Curiosity, lifelong learning, and service have always driven my career.
I've had a diverse career journey, starting in multimedia journalism with contributions to CNN.com and the Weather Channel. 2015 I made a pivotal transition to UX in the fintech space, joining Rocket Mortgage in 2021. I specialized in crafting solutions for complex team member user issues within the Key software, matching the right banker with the right loan.
In 2016, I assumed the role of XD Architect at State Farm, contributing to digital systems and claims tools. Beyond my professional life, I'm dedicated to design mentorship and volunteer work with 48 in 48, assisting nonprofits.
I hold a BFA in Photographic Illustration from the Rochester Institute of Technology, an MS in New Media from Syracuse University, and practical UX training from General Assembly.
My passions include photography, culinary adventures, and travel outside of work. I share my life with my wonderful wife, Max the dog, and the charming cat, Charlay.Introducing the Future of Product Design
Rocket Mortgage- The Key lead Allocation Software
My Role
As the Senior Experience Designer for the Key, my responsibilities included designing all features, conducting research, facilitating user interviews, and leading workshops. I collaborated closely with product and engineering teams to ensure the best experience for our team members. This involved conducting UX audits and journey mapping to inform the design process and produce all necessary artifacts for implementation.
User Needs
Using Tools Efficiently: Production strategists must juggle multiple tools, but it's not always easy. Access to diverse tools is crucial for gathering reliable data.
Trust in Data: Data reliability is vital. Production strategists should cross-check information from different sources to ensure accuracy.
User-Friendly Tools: Intuitive tools are a must. They should be straightforward and suitable for newbies and seasoned pros.
Simple Language: Keep it simple. Plain language and clear features help reduce the learning curve for newbies and ease the workload for experienced strategists.
Testing and Experimentation: Flexibility is vital. Production strategists need tools to test different strategies and hypotheses and refine their approaches effectively.
Solution
Replacing Legacy Software: The Key replaces the Legacy Software Loan Origination/Lead Allocation (LOLA), consolidating various functions into a single application.
Features: The Key offers historical data, alerts, and call-outs and facilitates quick testing and troubleshooting.
Personalization: Production strategists can personalize their data by favoriting items, reducing cognitive load through sorting and filtering, and providing a centralized source of truth for data.
Visual Hierarchy for Configuration Warnings: The Key employs a color visual hierarchy to warn production strategists about configuration errors, ensuring they are promptly alerted to incorrect settings.
Logs and Historical Data: The Key also provides logs and historical data, allowing production strategists to confirm configurations and track changes over time.
Feedback
““Less room for error in escalation with the Key””
““This is much simpler than LOLA.””
•Users liked personalization features like displaying profile pic and viewing in dark mode.
•Users trusted the data in the application
•Users found the essential efficiency in achieving their goals
Methods
• Conducted a working study in the first quarter of 2023 Via one-on-one in-depth interviews and task observations with the production strategist.
• I conducted a UI/UX audit and added defects to the product backlog.
• With Multiple rounds of user studies were completed. I regularly shared and socialized user studies, creating a culture of empathy across the product and engineering teams.
Who?
• Production Strategists are at the beginning of the sales funnel, a highly specialized group working on multiple channels and sub-specialties. Lead strategy and management vary by specialty.
• Strategists have a data-heavy view of having to make decisions and not knowing the impact of their configurations until it is too late.
• They have a decentralized experience that requires them to look at and interpret multiple data sources that are sometimes conflicting.
User Inetrviews
UX Audit Completed a comprehensive audit that included a heuristic review, Task Analysis and user feedback. We were able to fold the findings into the backlog.
Banker Profile Page Enhancements to the banker profile allow production strategists to monitor banker performance and adjust capacity as well as troubleshoot.
Routing Rules warning: Immediate feedback is given to users when settings are misconfigured, allowing them to have peace of mind and not wait for results, risking a negative impact.
Favorites: Users wanted the ability to favorite opportunity groups, decluttering their view, allowing them to focus on what is important to them and their specialty.
Data display enhancements: Giving the production strategist new ways to visualize data, linking Data points offers a centralized place for a source of truth without jumping from system to system.
““Would be great if we have a tool tip or hover over telling what the columns mean.””
““I want to see my Opportunity Groups.””
Future
•Users suggested using simple language, avoiding technical terms, and wanted cues on the
column headers, loan status, Opportunity Groups
•Users wanted options that would help reduce scrolling
•Users requested the ability to search by multiple fields like Common ID, Banker,
•Users suggested personalization of the Opportunity Groups grid to reduce cognitive load
“I want to see my Opportunity Groups.”
