboration with project managers, stakeholders, and researchers to conduct generative and qualitative research. This included crafting surveys for focus groups and testing prototypes to validate ideas before transitioning them to production. The iOS applications meet the needs of legal services companies, law practices, government employees, and educational institutions by providing organized access to legal information from Westlaw anytime, anywhere. As a result, the Westlaw iPhone app received over 13 awards for being the best mobile app for legal research. I also led product design for 14 internal tools that support Westlaw as the front-facing application. In this capacity, I worked alongside an Information Architect (IA) and employees who utilized the internal tools to revamp the navigation and workflows across each product. This involved walking through their daily tasks to understand their pain points and gain insights during the research process. The Internal Tools Style Guide I developed defined and governed Thomson Reuters Westlaw's suite of internal products. This guide documented standards and best practices fundamental to creating a consistent, positive, and accessible user experience across the product suite. It included detailed specifications for color palettes, text usage, icons, navigation, button styles, menus, forms, and modals.
As an Accessibility Ambassador, I partnered with two accessibility experts, engaging with them regularly across all my projects. There was a ux team initiative encouraging members to become more educated on how WCAG standards directly impact their roles. This initiative focused on how to implement WCAG standards in their work and how to educate others on their responsibilities to uphold them. As an ambassador, I documented and shared Westlaw product accessibility best practices and guidelines that the UX design team should adhere to on a continual basis. Eric Curb
UX/UI Product Designer
****@****.**
www.curb.ws pw: Unlock
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