Let’s get in touch

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About

User Experience Design

I quit my job at Amazon in Nov 2023 and took on the adventure of starting my own company: Mind Your Ink, a booking platform for tattoo artists, assistants, and shops to better manage their appointments and client experience. While focusing on that full-time, I occasionally have the availability to take on part-time (<20 hours/week) contract design work if it’s a good fit. Feel free to reach out if you want to chat.

While at Amazon Business, I contributed to the strategy and user experience portion of the design system, Ink. Before Amazon, I was at b.well Connected Health as a Director of UX Design and Research managing team operations and organization, educating and owning accessibility adherence and accountability, UX strategy and design, directing the design system, and acting as a bridge to the Product team.

Previous to b.well, I spent almost four years as a User Experience Designer at a pharmacy benefit management company, Express Scripts, learning some of the ins and outs of the insurance side of healthcare with a focus on designing accessible digital experiences. As a UX Design Lead, I supported kickoffs + discovery phases for new projects and lead the Design System & Foundational Architecture Team. As a team, we were responsible for the ownership and advocacy of the design system Sketch library and React code library.

Sustainability

Fore the past few years, I’ve become focused on systems design because of some self-education around sustainability leading to a personal project called Sustain Your Sh*t I worked on. My definition of sustainability hinges on the belief that the world is full of systems big and small that we should attempt to make as self-sufficient, maintainable, and durable as possible.

Personal Stuff

On a less serious note, another way to win me over is to speak to me in GIFs. While a verbose vocabulary is a great way to express yourself, sometimes a good GIF can say a thousand words, thus I keep an active library of them on my work and personal computers. Here’s a small selection:

Where I’ve been the past few years.

Roles

Founder, Mind Your Ink
Nov 2023-Present

As the founder and one-half of the company, I’m have many roles and responsibilities including: sales; user experience design; brand design; social media; Python, Django, and front-end web development; customer support; finances.

Sr. UX Designer, Ink Design System, Amazon Business
Mar 2023-Nov 2023

UX Designer, Ink Design System
Oct 2021-Mar 2023

Leading the Amazon Business design system user experience

  • Operating with significant autonomy leading the strategy, definition, design, and delivery of large and complex initiatives for the team.

  • Individual contributions: Significant design system library updates, presented and critiqued in organizational reviews, trained designers, and collaborated with engineers in order to prioritize focus and deliver an improved design system.

  • Mentored and directed the team's summer 2022 UX intern.

Director of UX Design and Research, b.well Connected health
Aug 2021-Oct 2021

UX & UI Design Lead
April 2020-Aug 2021

Leading the b.well Design & Research team through individual contributions, strategy, and management.

  • Individual contributions: Lead design strategy and prototyping for large initiatives such as finding care, appointment scheduling, health journey, insurance connections, and client configuration + whitelabeling tool. Lead data- and research-driven persona creation for b.well core.

  • Currently managing: UX&UI designer, Sr. UX Researcher, Jr. UX Researcher, and two Design Interns. Responsibilities include career guidance, continuous feedback and reviews, budget ownership, process, resource allocation, goal creation, and team culture.

  • Leading the vision and advocacy for accessible digital products through short-term wins and longer-term strategy around baking in accessibility into daily work for design, content, product, engineering, and QA.

  • Mentoring through providing strategy and leadership to the front-end developers and UX&UI Designer who want to learn and own our design system. Collaborating with principal engineer on architecture and strategy.

UX Design Lead, Express Scripts
April 2019-April 2020

Experience Team Lead (XTL) for Design System & Foundational Architecture Team, a multidisciplinary team that owns the Master Design Language (MDL), owns the ReactJS component library, and supports the blue-sky and future- facing ideation and discovery phase of new products and projects.

  • Individual contributions to the MDL and design system include: UX design, UI and visual design, interaction and motion design, usability testing, prototyping, accessibility best practices, work on the Sketch library and resources for the design team, and documentation authoring.

  • Team lead contributions include: defining and tracking our product KPIs
    to measure progress and success, leading road map planning, and spearheading enterprise socialization through consultation and office hours.

General experience design support

  • Lead Look Ahead Sprints: Problem statement creation, generative research, journey mapping, service blueprinting, ideation, prototyping, and low-fidelity idea execution; I co-lead the 2019 team with a Content Strategist.

  • Design Jams: Problem statement creation, journey mapping, ideation, and prototyping for human-centered design thinking workshops with stakeholders during discovery and future-facing phases of products.

  • Created aspirational motion/interaction designs and data visualization focused on encouraging empathy through data using After Effects, JavaScript, and D3. Partnered with another designer who did the visual UI.

Sr. UX Designer, Express Scripts
Jan 2018-March 2019

In February 2018, I took internal ownership of the Master Design Language, that is utilized by Express Scripts and three of our subsidiaries (Accredo, myMatrixx, InsideRx). This responsibility included:

  • Ownership and individual contribution to the MDL: creation of new components and patterns, verified new and existing patterns and components for usability and accessibility through user testing.

  • Internal education and socialization: consultations, office hours, workflow enhancements, participation in internal UI Guild and UI Summit

UX Designer, Express Scripts
Aug 2016-Dec 2017

I collaborated with Product, Content Strategy, and Development teams on the redesign of the Log In, Registration, and Account Recovery flows, the member Profile, and the member Dashboard. To increase user success, I collaborated with the User Researcher team to test and iterate. Internally I began a “UX Casual Share Sesh” to help promote collaboration and critique within our UX discipline.

(The older, but still part of my journey, roles)

Freelance Designer
Oct 2014-March 2019

In my spare time I enjoy freelancing for a variety of clients, often in web or visual design for small businesses or individuals. Work includes: UI and UX design, front-end development, social media marketing, brand development, e-commerce, animated video, white papers, and portfolio websites.