•Users wondered why they couldn’t delete an OG and wanted the ability to delete an OG
State Farm- Design System Digital Experience Library (DXL) - Unifying Brand Consistency and Accelerating Production
My Role
As a User Experience Architect on State Farm's Digital Experience Library (DXL) team, I played a pivotal role in architecting elements strategically deployed across State Farm's digital properties. Over the course of four years, my role involved addressing significant challenges faced by State Farm in maintaining brand consistency across its diverse digital platforms. Multiple teams and disciplines within the organization struggled to align their design efforts, leading to inefficiencies, more prolonged production cycles, and a fragmented user brand experience. To tackle these challenges, I led the development of the DXL project, focusing on revolutionizing brand consistency and accelerating production. This case study showcases my contributions to the project, detailing how DXL transformed State Farm's digital ecosystem.
A progress indicator is a visual UI element that visually represents the completion status of a task or process, using a bar for state farm Users to track claims and processes.
The Digital Experience Library (DXL) was conceived as a solution to these challenges. Here are the key aspects of its implementation:
Architecting Elements: In my role, I played a crucial part in architecting design elements that could be used consistently across various State Farm properties, spanning Marketing, Neighborhood of Good, Simple Insights, B2B and B2C sub-sites, and vendor areas.
Research and Visual Design: I conducted research and, in some instances, directly contributed to the final visual design of these elements, ensuring they aligned with State Farm's brand guidelines.
Library Launch: I was part of the team that successfully launched the DXL. We selected the right tools to host the library and devised a strategic plan to execute the project efficiently.
Molecular Design Foundation: The DXL was built on the foundational principles of molecular design, breaking down complex design components into modular, reusable elements.
Results:
The implementation of the Digital Experience Library (DXL) has yielded significant results:
Efficiency Gains: Product teams now utilize DXL to design more efficiently, streamlining their workflows and saving time.
Agile Design: Teams can work in an Agile manner, creating wireframes and prototypes in hours rather than days.
Production Acceleration: Time from concept to production decreased by over 50% with the new process.
Unified Brand Experience: DXL enables a unified enterprise brand experience across all State Farm digital properties.
Conclusion:
By creating the Digital Experience Library (DXL) and embracing molecular design principles, State Farm has achieved a consistent, repeatable, and enterprise-wide design system. This not only unifies the brand experience but also significantly reduces time to production, allowing sites to go live faster and more efficiently. The DXL project represents a substantial step forward in enhancing brand consistency and optimizing design processes across State Farm's digital ecosystem.
State Farm- One-time new card access to customers' State Farm credit cards
As a product designer, I took the lead in architecting the flow and designing the UI for a new card access feature. This involved conceptualizing the user journey from start to finish and crafting the visual interface to ensure a seamless and intuitive experience.
The goal was to boost auto payment enrollment and reward customers with points on their State Farm Reward cards.
The initiative exceeded expectations, resulting in a remarkable 43% increase in auto payment usage.
This increase effectively reduced the number of missed payments and policy lapses.
Customers benefited from earning reward points, which can be used for future purchases or discounts.
The initiative creates a win-win situation, incentivizing auto-payment enrollment while providing added benefits.
More customers using auto-payment leads to a more efficient and streamlined business process.
State Farm - Customer Claims Journey Map
I researched customers' pain points when filing homeowners insurance claims with State Farm. Despite its diverse insurance offerings, the claim process could be complex and overwhelming for customers during difficult times. Our research aimed to build empathy and gain insights to improve the claims process.
The outcome was a detailed customer journey map covering the entire process from incident occurrence to claim resolution, providing valuable guidance for enhancing the customer experience.
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State Farm -Khaki Revolutionizing Insurance with Voice Assistance
Our mission was to simplify insurance complexities in a time-crunched world. Khaki emerged as our digital companion and was integrated into the State Farm mobile app and smart speakers like Alexa. It intuitively aids users with insurance inquiries, simplifying intricacies. As a storyteller, I crafted engaging narratives, leveraging animation, to illustrate Khaki's transformative impact on users' insurance experiences during rapid digital innovation projects like hack days.
Weather Channel
My Role
As the UX Art Director for the Weather Channel's flagship app, I led the curation of brand images, enhancing user engagement with weather updates through captivating visuals. This immersive experience aligned with our brand identity, making weather updates more memorable. Additionally, I consulted on the UI design for the Weather's Allergy Tracker, ensuring a user-friendly interface for simplified allergy tracking. Our dynamic tool provides instant insights into allergies, eliminating the need for tedious note-taking and offering comprehensive graphs for easy understanding, especially during peak seasons.
