Jeff White

Stepladder

Our work focuses on improving outcomes for medical technology companies and the patients and healthcare professionals they serve.

Healthcare brands we've worked with:

Baxter
Hillrom
McClurg Healthcare Advisors
Premier
Trially.ai


Before specializing in healthcare, Stepladder provided UX and visual design services to clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to seed stage startups in a variety of industries.

Clients included:

Amazon
Microsoft
Motorola
Citrix
Remitly
BabelBark
Cvent
Trupanion
Bamboo Learning
Code.org
Panopto
Woot!

Founder and Head of Design

Rebls

Design & Product Management Executive for seed stage startup.

•  Developed overall product vision, brand, visual language, and
product requirements for a v1 responsive web app
•  Designed all aspects of UX, directed visual designers through
development of visual language and brand
•  Translated market insights into product requirements
•  Managed engineering team including CTO
•  Involved in all aspects of business from recruiting to fundraising

Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer

Creative Director

Designer

Amazon

Lead a team that designed & delivered 27 applications for
the Amazon Fire Phone.

•  Managed a team of 6 UX Designers
•  Established and communicated application design processes
vertically and horizontally across many Amazon teams
•  Created and evangelized OS and application-level patterns
•  Presented to executives including CEO

Interaction Design Manager, Fire Phone

Designed applications and OS experiences for the Amazon Fire
Phone.

•  Designed Phone, SMS, Email, Calendar, and Contacts
applications
•  Established process and documentation standards adopted by all
application teams
•  Created patent-pending application design frameworks

Sr. User Experience Design Lead, Fire Phone

Design Lead, Kindle for iPhone and iPad.

•  Collaborated with stakeholders to define requirements for
cross-platform experiences
•  Lead team of internal and external visual and UX designers to
deliver Kindle for iPad and several versions of Kindle for iPhone

Sr. User Experience Designer, Kindle for iOS

Designer of Kindle for iPhone v1.0 - 2.7 and Kindle for BlackBerry.

•  Designed the UI architecture, interface, and interaction flow of
applications and experiences
•  Developed conceptual diagrams, wireframes, visual mockups,
click-throughs, and prototypes
•  Designed and conducted usability tests
•  Contributed the first mobile design pattern to Amazon’s existing
pattern library
•  Presented design to the UX team, product team, and executives

User Experience Designer, Amazon Kindle

Jewelry TV

Design lead for multiple teams building enterprise web applications.

•  Guided overall product development for several internal web
applications
•  Responsible for interface and interaction design of rich internet
applications
•  Developed methodology for conducting agile user-centered
design
•  Conducted usability tests, interviews, and contextual inquiry

UI Engineer (Interaction Designer)

Premier, Inc

Business Analyst

Web Specialist

Web Content Consultant

Improving Medtech software ➤ Advancing UX careers with storytelling @ uxstorytelling.io/course ➤ UX Consultant ➤ UX Designer & Educator

In 20 years as a UX/UI designer I've shipped hundreds of apps, websites, and features for big tech companies like Amazon and Motorola all the way down to tiny startups being run from a garage. 

5 years into my career I co-published an article about Agile UX work a colleague and I were doing at a broadcast retail company.

That led to several speaking engagements, and 1.5 years later I was in Seattle presenting the design for Kindle for iPhone 1.0 to Jeff Bezos.

I worked at Amazon for 6 years where I:

→ Designed and shipped dozens of Kindle reading apps used by millions
→ Got promoted 3 times
→ Managed and lead teams
→ Worked on highly visible "special projects"
→ Presented to Jeff Bezos and other execs more times than I can remember
 
And then I got burned out. 

So to recover I co-founded a tech startup. This is not a joke. This is also probably not advice I would give to anyone. 

The startup fizzled out quickly but it was my first exposure to entrepreneurship and I was hooked.

I didn't know what to do, I just knew I wanted to continue being out on my own.

With the help of others I started contracting. Over time that grew into a 7 figure design firm called Stepladder. 

