James Tucker

Designer in San Francisco, CA, United States

Member since July 9, 2018

James is an idea machine and master problem-solver when it comes to user interfaces. He is passionate about making users love the product because of the user's naturally intuitive adoption of the UI. James fuses cognitive science techniques with clever interaction design to create products people love.

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Portfolio

Digital Design

Cerebro
- UX Design
- User Testing
- SaaS
- Wireframing
- User Journeys
- Reports
- User Interface (UI)
- Mobile
- Responsive Design
- UI Style Guides
- Azure Application Insights
- Healthcare
- Startups
- Hospitals
- UX Research
- Prototyping
- Information Architecture (IA)
- Mobile App Design
- Design Systems
- User Research
- UX Flows
- UX
- Personas
- Visualization Design
- Analytics
- Mobile Apps
- Content Creation
- User Experience (UX)
- Remote User Testing
- Test Planning
- Product Design
- UX Prototyping
- Rapid Prototyping
- Service Design
- Mobile UX
- Mobile UI
- Mobile Design
- Asana
- UX Leadership
- Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing
- Remote Usability Testing
- Usability Testing
- Branding
- iOS
- UI Design
- Figma
- Design Thinking
- Mockups
- Web App UI
- Web App Design
- Visual Design
- Data Visualization
- UI
- Icon Design
- Iconography
- Desktop App Design
- UI Branding
- SaaS Design
- Early-stage Startups
- UX Audits
- UI Audits
Tenfold
- SaaS
- Redesign
- UX Research
- UI Pattern Library
- User Testing
- UI Design
- UX Prototyping
- Startups
- Mobile
- Responsive Design
- Electron
- Branding
- Prototyping
- Web App UX
- Information Architecture (IA)
- UX Design
- Enterprise SaaS
- Design Systems
- User Research
- UX Flows
- UX
- Personas
- Jira
- Confluence
- Visualization Design
- Analytics
- Mobile Apps
- Content Creation
- User Experience (UX)
- Slack
- Remote User Testing
- Technical Hiring
- User Journeys
- Test Planning
- Product Design
- Rapid Prototyping
- Service Design
- Mobile UX
- Mobile UI
- Mobile Design
- Asana
- UX Leadership
- Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing
- Remote Usability Testing
- Usability Testing
- iOS
- Figma
- Mobile App Design
- Design Thinking
- Mockups
- Web App UI
- Web App Design
- Visual Design
- Data Visualization
- Web UX
- Bootstrap UI
- UI
- Icon Design
- Iconography
- Desktop App Design
- UI Branding
- User Interface (UI)
- SaaS Design
- Early-stage Startups
- UX Audits
- UI Audits
EventCandy
- UI Design
- Wireframing
- Rapid Prototyping
- UI Style Guides
- Logo Design
- Consumer Applications
- Music Industry
- Prototyping
- Information Architecture (IA)
- Mobile App Design
- UX Design
- Design Systems
- UX Flows
- UX
- Personas
- Mobile Apps
- Startups
- Content Creation
- User Experience (UX)
- Remote User Testing
- User Journeys
- Test Planning
- Product Design
- UX Prototyping
- Mobile UX
- Mobile UI
- Mobile Design
- UX Leadership
- Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing
- Remote Usability Testing
- Usability Testing
- Branding
- UX Research
- iOS
- Design Thinking
- Mockups
- Web App UI
- Web App Design
- Visual Design
- Data Visualization
- UI
- Icon Design
- Iconography
- UI Branding
- User Interface (UI)
- Early-stage Startups
Tubular Labs
- Product Design
- UX Design
- User Interface (UI)
- SaaS
- Entertainment & Leisure
- Big Data
- Remote User Testing
- Visualization Design
- UX Prototyping
- UX Research
- Prototyping
- Web App UX
- Information Architecture (IA)
- Axure RP Pro
- Design Systems
- User Research
- UX Flows
- UX
- Personas
- Jira
- Confluence
- Mobile Apps
- Redesign
- Startups
- Content Creation
- User Experience (UX)
- Slack
- Technical Hiring
- User Journeys
- Test Planning
- Rapid Prototyping
- Service Design
- Mobile UX
- Mobile UI
- Mobile Design
- UX Leadership
- Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing
- Remote Usability Testing
- Usability Testing
- iOS
- UI Design
- Design Thinking
- Mockups
- Web App UI
- Web App Design
- Visual Design
- Data Visualization
- Web UX
- Bootstrap UI
- UI
- Icon Design
- Iconography
- Desktop App Design
- UI Branding
- SaaS Design
- Early-stage Startups
- UX Audits
- UI Audits
Xtime
- SaaS
- Redesign
- User Testing
- UX Design
- Complex Application User Interfaces (UI)
- Reports
- Product Management
- Technical Hiring
- UX Research
- Prototyping
- Web App UX
- Information Architecture (IA)
- Axure RP Pro
- Enterprise SaaS
- Design Systems
- User Research
- UX Flows
- UX
- Personas
- Jira
- Confluence
- Visualization Design
- Analytics
- Mobile Apps
- Consumer Applications
- Startups
- Content Creation
- User Experience (UX)
- Remote User Testing
- User Journeys
- Test Planning
- Product Design
- UX Prototyping
- Rapid Prototyping
- Service Design
- Mobile UX
- Mobile UI
- Mobile Design
- UX Leadership
- Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing
- Remote Usability Testing
- Usability Testing
- iOS
- UI Design
- Mobile App Design
- Design Thinking
- Mockups
- Web App UI
- Web App Design
- Visual Design
- eCommerce
- Data Visualization
- Web UX
- Bootstrap UI
- UI
- Icon Design
- Iconography
- Desktop App Design
- UI Branding
- User Interface (UI)
- SaaS Design
- UX Audits
- UI Audits
WinePro
- UX Research
- UI Design
- Prototyping
- User Testing
- Logo Design
- Product Design
- Game Design
- Mobile Apps
- Information Architecture (IA)
- Mobile App Design
- UX Design
- Design Systems
- User Research
- UX Flows
- UX
- Personas
- Visualization Design
- Consumer Applications
- Startups
- Content Creation
- User Experience (UX)
- Remote User Testing
- User Journeys
- Test Planning
- UX Prototyping
- Rapid Prototyping
- Mobile UX
- Mobile UI
- Mobile Design
- UX Leadership
- Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing
- Remote Usability Testing
- Usability Testing
- Branding
- iOS
- Design Thinking
- Mockups
- Web App UI
- Web App Design
- Visual Design
- eCommerce
- UI
- Icon Design
- Iconography
- UI Branding
- User Interface (UI)
- Early-stage Startups

