Daniel T Wood, Designer in Portland, OR, United States
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Daniel T Wood

Verified Expert  in Design

Bio

Daniel is a UX design and strategy expert with 25+ years of experience bringing products, apps, eCommerce, and websites to life. By molding ambiguity, asking hard questions, and championing data, he helps teams design more usable, accessible, and delightful products. Daniel has worked with many of the world's top brands (including Adidas, Walmart, Samsung, and Capital One), B2B SaaS (Salesforce, HP, Asana), and early-stage startups, helping them find better ways to meet and exceed expectations.

Portfolio

Work Experience

Design Strategy Lead

2013 - PRESENT
Self-employed
  • Led the strategy and oversaw the design that sped up PayPal's customer integration time by 50%, spurred $30 million of incremental payments lift, and inspired a patent.
  • Improved Peddle.com's average end-to-end efficiency by 26%, raised sales conversions by 6%, and improved customer satisfaction by 19 net promoter score (NPS) points following research and redesign efforts.
  • Defined and operationalized cross-functional 'Test and Learn' experimentation programs with Asana, Brightspeed Internet, and Peddle. Early design tests delivered up to 49% improvements.
  • Managed the team that launched sites with perfect 100 Google Lighthouse accessibility scores and led Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) #a11y audits for Silicon Valley Bank, Walmart, and John Deere.
  • Helped Instrument (agency) win five awards, including Fast Company's 2023 "10 Most Innovative Companies in Design," with my contributions to EamesInstitute.org and BankBlackUSA.org.
  • Worked for clients: Airship, Asana, Advent Tech, BankBlackUSA, Brightspeed Internet, Capital One, Conversa Health, Eames Institute, Four Hands, Grammarly, HP, John Deere, Optum/UHC, Motorola, PayPal, Peddle, Samsung, Silicon Valley Bank, and Walmart.
Technologies: Figma, Sketch, Axure RP Pro, Slack, Jira, Asana, Notion, Miro, VWO, Google Analytics, Google Optimize, Apple Keynote, Google Workspace, ChatGPT, Airtable, Userlytics, Salesforce, Lightning Design System, FigJam, Confluence, Iterable, Mobile App Design, Mobile App UI, WCAG 2, Prototyping, Rapid Interactive Prototyping, Product Design, UI Design, User Research, Remote User Testing, Content Design, UX Audits, Experience Strategy, User Experience Design, UX Research, Team Mentoring, Digital Product Design, Email Template Design, Strategy, Framing problems, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Usability, Facilitation, Communication, Design Systems, Project Management, Pitch Decks, Video Editing, Ideation, UI Audits, Design, Writing & Editing, Presentations, Web Design, Annotated Wireframes, Service Design, Experience Maps, DataViz, Data Reporting, Personalization, Key Performance Metrics, Accessible Design, Heuristic Evaluation, Heuristic Analysis, Design Validation, User Testing, Task Analysis, Heuristic Reports, User Experience (UX), Web UX, Web UX Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Accessibility, Content Strategy, Design Strategy, Finance, Fintech, Product Strategy, Collaboration, Design Leadership, Annotations, Documentation, Agile Sprints, Agile, App Builders, Product UX, Multilingual Websites, CX Strategy, App Design, Mobile Design, Responsive Web Design (RWD), User Experience Strategy, User Interface (UI), Web App UX, Web Portals, Portal Design, UX Strategy, Design Principles, Employee Experience, Service Blueprints, Research Reports, User Validation Testing, Landing Pages, Landing Page Design, Marketo, Product Management, Taxonomy, Navigation Design, System Requirements, Workshop Facilitation, Design Workshops, Competitive Analysis, Analytics, Benchmarking, Heuristic Review, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, In-depth Interviews, Lookback.io, Web Accessibility, Motion & Animation Design, Forms, Logic Design, User Flows, Cross-functional Design, Stakeholder Management, Schemas, Competition Research, Team Management, UX Testing, Google Slides, IDI, Web App Design, System Design, Ethnography, Ethnographic Studies, Ethnographic Interviews, UX Prototyping, Journey Mapping, Aesthetics, Color Theory, Layout, Conceptualization, User Journeys, Requirements, Mobile Prototypes, Mobile UX Design, Research Synthesis, Design Thinking Facilitation, Card Sorting, Survey Design, IA Strategy, User Journey Maps, Design Management, eCommerce UI, eCommerce UX, Mobile eCommerce, Training, Partner Management, Onboarding, User Onboarding, Rapid Prototyping, Low-fidelity Prototypes, Research, Voice of the Customer (VoC), Active Listening, Contextual Inquiry, Data Visualization, Data-informed Visual Design, Presentation Design, Graphic Design, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), UX Writing, Lean UX, Agile UX, UX Flows, UX Review, Design Documentation, Visual Design, Responsive Design, Responsive Web Apps, Dashboards, Usability Testing, User Interviews, Consumer Products, Interviews, MVP Design, Mobile, Mockups, Personas, Social Networks, Style Guides, UX Consulting, Wireframing, Workshops, SaaS Design, B2B, User Personas, User Stories, Mobile UI, Interactive Design, Web App UI, Marketing, eCommerce, Web, Management, Customer Experience, Design Sprints, Qualitative Analysis, Conversational Design, Product Launch, Product Owner, Brand Architecture, Humor, Complex Application User Interfaces (UI)

