MSNBC

Head of Product Design & UX

I led a small, super-talented and intrepid internal UX and Design team to ideate, design and build original, engaging cross-platform digital products and experiences while guiding the development teams through delivery. We identified the pain points in our audience’s journey, developing customer personas to guide and validate our design decisions.

In our multiple analyses of the digital properties, it became clear that MSNBC lacked a dedicated digital space for video viewing.

Collaborating closely with C-suite and T-suite executives and a wide range of editorial, video, and engineering and production teams, incorporating audience data and user research, we launched a new dynamic video viewing experience blending live linear TV streams, video on demand, combined with an already passionate, social community, providing new tools of engagement.

I led rapid problem-solving and prototyping processes to include cross-organizational collaboration, envisioning a suite of native apps, a "TV everywhere" video viewing experience, personalized and synchronized with the core site experience.

Day-to-day team management of the live MSNBC.com experience, including analysis of user data, continuous improvement of the UX and design, election and tentpole event UX planning, development of rich media editorial storytelling templates, and data visualization presentation.

In order to create our way through the ongoing cable vs. online content debate, I led the strategy and design for SHIFT by MSNBC, an original streaming content channel with 16 new shows.

My involvement involved leading the team and hands-on design, including brand development, onscreen presentation, set consultation, marketing, and social media campaigns.

In collaboration with reporter Trymaine Lee, photographer Matt Black, and designer Mina Liu Derian I led the team to develop an original immersive editorial experience with Geography of Poverty: A journey through forgotten America.

We focused on the stark beauty of the black & white images and the harsh truths of the reporting, a minimalist presentation combined with immersive data visualizations. Geography of Poverty was made online aggregator Digg’s top story upon its release, was promoted by the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting and Communication Arts, and won Society of News Design’s Award of Excellence.