Creative Services

Creative Services

I use data to identify opportunities, the creative process to solve problems, and technology to deliver it.

Consulting

With over 15 years of working on websites, mobile apps, OTT devices, wearable tech, and large-scale design systems, I have had the opportunity to engage in all types of digital products and the teams that produce them. I have designed, developed, and led digital teams for major universities, Fortune 500 medical device manufactures, leading E-commerce websites, and a global religious institution. My digital work has been experienced by millions, translated into 93 languages, ranked in the top ten best-performing E-commerce websites, received raving five-star customer reviews on the Google and Apple iTunes store, and featured by Apple, INC. I also hold a design patent for ExpressExam, the mobile app eye exam done through a smartphone (Patent-pending/unpublished). By being a business-savvy designer who knows how to code, I can help you and your team not only keep up with the digital world but innovate for it.

Design Systems

Do you want to know the secret to creating a cohesive digital product family? One that looks and feels the same across multiple websites, web applications, and digital platforms including iOS, Android, and OTT, all at the same time speeding up the process of getting your digital products to the market faster, and having a solid foundation to do A/B and Multivariate testing? The answer…. Design systems.

A design system is used to create digital products with consistency and speed, and in today’s ever-expanding digital world, they are becoming more and more critical to have. I have had extensive experience creating cascading design systems that have supported hundreds of websites, multiple mobile applications for iOS, Android, and OTT devices. If you need help making one from scratch or evolving an existing one, I would love to talk with you about how I can help.

Design System graphics
Black Apple iPhone with Apple Watch

Digital Product UI / UX Design

In today's world having a well-crafted digital UI/UX (User Interface and User Experience) for your digital products is not a luxury, but a necessity.

Designing intuitive, easy-to-use, beautiful, professional digital user experiences is at the core of what I do. By combining my design talents with business-savvy decisions and extensive in-depth technical training on the latest iOS, Android, OTT, Wearable Tech, and Web Platforms, I can provide you and your team a digital design that not only improves business performance but also delights your customers.

3D Product Visualization

3D product visualization is an art form used to tell a story about your product or brand. From real-time product customization to augmented reality, 3D product visualizers are helping online sellers to boost conversions, reduce returns, scale their product offerings, and improve customer experience.

3D rendering of a Rolex watch
A/B and Multivariate Testing

A/B and Multivariate Testing

A/B and Multivariate testing are how you can bring the scientific method into the design and development process. Have you ever had the question... "Which UX design concept is better? this one or that one?" or "What is causing my checkout rate to go up? or worse, down?". A testing strategy is how you can get data behind those questions and get you on the path to making informed data decisions. It's also the secret to refining your digital products and optimizing your e-commerce checkout flows for maximum profits and or creating digital experiences that will thrill your users. With extensive experience using today's sophisticated and powerful testing tools, I can help you get on the right path of designing and developing with data.

Front-End Web Development

With over fifteen years of working on the web, I have worked with all types of front-end website technologies. I remember when firebug for Firefox was introduced and how to fix the dreaded IE6 double margin bug. If you don't have any idea what those things are... that's fine! You don't need to... I do, and that's why you would want to hire me to take care of your front-end website development needs. From Angular to Vue.js, I can help get your CSS, Javascript, and HTML coding needs taken care of.

Wordpress Logo

WordPress Website Development

WordPress is the world’s most popular CMS (Content Management System) powering 34% of all websites on the internet. In addition to that, It has a 60.8% market share in the CMS market. It powers 14.7% of the world's top websites. 500+ sites are built each day using WordPress. The WordPress Plugin directory features 55,000+ plugins and WooCommerce (the WordPress e-commerce platform) powers 22% of the top 1 million e-commerce websites in the world.

If you have the need to set up a simple marketing website, customer engagement website, personal blog, or even an e-commerce website, I can help you achieve those WordPress goals.

by Trevor Dow

Digital Design Process

Discovery

 

I am a problem-solver.  My first priority when looking for solutions is to fully understand the problem. As Albert Einstein said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about the solution.”
In this “Discovery” phase, my goal is to look at as many data sources as possible, both quantitative and qualitative research.  This is crucial to fully understand what is going on.  A number of tools are utilized in this process including, but not limited to Digital Analytics, user research, review of error logs and messages, bug reports, and observing actual user behavior with the existing digital experience (if one currently exists).  During this phase, I can uncover common patterns and themes.  Performing a usability test can confirm these findings.