Principal Product Designer

2021 - 2021
Salesforce
  • Applied and extended the Salesforce Lightning Design System (SLDS), the world's largest open-source enterprise design system, with additional components and icons.
  • Broke the record for quickest onboarding and ramping to produce valuable contributions while designing low-code features for Lightning Application Builder on a three-month contract, enabling Salesforce admins to do more independently.
  • Met bimonthly with the Accessibility Team to weigh trade-offs between design approaches.
  • Concepted Salesforce integration designs with Slack before the official acquisition.
Technologies: Sketch, Figma, Zeplin, Google Workspace, Slack, Lightning Design System, Salesforce, Mobile App UI, WCAG 2, Prototyping, Product Design, UI Design, Content Design, UX Audits, Experience Strategy, User Experience Design, UX Research, Digital Product Design, Strategy, Framing problems, Usability, Communication, Design Systems, Ideation, UI Audits, Design, Writing & Editing, Presentations, Web Design, Annotated Wireframes, Experience Maps, DataViz, Data Reporting, Key Performance Metrics, Accessible Design, Heuristic Evaluation, Heuristic Analysis, Design Validation, User Testing, Task Analysis, Heuristic Reports, User Experience (UX), Web UX, Web UX Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Accessibility, Content Strategy, Design Strategy, Fintech, Product Strategy, Collaboration, Design Leadership, Annotations, Documentation, Agile Sprints, Agile, App Builders, Salesforce Lightning, Lightning Network, Product UX, Multilingual Websites, App Design, Responsive Web Design (RWD), User Experience Strategy, User Interface (UI), Web App UX, UX Strategy, Design Principles, Research Reports, User Validation Testing, Taxonomy, Navigation Design, Heuristic Review, Qualitative Research, Web Accessibility, Forms, User Flows, Cross-functional Design, Stakeholder Management, Schemas, Team Management, UX Testing, Google Slides, System Design, UX Prototyping, Aesthetics, Color Theory, Layout, Conceptualization, Google Analytics, Confluence, User Journeys, Requirements, Mobile Prototypes, Mobile UX Design, Design Thinking Facilitation, IA Strategy, User Journey Maps, Onboarding, User Onboarding, Rapid Prototyping, Low-fidelity Prototypes, Voice of the Customer (VoC), Active Listening, Data Visualization, Data-informed Visual Design, Presentation Design, Graphic Design, UX Writing, Lean UX, Agile UX, UX Flows, UX Review, Design Documentation, Visual Design, Responsive Design, Responsive Web Apps, Usability Testing, User Interviews, Consumer Products, Interviews, MVP Design, Mobile, Mockups, Personas, UX Consulting, Wireframing, Workshops, SaaS Design, B2B, User Personas, User Stories, Mobile UI, Interactive Design, Web App UI, Web, Customer Experience, Design Sprints, Product Launch, Humor, Complex Application User Interfaces (UI)

