Below are select projects from my three years as Creative Director of the newsroom where I led a team of four alongside hands-on designing.
Role: Art Director, Sr. Designer
The problem: As a small in-house team providing design services for an organization of over 300 partners, we needed to develop a process for reviewing media, ensuring editorial assets met a high bar, while allowing partners to move fast.
Process: Working backwards from the data, I looked at the highest performing content on site, setting tenets and a prioritization queue. I built a self-service Design Hub, where partners could search and use legal-approved images and templates.
Editorial brand standards
Result: The organization was able to maximize legally approved assets while I worked with my network of freelance designers and photographers on editorial features that were high-impact.
I worked with UX and engineering teams to get a new site map, content architecture, and navigation approved with leadership. I created initial design concepts for the homepage and child pages to be handed off to the agency. I then art directed rounds based on leadership feedback. I worked closely with engineers in agile sprints to get the new designs implemented into the CMS.
Amazon Newsroom site redesign
Role: Art Director, Web Designer
Agency: Slalom
The problem: The previous Amazon News site had outdated branding, with UX dead-ends across the site. Modules within the CMS weren’t mobile-optimized, and the site’s navigation needed an overhaul.
Process: I spent time in discovery, looking through data in Adobe Analytics to see the most popular news categories and user journeys. I investigated where different types of users dropped offsite, which screen sizes they used, and conducted UX tests to learn additional user pain points.
Results: Desktop users spent 132% longer on site exploring content, clicking through to similar or recommended content.
Mobile users spent 167% longer on site, engaging with scannable content or finding specific topics within the new navigation.
Time frame: 6 months (kickoff to initial launch)
Amazon-exclusive features
Role: Creative Director, Art Director
Vendors: Brightspot, Shorthand
The problem: The templates within the Brightspot CMS were limited, and as the volume of exclusive stories grew, the organization needed more robust templates to tell them.
Process: I worked closely with the engineering team and agency partners at Brightspot to audit, prioritize, and design new featured templates. Some features, like parallax scrolling, couldn’t fit into the code sprints for the year. I then identified, pitched, and onboarded an additional vendor, Shorthand, to use their interactive features for features.
Result: Inspired by The New York Times features, the new designs saw 341% more engagement, with users spending 142% longer time on page, and 155% higher recirculation rate.