Alexander is available for hire
Hire AlexanderAlexander Russell
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Lincoln, NE, United States
Toptal member since June 16, 2016
Bio
Alex is a product designer who wants to work with you. He partners with startups, organizations, and agencies to rethink design strategies or invent new ones. Alex has helped startups receive collectively over $2 million in funding. He also co-operates a research and design collective called Collectively Made.
Portfolio
Work Experience
Product Design Strategist
2016 - PRESENT
Collectively Made
- Formed an LLC to act as a worker-owned cooperative, allowing myself to leverage the collective structure to curate the best talent and collaborate as an agile unit.
- Advised on UX strategies for product teams, including UX writing, design documentation, utilization of the "Shape Up" framework, user flows, and rapid prototyping.
- Acted as a fractional head of UX for small teams by providing design leadership, sharing feedback, and improving team collaboration.
- Guided teams through complex processes like running design sprints, building design systems, setting up design operations, and implementing user testing processes.
- Implemented data-tracking tools that help collaborators track business metrics and compare them against high-level goals.
- Designed and developed nuanced UX strategies that improve product conversion.
- Designed and developed a mobile app paired with a web app that replaces the paper-based processes of a health and human services company.
- Built an agricultural appraisal software tool for a farm management company capable of handling hundreds of thousands of land sale data points.
Technologies: Wireframing, Figma, Product Design, UX Design, User Flows, User Research, Adobe Creative Suite, Design Systems, Git, Adobe Experience Design (XD), Sketch, Information Architecture (IA), User Interviews, Writing & Editing, Copywriting, Content Strategy, Technical Writing, Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, UX Research, User Behavior, User Surveys, A/B Testing, Research, Accessibility, UX Strategy, UX Audits, Prototyping, Mobile App Design, Usability Testing, SaaS Design, Agile, Interaction Design (IxD), Systems Thinking, Heuristic Review, Heuristic Analysis, UI Design, UI Design, User Experience (UX), Rapid Prototyping, Front-end, Mockups, Human-centered Design (HCD), HTML, CSS, Google Docs, JavaScript, User Testing, Remote User Testing, React, Design, Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, Front-end Development, Mobile UX, Mobile UI
UX Consultant
2020 - 2022
Outdoor Research
- Built a modular design system capable of re-imagining a simpler and lighter experience that echoes the bespoke quality of the brand.
- Prototyped interactions to enhance the user experience from the homepage to product details to checkout.
- Consulted with development teams to create a handoff process between design and development.
- Designed and tested new product pages focused on PPE and other protective equipment as the brand pivoted during the pandemic.
- Designed and tested the new stories sections of the site that focused on sponsored athletes and other high-fidelity content.
Technologies: Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Rapid Prototyping, Interactive Design, UI Design, E-commerce UX Design, eCommerce UI, User Testing, Design Systems, Mobile eCommerce, Mobile UI, Mobile UX, Magento 2, UI Design, UX Design, Web Design, User Experience (UX), User Research, Prototyping, Mobile App Design, Mockups, Remote User Testing, Design, Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, eCommerce, User Interviews, Qualitative Research, User Behavior, User Surveys, UX Strategy, UX Audits
UX Consultant
2020 - 2022
Speedway Motors
- Acted as a fractional lead of the UX for the product team by providing design leadership, sharing feedback, and improving team collaboration.
- Guided teams through design sprints, building and maintaining a design system called Clutch, setting up design operations, and planning design reviews.
- Implemented user testing flows that helped collaborators monitor and validate product and design assumptions.
- Was responsible for overhauling various eCommerce UX touchpoints, dealing with everything from product listing page to checkout.
Technologies: Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, UI Design, Design Systems, UXM, Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, UI Design, UX Design, Web Design, User Experience (UX), Product Design, Rapid Prototyping, Agile, User Research, Prototyping, Mobile App Design, Mockups, Google Docs, User Testing, Remote User Testing, Design, Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, E-commerce UX Design, eCommerce UI, eCommerce, User Interviews, User Behavior, User Surveys, UX Strategy, UX Audits, Mobile UX, Mobile UI
Product Designer
2017 - 2020
Archrival
- Led the product design efforts on a collaboration tool currently being used by over 500 users.
- Implemented a design system framework to increase the speed of design iteration and development.
- Organized a user testing process to yield a better understanding of user persona needs to prioritize the roadmap better.
- Worked with big brand stakeholders such as Adidas, Teva Sanuk, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, and Spotify.
- Conceptualized and tested features to validate ideas before wasting development time.