VP, Digital Experience

2013 - 2021
Liquid Agency
  • Raised Thomson Reuters' conversion rate by 32% following my research, audit, UX redesign, and two waves of user testing for their accountant education marketplace.
  • Drove the award-winning experience design for Walmart's benefits annual enrollment of 1.5 million associates, boosting satisfaction 29% higher YoY while saving Walmart over $4 million through digital transformation and personalization innovations.
  • Co-facilitated product innovation workshops with clients, including The Vitamin Shoppe, which piloted a new subscription service that garnered over 600,000 customer signups in the first six months.
  • Drove operational efficiencies by evangelizing the adoption of modern design, prototyping, presentation, and proofing software. Wrote proposals that secured over $4 million in new business.
  • Led teams of digital strategists, UX designers, information architects, copywriters, product designers, producers, and developers on anchor accounts while defining the XD practice and defining and piloting over a dozen new service offerings.
  • Coached two direct reports and mentored the broader staff on empathy-centered UX, accessibility, design thinking, and measurement techniques.
  • Got promoted in 2018 (and brought in-house) following five phenomenal years of servicing all key agency accounts as the principal design strategy director in a freelance capacity.
  • Worked for clients: Christian Brothers Automotive, DMC/DynaEnergtics, Eenotech, Entertainment Partners, Ernest Packaging, Hitachi, Roche, Thomson Reuters, The Vitamin Shoppe, Walmart, etc.
Technologies: Sketch, Zeplin, Tableau, WordPress, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), Ektron CMS, Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics, Adobe CC, InVision, Mobile App Design, Mobile App UI, WCAG 2, Prototyping, Rapid Interactive Prototyping, Product Design, UI Design, User Research, Remote User Testing, Content Design, UX Audits, Experience Strategy, User Experience Design, UX Research, Team Mentoring, Digital Product Design, Strategy, Framing problems, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Usability, Facilitation, Communication, Project Management, Pitch Decks, Video Editing, Ideation, UI Audits, Design, Writing & Editing, Presentations, Web Design, Usertesting.com, Maze, Annotated Wireframes, Service Design, Experience Maps, Art Direction, DataViz, Data Reporting, Personalization, Key Performance Metrics, Accessible Design, Heuristic Evaluation, Heuristic Analysis, Design Validation, User Testing, Task Analysis, Heuristic Reports, User Experience (UX), Web UX, Web UX Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Accessibility, Content Strategy, Design Strategy, Finance, Fintech, Product Strategy, Collaboration, Design Leadership, Annotations, Documentation, Product UX, Multilingual Websites, CX Strategy, App Design, Mobile Design, Responsive Web Design (RWD), User Experience Strategy, User Interface (UI), Web App UX, Web Portals, Portal Design, UX Strategy, Design Principles, Employee Experience, Service Blueprints, Research Reports, User Validation Testing, Landing Page Design, Landing Pages, Marketo, Product Management, Taxonomy, Navigation Design, System Requirements, Workshop Facilitation, Design Workshops, Competitive Analysis, Analytics, Benchmarking, Heuristic Review, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, In-depth Interviews, Web Accessibility, Motion & Animation Design, Forms, Logic Design, User Flows, Cross-functional Design, Stakeholder Management, Schemas, Competition Research, Team Management, UX Testing, IDI, Web App Design, System Design, Ethnography, Ethnographic Studies, Ethnographic Interviews, UX Prototyping, Journey Mapping, Aesthetics, Color Theory, Layout, Conceptualization, Axure RP Pro, Apple Keynote, Google Workspace, Confluence, User Journeys, Requirements, Mobile Prototypes, Mobile UX Design, Research Synthesis, Design Thinking Facilitation, Card Sorting, Survey Design, IA Strategy, User Journey Maps, Design Management, eCommerce UI, eCommerce UX, Mobile eCommerce, Training, Partner Management, Onboarding, User Onboarding, Rapid Prototyping, Low-fidelity Prototypes, Research, Voice of the Customer (VoC), Contextual Inquiry, Active Listening, Data Visualization, Data-informed Visual Design, Presentation Design, Graphic Design, Adobe Creative Suite, UX Writing, Lean UX, Agile UX, UX Flows, UX Review, Design Documentation, Visual Design, Responsive Design, Responsive Web Apps, Dashboards, Usability Testing, User Interviews, Branding, Consumer Products, Interviews, MVP Design, Mobile, Mockups, Personas, Style Guides, UX Consulting, Wireframing, Workshops, SaaS Design, B2B, Design Systems, User Personas, User Stories, Mobile UI, Interactive Design, Web App UI, Marketing, eCommerce, Web, Management, Customer Experience, Design Sprints, Qualitative Analysis, E-learning, Conversational Design, Product Launch, Brand Architecture, Adobe Creative Cloud, Humor, Complex Application User Interfaces (UI)