Visual Designer, Atlas Wearables
Jan 2016-Mar 2016

Designed data visualizations, marketing content, and email and social media communication campaigns. Generative UX research through online surveys, social media, phone calls, and in-person interviews to present recommendations for product development and inform ideation sessions.

Designer, MyTennisLessons
Jan 2015–Dec 2015

UX and UI design and front-end development of the websites. Redesigned pages to successfully increase student lesson conversion rates and instructor sign ups. Research and prototyping for FitnessTrainer’s new product, a mobile app to help trainers manage clients. Created original graphics and icons.

Lead Designer, Banded.us
Jan 2014-July 2015

I worked as Design Lead along with two colleagues on a startup website that connects local artists to their community while also providing a ticketing system for venues. I filled the roles of UX/UI Designer, Graphic Designer, and Front-end Developer. This entails creating a a brand, wire framing, and developing the front-end of the product. I coordinated goals with our CEO and CTO, and we concluded with the site being in a beta stage.

 

Skills (SEO, you know?)

  • Management and mentorship

  • User experience design

  • Design systems

  • Accessibility

  • Design thinking workshop facilitation

  • Prototyping

  • Web design

  • Journey mapping and service blueprints

  • User research techniques

  • HTML, CSS, basic JavaScript

  • Python and Django

  • And more…

People say about me…

(Excerpts from Amazon performance review)

  • Amazon Leadership Principle strengths (Role Model): Earn Trust; Customer Obsession; Ownership; Are Right, A Lot; Deliver Results; Dive Deep.

  • “Sarah is an experienced UX leader with strong hard & soft skills who has elevated the design experience of our design system. Her customer obsession and ability to effectively connect with others has earned her the trust of teams across Amazon. I’m confident that she’ll accomplish great things in her career. The sky is the limit for her.” - Manager review feedback

  • “Sarah’s super power is ownership. I have constantly seen her put her hand up for work in addition to her regular duties, step up to support her coworkers, and deliver on her own work successfully at the same time. Sarah is a rock start and should 100% be recognized for her contributions to the team.” -Coworker review feedback

  • “Sarah’s super power is out-of-the-box thinking on how to get to a solution.” -Coworker review feedback

  • “Sarah is an excellent design lead for the Ink team. Her work is always of high quality, she raises the bar on the team, and provides helpful feedback for both design and dev work. She’s a true team player and never hesitates to help someone out.” -Coworker review feedback

  • “Sarah has a keen eye for seeing things from the customer’s perspective. Her empathetic nature in tandem with a strong design skillset makes Sarah a force to be reckon [sic] with when it comes to finding the right solution for the customer. Her methodical approach to design helps garner trust in the people she works with.” -Coworker review feedback

(Excerpts from Express Scripts performance reviews)

  • Have deep curiosity, solving problems at the root

  • Ability to break down complex and abstract concepts

  • User-focused while balancing business asks

  • Courage and inclusivity in leadership, showing trust and respect for all team members

  • Willing to push personal boundaries, strength in character

  • Advocate for inclusion and accessibility

  • Dedicated with excellence in craft and execution

Making an Impact

Sustain Your Sh*t

Oct 2017–2019
A solo side project, Sustain Your Sh*t is an Instagram account providing resources and recommendations on incremental changes to lead a more Earth- friendly life. The intent and content strategy is to educate followers on global and local system issues while encouraging them to spread the word and use their voice in voting and purchasing power. I created the brand, write all content, and design the graphics.

Education

BFA Design, The University of Texas Austin
2011–2015

  • University Honors: Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Spring and Fall 2013, Spring and Fall 2014, Spring 2015

  • Virginia Webb Payne Endowed Scholarship in Art

  • Spring 2014 UT Undergraduate Research Fellowship Grant

  • Core77 Visual Communication Student Runner Up

  • Acted in the role of Publisher for a 500 page book and ran a success- ful Indiegogo campaign with our BFA Design Junior cohort in 2014

 

Services

With over 10 years of experience working with companies like Amazon and Express Scripts, I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to every project. Let's collaborate to create digital solutions that set your business apart.

 
 

Design system buildout

Transform your digital presence with a cohesive and efficient design system. I specialize in creating comprehensive design system frameworks that ensure consistency across all your digital experiences.

  • Develop a unified visual language for your brand

  • Create reusable components to streamline your design and development process

  • Improve team collaboration and reduce design inconsistencies

  • Enhance user experience through consistent interfaces

  • Provide detailed documentation for easy adoption and maintenance

Whether you're a growing startup or an established company, a well-crafted design system can save you time, reduce costs, and elevate your brand's digital presence.

Web design and development

Bring your online vision to life with custom web design and development services. I create beautiful, functional websites that engage your audience and drive results.

  • Design visually appealing and user-friendly interfaces

  • Develop responsive websites that work seamlessly across all devices

  • Implement accessibility best practices to ensure your site is usable by everyone

  • Integrate content management systems for easy updates and maintenance

From simple landing pages to complex web applications, I'll work with you to create a digital solution that meets your unique needs and goals.

User experience consulting

Elevate your digital products with expert user experience (UX) consulting. I help businesses create intuitive, usable experiences that keep users coming back.

  • Conduct user research to understand your target audience's needs and behaviors

  • Create user personas and journey maps to guide design decisions

  • Perform usability testing to identify and solve pain points in your digital products

  • Provide recommendations for improving user flows and information architecture

  • Offer accessibility audits to ensure your products are inclusive and compliant

Whether you're launching a new product or improving an existing one, I will help you create digital experiences that are easy-to-use and useful to your users and drive business success.