Things about Stepladder that I'm proud of:

→ Short but impressive list of long time clients. We form partnerships.
→ 100% referral based
→ 100% of clients are repeat clients
→ Experienced designers come here to have more freedom in their life
→ Younger designers come here to get started and learn

I never dreamed that I would speak at conferences, work at a big tech name, or start companies. Yet here I am 20 years later incredibly fortunate, full of gratitude, sometimes a bit tired, and having learned:

→ You can't do it alone
→ Helping people is the best part of this job

I share what I've learned over the years here on LinkedIn and work with clients at www.stepladderUX.com.

Thanks for reading.

Beyond UX Design Podcast

Host

Edge Kase Design Co.

We specialize in guiding founders and software teams through the entire design lifecycle, from shipping products to building robust, long-term design operations and processes.

• Strategic Alignment: Collaborate closely with founders and stakeholders to align design strategies with business goals, ensuring cohesive and impactful user experiences.
• Streamlined Design Operations: Develop and implement streamlined design operations and processes, resulting in improved efficiency and consistency across client projects.

Design Partner

Retro Time // A Software Podcast

• Co Host of a witty and entertaining podcast, centered around software development and the skills you need to make it in the industry.
• Discussions include deep dives into various topics related to the software development and tech industries, ranging from soft skills to technical skills.

Co Host

Freelance

• Work closely with clients to turn broad conceptual ideas into creative, award-winning
digital and traditional work, including responsive websites, identities and print collateral.

Clients: Dat Dog, Acme Oyster House, The Rum House, Sodexo, The Dalai Lama, Delfeayo Marsalis, Susan Guidry

Freelance Designer

GE Aerospace

• UX Domain Leadership for External Presence: Led a diverse team for Commercial Engine Operations, driving design excellence in GE Aerospace.
• Legacy Tools Unification: Transformed disparate tools into a cohesive user experience for clients like Delta and FedEx, enhancing usability.
• Strategic Vision for GE Aerospace: Defined the vision for customer-facing software, aligning the product roadmap and business goals.
• User Research and Engagement: Conducted research and ethnography, uncovering pain points that informed improvements and boosted user engagement.
• Empathy and Alignment Building: Fostered empathy and team alignment through storytelling, enhancing collaboration and innovation.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Achieved consensus with diverse stakeholders, ensuring project success and effective communication.
• Process Simplification: Clarified complex processes with service blueprints, streamlining operations and enhancing efficiency.

Senior Staff Experience Architect

• UX Domain Leadership: Led Core Services teams for Commercial Engine Operations, enhancing business solutions.
• Feature Definition: Defined shared features like global search and navigation, streamlining user accessibility.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Worked with designers, researchers, and engineers to build consistent interactions, reducing redundancy and fostering reuse.
• Business Improvement Identification: Identified opportunities to boost adoption and user efficiency in executing complex processes, driving business growth.

Staff Experience Architect

• UX Leadership for SmartShop: Spearheaded an enterprise MRO SaaS app for GE Aviation and GE Power, enhancing industry solutions.
• Global Team Management: Led four UX designers across the US and Europe, supporting SmartShop's development and collaboration.
• Product Vision Alignment: Defined feature roadmap, priorities, and timelines with stakeholders, ensuring strategic focus.
• UX Strategy Execution: Orchestrated SmartShop's UX strategy, including research and workshops, for cohesive design implementation.
• Global Research Leadership: Conducted on-site research at GE service shops worldwide, driving usability insights and design improvements.
• UI Design System Development: Created SmartShop's UI design system, including Sketch libraries, accelerating engineering workflow.
• Design Consistency Assurance: Facilitated critiques for consistent functionality and interactions, improving user experience.
• Sprint Coordination: Managed UX resources bi-weekly, optimizing engineering team support and efficiency.
• User Insight Delivery: Presented "ShopTalk" series, sharing research learnings with engineering teams, fostering collaboration and understanding.