Weather Channel-Mobile AP
As the UX Art Director for the Weather Channel's flagship app, I curated location-triggered images, offering users personalized experiences based on their whereabouts. This involved negotiating with photographers and collaborating closely with engineering and product teams to ensure seamless integration. We enhanced user engagement by triggering images that matched the customer's location and current weather conditions and provided relevant visual content tailored to their surroundings.
Resume PDF
Robert W. Johnson
Greater Atlanta Area | 404-791-5586 | robert.w.johnson@gmail.com | www.robertjohnsonux.com
UX Product Designer
Collaborative, creative problem solver with a knack for navigating complex spaces. Expertise in drawing from diverse skills to tackle intricate use cases. Proven track record of conducting and facilitating user research to solve customer problems. Passion for crafting seamless and intuitive user experiences, thrive on translating user insights into innovative design solutions. Dedicated to creating delightful products that meet and exceed user expectations.
Enterprise Systems Thinking
Experience Design
Design Strategy
Continuous Discover
Design Systems
Skills | Tools
· Prototyping
· Storyboarding
· UI Design
· User Interviews
· User Testing
· Visual Design
· Wireframing
. User Research
· Heuristic Analysis
· Information Architecture
· Journey Maps
· User Flows
· Design Thinking
· Ideation
· Responsive Design
· Workshop Facilitation
· Adobe InDesign
· Adobe Photoshop
· Axure
· Figma
· InVision
· Photography /Video
· Sketch
·
Rocket Mortage|Remote September 2021 -September 2023
Senior User Experience Designer
Principal designer for enterprise-facing financial experiences for a product essential in the banker-to-loan lead allocation process.
· Applied UX/UI principles and methods to enhance product design, solving intricate user problems through research and testing
· Led design sprint workshops, driving out user requirements.
· Facilitated work sessions to document user stories and requirements, informed by customer research data
· Fostered trust with cross-functional teams by involving users' input and sharing my design progress transparently in the daily meetings
State Farm|Atlanta, Georgia June 2016 - September 2021
User Experience/Architect
Designed customer and enterprise-facing financial experiences. Provided architecture and visuals for design system elements.
· Participated in work sessions to document user stories and requirements, as informed by customer research data
· Created detailed experience maps, user flows, wireframes, U.I. specs, and prototypes
FREELANCE ADJUNCT, Atlanta, GA June 1994 - Present
Freelance Photographer / Adjunct Instructor / Boot Camp Mentor
Mentor UX design Springboard.com and mentor UX design Thinkful.com. Produce video and photography for commercial and retail clients. Adjunct instructor, photography, Clayton State University.
· Adjunct instructor, Winter / 2019 Multimedia Design class at the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design, Georgia State University.
· Adjunct instructor, Spring / Fall 2019 User Experience and Design Thinking / Multimedia Design class at the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design, Georgia State University.
· Adjunct Online Instructor at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Facilitated courses such as Digital Imaging for Web and Multimedia, Web Imaging Techniques, Computer Animation for Multimedia, Web and Interactive Authoring, and Interactive Project Management
THE WEATHER COMPANY, An I.B.M. Business, Atlanta, GA Jan 2016 -June 2016
User Experience / User Interface Designer, Contractor
· Performed usability testing and user research in person and through online tools.
· Created deliverables such as specifications, wireframes, mockups, and prototypes.
· Balance user experience with company goals, thereby partnering with product and ad sales departments.
· Collaborated with developers, creating workable solutions.
AKOMA.NET, Atlanta, GA Jan 2016 -June 2016
User Experience Designer, Client
One of five team members who launched the award-winning CNN.com photos blog.
Produced and contributed to the editorial direction of CNN.com/photos.
Drew millions of monthly visitors by presenting unique angles to the news stories.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, Atlanta, GA
User Experience Designer
Completed full-time immersive program: 600+ hours of professional user experience training over 10-weeks.
· Utilized hands-on approach in practice user-centered design methods, user research, design thinking skills, team collaboration, and client relations.
· Produced mockups, prototypes, and wireframes in Axure and Sketch.
Additional Experience
THE WEATHER CHANNEL, Atlanta, GA
UX Art Director
CNN.COM, Atlanta, GA
Associate Producer and Photo Editor, Multimedia
LOCKHEED MARTIN, Syracuse, NY
Multimedia Design Engineer
Education
M.S., New Media | Syracuse University, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications | 2005
B.F.A., Photographic Illustration | Rochester Institute of Technology, College of Imaging Arts and Sciences | 1994
Honors and Awards
Opportunity Fund Fellow, 2015
Featured Lecturer at Rochester Institute of Technology Careers in Motion, 2014
Social Media Fellow in the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism, 2011
Keynote speaker, “Chipping Away at Intolerance,” at young leaders conference in Prague, Czech Republic, 201