Digital Strategy Director

2008 - 2013
Tenfour Agency
  • Conceptualized and oversaw the design and development of six award-winning viral products, delivered 43x ROI campaigns for Hawaiʻian Airlines and over 50 apps for Samsung/Intel.
  • Generated 100+ news stories, attracting Adidas, Coca-Cola, TMZ, Google Labs, Starbucks, and a Diageo acquisition offer, following our creation of the Tweet-a-Beer viral mashup app for Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) 2012.
  • Led the digital transformation of a 30-year-old traditional agency to become a recognized leader in social and mobile application creative, design, and development. Guided teams of up to 14 strategists, UI/UX designers, writers, IAs, and developers.
  • Extended digital practice and service offerings across social campaigns, community management, video, and mobile application development through outside partnerships. Grew necessary skill sets in-house, reducing costs by more than 50%.
  • Co-pitched and secured business from Adidas, Amazon Fresh, Air New Zealand, Cisco, Hawaiʻian Airlines, Intel, Microsoft, The Coca-Cola Company, and Toshiba.
Technologies: Adobe CC, Balsamiq, WordPress, Social APIs, iOS, Android, Tizen, Google Analytics, RSS Feeds, Advertising Technology (Adtech), Mobile App Design, Mobile App UI, WCAG 2, Prototyping, Rapid Interactive Prototyping, Product Design, UI Design, User Research, Content Design, UX Audits, Experience Strategy, User Experience Design, UX Research, Team Mentoring, Digital Product Design, Email Template Design, Strategy, Framing problems, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Usability, Facilitation, Communication, Project Management, Pitch Decks, Video Editing, Ideation, UI Audits, Design, Writing & Editing, Presentations, Web Design, Annotated Wireframes, Experience Maps, Art Direction, DataViz, Data Reporting, Key Performance Metrics, Accessible Design, Heuristic Evaluation, Heuristic Analysis, Design Validation, User Testing, Task Analysis, Heuristic Reports, User Experience (UX), Web UX, Web UX Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Content Strategy, Design Strategy, Finance, Fintech, Product Strategy, Collaboration, Design Leadership, Annotations, Documentation, Product UX, Multilingual Websites, CX Strategy, App Design, Mobile Design, Responsive Web Design (RWD), User Experience Strategy, User Interface (UI), Web App UX, Web Portals, Portal Design, UX Strategy, Design Principles, Service Blueprints, Research Reports, User Validation Testing, Landing Page Design, Landing Pages, Product Management, Taxonomy, Navigation Design, System Requirements, Workshop Facilitation, Design Workshops, Competitive Analysis, Analytics, Benchmarking, Heuristic Review, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, In-depth Interviews, Web Accessibility, Motion & Animation Design, Forms, Logic Design, User Flows, Cross-functional Design, Stakeholder Management, Schemas, Competition Research, Team Management, UX Testing, Google Slides, IDI, Web App Design, System Design, Ethnography, Ethnographic Studies, Ethnographic Interviews, UX Prototyping, Journey Mapping, Aesthetics, Color Theory, Layout, Conceptualization, Google Workspace, User Journeys, Requirements, Mobile Prototypes, Mobile UX Design, Research Synthesis, Design Thinking Facilitation, Card Sorting, Survey Design, IA Strategy, User Journey Maps, Design Management, eCommerce UI, Training, Partner Management, Onboarding, User Onboarding, Rapid Prototyping, Low-fidelity Prototypes, Research, Voice of the Customer (VoC), Active Listening, Contextual Inquiry, Data Visualization, Data-informed Visual Design, Presentation Design, Graphic Design, Adobe Creative Suite, UX Writing, Lean UX, Agile UX, UX Flows, UX Review, Design Documentation, Visual Design, Responsive Design, Responsive Web Apps, Usability Testing, User Interviews, Branding, Consumer Products, Interviews, MVP Design, Mobile, Mockups, Personas, Social Networks, Style Guides, UX Consulting, Wireframing, Workshops, Government, SaaS Design, B2B, User Personas, Mobile UI, Online Course Design, Interactive Design, Web App UI, Marketing, eCommerce, Web, Management, Customer Experience, Qualitative Analysis, E-learning, Instructional Design, Product Launch, Travel & Leisure, Logo Design, Brand Architecture, Adobe Creative Cloud, Humor, Complex Application User Interfaces (UI)
1998 - 2000

Postgraduate Coursework in Design, Animation, and Coding

Pacific Northwest College of Art - Portland, OR, USA

1993 - 1997

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Fine Art and Urban Sociology

