Darren DeCoursey

“Colour it and put a border around it!”

That's the advice my father would always give me about my homework assignments in school. My father was a marketing professional. I should have known his words would put me on the path to becoming a designer.

But it wasn't a straight path. My first love was making movies. Designing special effects, shooting miniatures, blowing them up in my backyard. Trying to replicate scenes in “Empire Strikes Back” with toys and a cheap camcorder on a chilly fall day.

After completing my degree in Art History, I raced into visual effects because it was my passion. I learned all about colour, composition, lighting, dimension, and motion. Oh, and I was fortunate to work on some sweet blockbuster movies and television series too. However, I spent enough years in the film industry to realize that a crucial element was missing: interactivity.

That's why I decided to switch gears and pursue a Masters Degree and focus on learning interaction design. Working with teammates from different backgrounds, exploring UX research and cognitive science with academics. This felt more ME.

Fueled with a desire to make engaging and accessible digital products and web experiences, I spent the last six years in the tech industry, evangelizing the power of UX.

What kind of projects have I been involved in? Mobile game menus, web designs for SMB and Enterprise-level tech companies, tablet-based ecommerce demos, interactive touchscreens for museum exhibits and large-scale LED displays for music festivals.

When my father started to experience cognitive decline, I began to notice how much technology had failed him. Almost every digital experience felt like a chore. His frustrations became my frustrations. It instilled in me a deep, personal understanding of empathy, and how important user testing and accessibility are to the core of every product design.  And it made me want to design better.

And while he's no longer with me, I would like to think that he inspired me to add colour and a border around everything I do.

Specialties: Product Design | Web Design | UX Research | Wireframing | Prototyping | Design Systems | Interaction Design | Motion Design | Conversion Optimization | Copywriting | 3D Visualization | Installation Design

Senior Product Designer

I am a Product Manager at Sync, a company that provides cloud-based solutions for data synchronization and a 3D collaboration platform. With my engineering degree and product management skills, I help design and deliver innovative and user-friendly products that meet the needs and expectations of our clients.

At Sync, I work with multidisciplinary teams to create product roadmaps and user flows, using tools like Product Plan and Notion. I also use Jira to define stakeholder analysis and rationale, and to manage and monitor team activities. I have successfully contributed to several projects, such as increasing user engagement and retention by 25%, enhancing data security and privacy features by 40%, and launching a new product line that generated $100,000 in revenue in the first month.

Before joining Sync, I was a Sales Manager at Balance of Nature, where I sold and marketed natural health products to consumers. I increased website traffic by 48%, customer purchase rate by 25%, and revenue by 60%, by collaborating with the web design team and managing the sales team. I also handled customer calls and queries, providing optimum support and assistance.

I am passionate about creating products that solve real-world problems and improve people's lives. I am always eager to learn new skills and technologies, and to collaborate with others who share my vision and values. That is why I am currently taking a product management course at CareerFoundry, where I am learning how to apply the latest best practices and methodologies in the field. I am looking forward to applying what I learn to my current and future projects.

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The Battle

Darren DeCoursey

Samuel Ogor PRODUCT MANAGER OF THE FUTURE/SAMZY/PRODUCER

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