UX Design

 

Once a problem or opportunity for improvement has been identified, I can distill the problem down to a core functionality to improve upon.  If it comes down to user flow, I create a bird’s eye view by printing the entire flow and taking a step back to observe how it’s currently experienced.  This allows me to view the experience in its entirety and immediately begin to visualize a plan to take the end-user from Point A to Point B.  Available technologies are also identified that may help to improve or streamline that journey.  Numerous questions are considered during this design process:

 

   • Is there a way to reduce the steps the user must take?
   • What is the obvious “Easy Path?”
   • How can I make this experience easier for the user?
   • What are the business objectives?
   • What are the visitors/customers’ objectives?
   • What will our main Key Performance Indicators (KPI) be?
   • What is our definition of “success”?
   • What is the fail state, and what does that experience look like?

 

As you can see, there is a lot of consideration in this phase of the creative process.  By taking the time to answer these questions, we ensure our focus remains on solving the problem and improving the user’s experience.

 

My current team at 1-800Contacts has a weekly design sprint.  For one week we use the creative process to improve or create new digital experiences.  Each week we take our ideas and UX design concepts and present them in a fun, collaborative, cross-functional design critique that I have created and coined as our “Bob Ross Meetings.”  During this meeting, the designer posts their week’s work on the wall and team members have an opportunity to critique or add to the idea. At this point, the idea concept is typically in the gray box concept as we focus on getting the interaction and user flow polished.

Rapid Prototyping and Usability Testing

 

After iterating and refining the ideas and getting internal feedback, the next step is to get real user feedback.  To accomplish this, a quick initial prototype is built and presented to a focused group of users to collect their perspectives.  This is the most critical step in the process.  I have utilized many tools to execute this: HTML/CSS/Javascript, Adobe Flash, AfterEffects, InVision, Adobe XD, Principle, and Figma.  Ideas should be tested and refined as quickly as possible.  This will validate the design concept and determine whether it will be a solution to the problem we have set out to solve.

UI Design and Animation

 

The next step is to apply the final look and feel to the design.  While this step is often mistakenly assumed to be the role of a digital designer, it is only a small fraction of the process!  Only after the user experience has been successfully designed should you work on the final graphics.

At 1-800Contacts, we had a goal to improve the consistency of our various digital platforms.  A design system was created to ensure this consistency between internal design teams, outside creative agencies, and development teams.

To further enhance the digital experience, animation can be added.  It is the polish that will attract the user’s eye and direct their attention. Animation is a powerful and useful element if it is done correctly. It must be timed well, follow the laws of physics, and be unobtrusive and explicit.
Like a soundtrack to a movie, if done right, animation can enhance the overall experience.  If done poorly, it will distract and dilute the emotional connection.

Development

 

The development process is another crucial step.  Without a strong development team, a design will remain just that…a design.  To have the most successful end product, a developer should be just as passionate about maintaining the elements of design and animation as the designers themselves.  While they may not design these visuals and experiences, they do need to be just as passionate about producing them.  When designers and developers sit together through the development process, magic happens!  Maintaining pixel perfect design details throughout the development process will set the final experience apart from the rest.

Release and A/B Testing

 

It’s now time to release the experience.  There are a number of tools available to ensure a controlled release allowing you to release the new digital experience out to a small selective group to ensure positive results will follow. I have experience with both SiteSpect and the Adobe Target testing platforms.

Analyze and Repeat The Process

 

The data will now be pouring in, showing the impact of the improved experience. Once you have identified your winning results, you can increase visitor traffic and release the full digital experience to the rest of your audience. With this new baseline, you can rinse and repeat and begin the process again.

Summary:
I use data to identify opportunities, the creative process to solve problems, and technology to deliver it.

by Trevor Dow

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    Email: hello[@]tsitedesign.com
    Phone: (801) 859.9205

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    by Trevor Dow