Staff UX Interaction Designer // Design Lead SmartShop

Black Valley

Mentoring aspiring designers as part of an eight-week intensive program. Helping to provide real-world experience, portfolio reviews, and interview coaching.

Design Mentor

GE Digital

• UX Leadership: Led SmartShop, an enterprise MRO SaaS app for GE Aviation and GE Power, driving innovation.
• Global Team Management: Led four UX designers across the US and Europe, supporting four developer teams on SmartShop.
• Product Vision Alignment: Collaborated with stakeholders to define feature roadmap, priorities, and timelines, ensuring strategic alignment.
• UX Strategy Execution: Established and executed SmartShop's UX strategy, including research and workshops, for cohesive design.
• Global Research Coordination: Led research efforts at GE service shops worldwide, informing usability and design insights.
• UI Design System Development: Created and maintained SmartShop's UI design system, accelerating engineering implementation.
• Design Consistency: Facilitated design critiques to ensure consistent functionality and interactions, enhancing user experience.
• Sprint Coordination: Managed UX resources to support bi-weekly engineering sprints, optimizing workflow.
• User Insight Delivery: Presented the "ShopTalk" series, sharing user research learnings, enhancing collaboration and understanding.

• UX Leadership: Led SmartShop, a global initiative for GE Aviation and GE Power, enhancing software design.
• Team Collaboration: Worked with developers, analysts, and clients to align on project objectives.
• Client-Centered Research: Conducted research and interviews to tailor solutions to client needs.
• Intuitive Design: Translated user stories into user-friendly interfaces for SmartShop.
• Interactive Prototyping: Utilized Axure to craft high-fidelity prototypes, enabling effective design validation.
• Agile Development: Applied Agile methodologies for rapid iteration of prototypes, ensuring responsiveness.

Sr UX Interaction Designer

GE Power

• UX Leadership: Led UX for Brilliant Repair Services at Greenville Service Center, driving design excellence.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partnered with developers, analysts, and clients to align on product goals.
• User Understanding: Conducted research and interviews to tailor solutions to client needs.
• Intuitive Design: Translated user stories into user-friendly interfaces for Brilliant Repair Services.
• Prototyping: Created interactive prototypes with Axure, enabling real-world design testing.
• Agile Development: Applied Agile methodologies for rapid prototype iteration, enhancing adaptability.

UX Interaction Design Lead

Peter Mayer

• Worked with a multi faceted team to develop a wide array of digital advertising solutions
including sales sites, landing pages, emails, and other digital marketing material.
• Transitioned peteramayer.com to HubSpot’s marketing platform.
• Mentored traditional designers to successfully design dynamic digital deliverables.

Clients: Zatarain’s, Sanderson Farms, Hancock Bank/Whitney Bank, Emerald Coast,
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

Web Developer

Radolo

• Simplified complex requirement documentation and user flows into intuitive user
interfaces, dashboards and reports for both desktop and mobile applications.
• Worked with engineers to develop pixel perfect, standards compliant applications.
• Involved in many aspects of software development including requirements gathering,
wire framing, prototyping, development, testing, launch, and ongoing maintenance.
• Developed and maintained an evolving design library of assets and style guidelines.
• Mentored junior designer to help shape their process and evolve their design skills.

Clients: American Dental Association, Aptify, Geiger, ASAE, Align, Aptify, BetterBookClub.com, Dudley Debosier,LLP.

User Experience Designer // Front End Developer

🎙️ Podcast Host @ Beyond UX Design // 💡 Engaging Industry Insights // 🥸 Joke Maker // 🧔 Dad

👋 My name is Jeremy and here are some things I want you to know about me:

💪 I'm passionate about the product.
✏️ I'm dedicated to design.
🤝 I'm crazy about collaboration.
🍬 I'm sweet on soft skills.
🔮 I'm entranced by the end users.
🏁 I rally around research.

But most importantly, I believe you can't build great software without great relationships.

taplio

The Battle

Jeff White

Jeremy Miller

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