San José State University - San José, CA, USA

Tools

Jira, Usertesting.com, Slack, Google Optimize, Google Workspace, Lightning Design System, Adobe Analytics, InVision, Google Slides, Figma, Maze, Adobe CC, Axure RP Pro, Google Analytics, Apple Keynote, FigJam, Confluence, Adobe Creative Suite, Miro, Asana, Tableau, Sketch, Airtable, Zeplin, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), Ektron CMS, Balsamiq

Platforms

Userlytics, Web, Salesforce, Iterable, WordPress, Mobile, iOS, Android, Tizen, App Builders, Marketo

Industry Expertise

Consumer Products, Marketing, Travel & Leisure, Government

Other

Design, Writing & Editing, Web Design, UX Research, UX Design, Usability, Framing problems, Strategy, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Communication, Design Systems, Digital Product Design, User-centered Design (UCD), User Research, Remote User Testing, Ideation, Content Design, UX Audits, UI Audits, Experience Strategy, User Experience Design, Experience Maps, UX Wireframes, Annotated Wireframes, UX Prototyping, Journey Mapping, Aesthetics, Color Theory, Layout, Conceptualization, Design Principles, Taxonomy, Navigation Design, Accessibility, Web UX, Web UX Design, Competitive Analysis, User Experience (UX), Competition Research, Benchmarking, UX Testing, Design Validation, Heuristic Review, Heuristic Reports, Heuristic Analysis, Heuristic Evaluation, User Testing, Task Analysis, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, In-depth Interviews, IDI, Stakeholder Interviews, Web App Design, System Design, UX Strategy, Ethnography, Ethnographic Studies, Ethnographic Interviews, Mobile UX Design, Research Synthesis, Design Thinking Facilitation, Card Sorting, Survey Design, IA Strategy, User Journey Maps, Design Management, eCommerce UI, eCommerce UX, Mobile eCommerce, Training, Partner Management, Onboarding, User Onboarding, Rapid Prototyping, Low-fidelity Prototypes, Stakeholder Management, Cross-functional Design, User Flows, Logic Design, Forms, Web Accessibility, Accessible Design, Key Performance Metrics, Personalization, DataViz, Data Reporting, Mobile App Design, Mobile App UI, WCAG 2, Product Design, UI Design, Design Strategy, Product UX, Agile, Agile Sprints, Annotations, Design Leadership, Collaboration, App Design, Mobile Apps, Mobile Design, User Experience Strategy, User Interface (UI), Web App UX, Web Portals, Employee Experience, Research Reports, Landing Pages, Landing Page Design, User Validation Testing, Research, Data Visualization, Data-informed Visual Design, Presentation Design, Graphic Design, UX Writing, Agile UX, UX Flows, UX Review, Design Documentation, Responsive Web Apps, Dashboards, Usability Testing, User Interviews, Interviews, Mockups, Personas, Style Guides, UX Consulting, Wireframing, B2B, User Personas, User Stories, Mobile UI, Interactive Design, Web App UI, Design Sprints, Qualitative Analysis, Logo Design, Complex Application User Interfaces (UI), Presentations, Facilitation, Team Mentoring, Project Management, Pitch Decks, Product Management, Video Editing, Ideation Workshops, Service Design, Notion, ChatGPT, Content Strategy, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Workshop Facilitation, Design Workshops, Schemas, Analytics, Team Management, Mobile Prototypes, Motion & Animation Design, Prototyping, Rapid Interactive Prototyping, Art Direction, Finance, Fintech, Product Strategy, Salesforce Lightning, Documentation, Lightning Network, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Portal Design, Service Blueprints, Lean UX, Responsive Design, Branding, MVP Design, Social Networks, Workshops, SaaS Design, Online Course Design, eCommerce, Management, Customer Experience, Instructional Design, Conversational Design, Product Launch, Brand Architecture, Adobe Creative Cloud, Humor, VWO, Email Template Design, Illustration, Social APIs, RSS Feeds, Advertising Technology (Adtech), Information Architecture (IA), User Journeys, Requirements, System Requirements, Multilingual Websites, CX Strategy, Lookback.io, Voice of the Customer (VoC), Active Listening, Contextual Inquiry, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Visual Design, E-learning, Product Owner

Experience

  • Design Leadership - 20 years
  • UX Audits - 20 years
  • User Experience Design - 20 years
  • Design Strategy - 20 years
  • UX Design - 20 years
  • Team Mentoring - 15 years
  • UX Research - 15 years
  • Accessible Design - 15 years
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