Technologies: Google Docs, Wireframing, Adobe Photoshop, Figma, Sketch, UI Design, Product Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, UX Design, User Flows, Software as a Service (SaaS), Web Design, Rapid Prototyping, Agile, User Research, Prototyping, Front-end, Mockups, Human-centered Design (HCD), HTML, CSS, JavaScript, User Testing, Remote User Testing, React, Design, Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, Front-end Development, Design Systems, User Interviews, Qualitative Research, User Surveys, UX Strategy, UX Audits, Mobile UX, Mobile UI
Product Designer
2017 - 2018
LiveBy
- Led the product design on several product-related touchpoints.
- Scoped feature sets and planned design sprints for the product team.
- Crafted wireframes and prototyped unique B2B solutions and product features.
- Conducted user research, interviews, and usability testing.
- Designed and mocked high-fidelity screens to concept, market, and prototype product releases.
Technologies: Google Docs, Wireframing, Adobe Photoshop, Figma, Sketch, UI Design, Product Design, User Experience (UX), Rapid Prototyping, UI Design, UX Design, User Flows, User Research, Software as a Service (SaaS), Zeplin, Design Systems, UX Audits, Presentations, Web Design, Agile, Prototyping, Mockups, Design, Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, User Interviews, Qualitative Research, User Behavior, User Surveys, UX Strategy, Mobile UX, Mobile UI
Freelance UX Designer
2016 - 2017
Hackbright Academy
- Met with stakeholders via Skype, hangouts, and phone to understand pain points and define deliverables.
- Assisted in redesigning a variety of web pages utilizing the company's style guide and pre-built components.
- Created a number of print materials such as reports, tables, documents, and brochures.
- Consulted with a company concerning scoping projects and creating requirements.
- Implemented functional CSS code to make on-the-fly style updates without needing to ever touch the site code.
Technologies: WordPress, CSS, HTML, Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch, UI Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, UX Design, Web Design, Front-end, Design, Front-end Development, UX Strategy, UX Audits
Freelance UX Designer
2016 - 2017
Omaha Steaks
- Wireframed, designed, and prototyped unique eCommerce experiences on a variety of touchpoints.
- Conducted user research and user testing analysis to validate UX design decisions.
- Implemented and assisted with the componentization of front-end modules.
- Consulted in road mapping and scoping of new projects and business opportunities.
- Met with stakeholders to define pain points and opportunities to be solved with design.
Technologies: jQuery, CSS, HTML, Prototyping, User Research, User Testing, Wireframing, UI Design, User Experience (UX), UI Design, UX Design, Web Design, Mockups, Remote User Testing, Design, Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, E-commerce UX Design, eCommerce UI, eCommerce, User Interviews, Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, User Behavior, User Surveys, UX Strategy, UX Audits, Mobile UX, Mobile UI
Lead Designer | Front-end Developer
2014 - 2016
Market Interactive
- Led the design and front-end development for all projects.
- Organized and worked with a small team using a variety of methodologies.
- Handled product design, art direction, and UI/UX for all projects throughout the various stages of development.
- Designed UI elements and converted those designs to front-end code.
- Managed the front end and style guide in-house for several big clients.
Technologies: Agile, Scrum, WordPress, Jekyll, Angular, Ruby, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, Sketch, UI Design, User Experience (UX), Rapid Prototyping, UI Design, UX Design, Web Design, Front-end, Mockups, Design, Front-end Development, UX Strategy, Mobile UI
Education
2009 - 2013
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Studio Art and Design
University of Nebraska–Lincoln - Lincoln, NE, USA
Skills
Tools
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Google Docs, Adobe Photoshop, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite, Jekyll, Usertesting.com, GitHub, Git, Adobe Experience Design (XD), Zeplin
Languages
CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Ruby
Platforms
OS X, WordPress, Magento 2
Other
Rapid Prototyping, Agile, Human-centered Design (HCD), Design Thinking, UI Design, Web Design, App Design, User Experience (UX), Product Design, UI Design, UX Design, User Flows, Value Proposition Design, User Testing, Remote User Testing, Mobile Prototypes, Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, E-commerce UX Design, eCommerce UI, eCommerce, Software as a Service (SaaS), Fintech, React, Wireframing, Angular, Scrum, User Research, Prototyping, jQuery, Design, Google Material Design, Apps, Mobile App Design, Visual Design, Front-end, Mockups, Information Design, Graphic Design, Print Design, Writing & Editing, Front-end Development, Design Systems, Information Architecture (IA), User Interviews, Copywriting, Content Strategy, Technical Writing, Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, UX Research, User Behavior, User Surveys, A/B Testing, Research, Accessibility, UX Strategy, UX Audits, Usability Testing, SaaS Design, Interaction Design (IxD), Systems Thinking, Heuristic Review, Heuristic Analysis, Presentations, UXM, Interactive Design, Mobile eCommerce, Mobile UI, Mobile UX
Experience
Tools
Collaboration That Works
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