Hey there! My name is Jasen.

Much of my life has been focused on — and influenced by — design, music, storytelling, faith, and humor. I've learned many things through the practice and study of each that make me a better designer and craftsman of products and experiences. I love finding connections between disciplines, applying that knowledge to problem-solving, creating unique solutions, and helping others gain new insights toward achieving their goals. 

Through a variety of roles over 25+ years — in both the US and Australia — I've gained experience in Print + Visual Design, Publication Design, UI Design + Development, UX Design and Process, Training delivery, Service Design, and Design Thinking. I've also given presentations to large and small audiences on a range of topics.

After 10 years in the software startup world, I am taking some time to explore and find my next path. I’m very interested in synergising my varied background and pursuing opportunities in Service Design, Design Strategy, System creation, and Experiential Design, designing solutions that extend well beyond a single screen or application.

Visit my Projects page to view selected projects, old and new.
Interested in what inspires me? Check out the ever-growing list of cross-disciplinary Books I Love
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Current explorations
— Continual discovery through my love of architectural design, Interior design, and the experience of space;
— Graph theory (and databases), Category theory, Set theory, Topology, Combinatorics
— Woodworking, particularly turning and joinery.

I'm currently working as a freelance UX consultant with a couple of local companies, and establishing a design consultancy and collective.

Founder and Design Lead

Gamut Workshop
‍Atlanta, GA (September 2022 - Present)

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UX and Design Leadership

Popmenu
‍Atlanta, GA (January 2018 - September 2022)

TL;DR
Popmenu is a fast-growing, venture-backed SaaS startup providing restaurants of all sizes with a full-featured platform: including menu management, ordering and guest engagement. During my time at the company, the user base for the My.Popmenu restaurant admin product continually grew from around 200 to over 10,000. We continually scaled and adapted the product based on direct user research, feedback and by monitoring platform activity. Our consumer sites — the connection point between the restaurant team and their guests — grew from a few hundred sessions a day to millions. As with, the admin platform, we continually engaged users and adapted the site based on feedback.
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2020 - 2022 - Product Design Consultant
– Collaborated closely with the VP of Product and UX Design team on ideation related to product set
– Developed stories around client and consumer experience to help influence product innovation
– Delivered conceptual prototypes and sketches to provide a general direction to product designers

2019-2020 - Director of UX
– Led a small UX team and collaborated with Product management to plan the product feature set
– Worked closely with Engineering to ensure quality implementation of designed features
– Focused on creating conceptual ideas for communication aspects of the product

2018-2019 - UX Lead
– Collaborated with a small, startup team across Product, Development, CX and Leadership
– Established loose framework for developing and implementing a Design System across the product
– Delivered conceptual prototypes for each aspect of the product: Consumer, Client, Desktop, Mobile

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I joined the team in January 2018 (employee #12), came on payroll in August 2018, and took on a full-time role in November 2019 as Director of UX. We added two designers to the team in January 2020 and made great strides toward creating some team consistency and beginning to build a design system. When COVID hit, many of those projects were sidelined for more immediate and urgent needs.

From December 2020 to September 2022, my focus shifted to shaping strategic product and design stories, working closely with our VP of Product. As an internal Product Design Consultant, I collaborated frequently with the product and design teams to imagine and iterate solutions that empower our clients to easily manage their menus and stay connected to potential and regular guests.

Senior UX Designer

Deluxe Corporation
Atlanta, GA (2018)

My brief foray into the corporate world. A few months in, I chose to accept a more permanent role at Popmenu (see above) which resulted in a quicker than expected departure. Met some great folks though, and created an HTML/CSS version of the newly created Style Guide and Design System for Deluxe, named Unify.

Freelance UX Design Consultant

Atlanta, GA (2017)

For much of 2017 I took a self-imposed sabbatical, which seemed fitting for several reasons:

• The year 2017 marked 20 years since I got my first job in design.
• I'd spent five years at a fast-paced and chaotic startup that experienced exponential growth and was strategically acquired.
• My wife had a large project in the works.
• I wanted to take some time to explore where I was heading over the next 20 years.

