2018 – 2021

Initially contracted for my visual skills – I went on to lead the design of many product areas for Symphony, a collaboration tool (chat, video, etc) focused on capital markets.

I was part of the core team that shipped the next generation product for Symphony.

Symphony 2.0 – Shipped 2019

A simplified chat tool for the back office users within capital markets

I was part of the core team that shipped the next generation of Symphony.

In 2018, Symphony re-focused their product strategy toward their back office users (10x more than before)

Product contributions

Information architecture

Content tagging

Notifications

Customer visits

New York

London

Titles held

Sr. UX Designer

UX Designer

Visual Designer (Contract)

An information architecture built from first principles.

I re-organized Symphony into a simple tool for the 100,000+ back-office users who needed to interface with stock traders but had no need for a Bloomberg terminal.

Reacting to messages directed at you

Since the new product was compatible with the previous client, users still faced a barrage of messages. To pull signal from this noise - I applied a the principle of 'Proactive vs Reactive' to delineate our information architecture.

Being proactive on content you care about

While tagging messages goes a long way in deep systems, it’s not possible to expect other users to use tags you're familiar with, so we also allowed for users to set keywords they wanted to follow.

'Tools' & Settings

Tools like (+) Create a Chat was one our key metrics so it made the the top spot in the IA, while other tools naturally fit as well. They are seen here in yellow.

Learning from our users in a compliant manner

Learning from our users in a regulated industry

Because capital markets is a world of sensitive data, information barriers, regulation and compliance - we took our teams from all over the world to meet customers in person in New York and London.

Inherited product - "Symphony 1.0"

Bringing Figma to a multi-national team

I brought Figma into Symphony to meet our need for a reliable design application. Other tools (Abstract, Invision, Zeplin, Sketch) proved workable but were glitchy and caused file-size and font-sync issues. I personally vouched for Figma’s value as a complete design and collaboration solution.

Today, Figma helps power and connect 12 designers across 6 time zones and 4 continents.

Restructuring a design system

To grow with the company, our design teams needed to scale across and between projects faster and more consistently, for both new and existing integrations. To that end, I undertook a remodeling of our design libraries. The resulting framework presents a core library for everyone and product-specific libraries for unique teams. The system brings the speed and consistency we sought plus a more confident, synced design force.

Starting Points–A sticker sheet for everyone

Problem

Designers were building mockups for the product but neglecting to also update the design system. The design system became a source of uncertainty rather than truth. Finding the latest mockups was anybody’s guess. Teams like sales and marketing, who rely on our designs for collateral and training, also felt the pain.

Solution

I launched Starting Points, a sticker sheet of finished Figma mockups and an actual source of truth. Starting Points is essentially a library available to all parties. Any designer can come here, grab a current mockup, and build on it. Likewise, sales and marketing teams can export the mockups they need from here, rather than requiring a designer to provide or vet an iteration. Keeping it all up to date depends on tight governance, but I’m optimistic the cross-team benefits will give Starting Points strong traction.

Applying principles to Symphony notifications

Before

Notifications were being triggered and deployed in a hodgepodge of inconsistent form factors and executions – often with multiple notification types for a single event. Users became unable to distinguish and react appropriately to the barrage of badges, counters, OS toasts, push notifications and blinking lists.

2018 – 2021

Initially contracted for my visual skills – I went on to lead the design of many product areas for Symphony, a collaboration tool (chat, video, etc) focused on capital markets.

I was part of the core team that shipped the next generation product for Symphony.

I was part of the core team that shipped the next generation of Symphony.

In 2018, Symphony re-focused their product strategy toward their back office users (10x more than before)

An information architecture built from first principles.

An information architecture built from first principles.

I re-organized Symphony into a simple tool for the 100,000+ back-office users who needed to interface with stock traders but had no need for a Bloomberg terminal.

Learning from our users in a compliant manner

Learning from our users in a regulated industry

Because capital markets is a world of sensitive data, information barriers, regulation and compliance - we took our teams from all over the world to meet customers in person in New York and London.

Contributions

Bringing Figma to a multi-national team

Restructuring a design system

Starting Points–A sticker sheet for everyone

Problem

Solution

Applying principles to Symphony notifications

Before

After

Positions held

Locations

Reflections