The first couple of months, I thoroughly enjoyed a break from the screen. It was amazing! I kept myself involved in design by doing self-initiated experiments, helping some friends get sites up for their small businesses, supporting my wife's company, and working closely with Popmenu on UX and UI for their Mobile product. Most importantly, I had a great time just being a dad to my two sons.

Creative/UX Director

CINC (Commissions Inc.)
Marietta, GA  (2012-2017)

TL;DR
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– Collaborated with the small startup team across Leadership, Development, and Client Services
– Laid the groundwork for creation on all aspects of our service: Product, Marketing, Creative
– Delivered UI designs, Marketing collateral, Team building videos, and Corporate Identity assets
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As the sole designer from 2012 to 2014, I was required to wear many hats and helped lay the groundwork for what was ahead. Despite the frequent side projects, my primary responsibilities revolved around User interface and Experience design for each of our desktop and mobile solutions, including a full-featured CRM platform, and customizable consumer home search sites. The role was very hands-on as needed, including user discovery, planning, wireframing, prototyping and editing HTML and CSS (SCSS).

Key projects included:

• 2 major redesigns of the CRM solution with continual iteration and expansion
• Multiple major updates to the Consumer home search experience
• Initial corporate branding and company website (3 versions)
• UI for the first 2 versions of the mobile app for both agents and consumers

In the early days, speed often dictated how we approached each project. Rapid iteration and adjustment based on client feedback kept us nimble, but not always efficient or forward-thinking in how we solved each problem. We were consistently refining our internal processes to ensure that we met diverse client needs in innovative ways and were creating flexible design and development systems.

As CINC grew, we added a very talented group of designers and product managers to the team. My role gradually expanded into leading the design and UX team, working alongside the Product team, guiding overall User Experience across our product range, and working with developers to implement features and integrate best practices.

UI/Interactive Designer

Mintleaf Studio/Websilk
Melbourne, Australia  (2010-2011)

Mintleaf Studio (more info below) was acquired by a web application development company and eventually became Websilk. At the time, we were working closely with a corporate training and curriculum developer to build custom, industry-specific and localized training modules. Many of these were prototyped in Flash and later fully developed in .NET. My rapid iteration skills were sharpened dramatically during this time!

Creative (Trainer)

Apple 
Melbourne, Australia (2009-2010)

While continuing to contract with Mintleaf, I took some time to explore opportunities as a tech and software trainer. I was fortunate to join the team at an Apple Retail Store in Melbourne for a couple of years. During that time, I honed my presentation skills and consistently delivered dynamic individual, and group, workshop sessions on Apple products and software. The company provided excellent training for Creatives, which focused strongly on developing empathy and truly listening to those you are serving.

Art Director

Mintleaf Studio 
Melbourne, Australia (2006-2009)

TL;DR
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– Produced custom UI and site designs, interactive content, and print solutions for a wide range of clients.
– Met with clients to discuss their needs and goals for an online presence.
– Collaborated closely with the Information Architect and Developers, from wireframing to launch, to deliver a final product that enhanced each client's brand presentation and business functionality.
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Mintleaf was a small, boutique web design and front-end development studio in Melbourne, Australia. My role involved creating user interface, web and visual designs for a wide range of SME's. We had a strong and diverse team that was very forward-thinking in how we approached projects. Due to the small team size, and the scope of projects we took on, I was involved in many stages of the process. This gave me a stronger appreciation and understanding for aligning business goals with user expectation. During this period, I also learned HTML and CSS and increasingly became a bridge builder between designers and developers.

Graphic Designer, Production Manager, Assistant Minister…

1997-2005 — Atlanta, GA — Deerfield, IL — Melbourne, Australia

I played a few different roles early in my career. At each stage, I brought certain skills to the mix but I was always absorbing something new, constantly learning, adapting and, hopefully, improving — both personally and professionally.