Employment

Director of User Experience
2020 - PRESENT
AutoFi
- Created an entirely new "startup within the startup" by taking their online sales tool success and researching ways to use it for a sales transaction tool to replace others installed at dealerships.
- Developed new UI patterns and the style guide for products and the website to make them consistent with the SaaS product, consumer products, website, and all marketing and sales materials.
- Established the "voice of the customer" and "voice of dealership" by conducting a lot of research in order to write content and design UIs that require little training.
- Led a cross-functional team including founders, product managers, UX designers, and software engineers to deliver a large-scale auto financing platform for car dealerships in the US and Canada.
Technologies: Figma, Maze, UserZoom, Usertesting.com, Lookback, Sketch, InVision, Miro, Jira, Asana, Pivotal Tracker, FullStory, User Experience (UX), Slack, Remote User Testing, Responsive Design, User Testing, Test Planning, Product Design, UX Prototyping, UI Pattern Library, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, Service Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Mobile Design, UX Leadership, Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing, Remote Usability Testing, Usability Testing, Branding, UX Research, UI Design, Mobile App Design, Design Thinking, Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, eCommerce, Data Visualization, Web UX, Bootstrap UI, UI, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, UI Branding, User Interface (UI), Dashboard Design, SaaS Design, Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Enterprise Design, Fintech, Digital Banking, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits
UX Researcher and UI Designer
2018 - PRESENT
Toptal Projects
- Designed desktop, tablet, and mobile dashboards for large construction manufacturing companies.
- Validated product-market fit for new and existing products while gaining deep experience with IoT machinery.
- Solved how forepersons manage autonomous fleets as a core project.
- Researched on-site at quarries and construction job sites.
- Defined new processes and improved existing workflows.
Technologies: Design Systems, Enterprise SaaS, UX Design, Mobile App Design, User Flows, Information Architecture (IA), Web App UX, Prototyping, UX Research, Microsoft PowerPoint, Sketch, Marvel, Figma, User Research, UX Flows, UX, Personas, Visualization Design, Analytics, Mobile Apps, Redesign, Consumer Applications, Startups, Content Creation, Usertesting.com, User Experience (UX), Slack, Remote User Testing, Responsive Design, User Testing, Test Planning, Product Design, UX Prototyping, UI Pattern Library, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, Service Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Mobile Design, Asana, UX Leadership, Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing, Remote Usability Testing, Usability Testing, Branding, iOS, UI Design, Design Thinking, Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, eCommerce, Data Visualization, Web UX, Bootstrap UI, UI, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, UI Branding, User Interface (UI), Dashboard Design, SaaS Design, Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Enterprise Design, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits
UX/UI Designer
2018 - 2019
Caterpillar
- Took ideas from briefs to wireframes and clickable prototypes for field research.
- Led global daily meetings with attending leadership, business, product, and engineering teams.
- Created reports for my on-site, qualitative research to better show productivity and production insights.
Technologies: Sketch, Figma, InVision, Big Data, Software as a Service (SaaS), Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, Data Visualization, UI, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, User Interface (UI), Dashboard Design, SaaS Design, Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits
VP of User Experience
2017 - 2018
Tenfold
- Collaborated with the CEO to define new products and processes.
- Redesigned core products and presented reports when piloting to customers.
- Communicated the value of the redesign through product marketing efforts.
- Defined detailed specification, design, and tests; built, shipped, and monitored the workflow.
- Improved the workflow and reduced 200-220 seconds and 5.5 clicks per call.
Technologies: Design Systems, Enterprise SaaS, Axure RP Pro, UX Design, User Flows, Information Architecture (IA), Web App UX, Prototyping, UX Research, Lucidchart, Jira, Confluence, Amplitude, Mixpanel, Axure, Lookback, Adobe Photoshop, Sketch, InVision, User Research, UX Flows, UX, Personas, Visualization Design, Analytics, Mobile Apps, Redesign, Startups, Content Creation, Usertesting.com, Figma, User Experience (UX), Slack, Remote User Testing, Responsive Design, User Testing, Test Planning, Product Design, UX Prototyping, UI Pattern Library, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, Service Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Mobile Design, Asana, UX Leadership, Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing, Remote Usability Testing, Usability Testing, Branding, UI Design, Mobile App Design, Design Thinking, Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, Data Visualization, Web UX, Bootstrap UI, UI, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, UI Branding, User Interface (UI), Dashboard Design, SaaS Design, Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Enterprise Design, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits
Director of User Experience
2016 - 2017
Tubular Labs
- Defined the UX process and shaped the product feature requirements.
- Created flow charts, wireframes, prototypes, and visual design concepts.
- Gathered data from all departments to formally kick-off features.
- Discovered new business opportunities through UX research studies.
- Validated theories on how to build the next evolution of product.
Technologies: Design Systems, Axure RP Pro, UX Design, User Flows, Information Architecture (IA), Web App UX, Prototyping, UX Research, Hype, Jira, Confluence, Mixpanel, Lookback, Slack, InVision, User Research, UX Flows, UX, Personas, Visualization Design, Analytics, Mobile Apps, Redesign, Startups, Content Creation, Usertesting.com, User Experience (UX), Remote User Testing, Responsive Design, User Testing, Test Planning, Product Design, UX Prototyping, UI Pattern Library, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, Service Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Mobile Design, UX Leadership, Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing, Remote Usability Testing, Usability Testing, UI Design, Design Thinking, Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, Data Visualization, Web UX, Bootstrap UI, UI, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, UI Branding, User Interface (UI), Dashboard Design, SaaS Design, Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Enterprise Design, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits
Director of User Experience
2012 - 2015
Xtime
- Redesigned core product to make it more intuitive and add new features with improved workflow.
- Designed six new products for the automotive dealership including a check in, leaderboard, collaboration system, marketing tool, executive dashboard, and an inventory tool.
- Boosted efficiency, reduced book-time, and improved return on investment (ROI).
- Reduced the number of customer-created support tickets by more than 50%.
- Increased dealership pricing accuracy from 70% to 99%.
Technologies: Design Systems, Enterprise SaaS, Axure RP Pro, UX Design, User Flows, Information Architecture (IA), Web App UX, Prototyping, UX Research, Lucidchart, Jira, Confluence, Google Analytics, Axure, Adobe Photoshop, Sketch, Adobe Illustrator, InVision, User Research, UX Flows, UX, Personas, Visualization Design, Analytics, Mobile Apps, Redesign, Consumer Applications, Startups, Content Creation, Usertesting.com, User Experience (UX), Remote User Testing, Responsive Design, User Testing, Test Planning, Product Design, UX Prototyping, UI Pattern Library, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, Service Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Mobile Design, UX Leadership, Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing, Remote Usability Testing, Usability Testing, iOS, UI Design, Mobile App Design, Design Thinking, Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, eCommerce, Data Visualization, Web UX, Bootstrap UI, UI, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, UI Branding, User Interface (UI), Dashboard Design, SaaS Design, Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Enterprise Design, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits
Director of User Experience
2011 - 2012
Analyte Health
- Redesigned the entire platform and patient onboarding.
- Built and managed a team of five UX professionals to evolve the product.
- Presented how distraught patients seek and choose medical services.
- Demonstrated body language reading expertise during user-testing sessions.
- Reduced anxiety levels of patients before, during, and after medical lab results.
Technologies: Design Systems, Axure RP Pro, UX Design, User Flows, Information Architecture (IA), Web App UX, Prototyping, UX Research, Lucidchart, Jira, Confluence, Google Analytics, Axure, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, InVision, User Research, UX Flows, UX, Personas, Visualization Design, Analytics, Mobile Apps, Redesign, Consumer Applications, Startups, Content Creation, Usertesting.com, User Experience (UX), Remote User Testing, Responsive Design, User Testing, Test Planning, Product Design, UX Prototyping, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, Service Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Mobile Design, UX Leadership, Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing, Remote Usability Testing, Branding, iOS, UI Design, Mobile App Design, Design Thinking, Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, eCommerce, Web UX, UI, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, UI Branding, User Interface (UI), Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits

Other Experience

How to Recruit UX Research Participants (Publication)
https://www.toptal.com/designers/ux-research/ux-research-participants
Finding the right UX research participants can result in valuable insights even from a mediocre UX testing plan. UX researchers should spend the time to identify and find the right participants.
UX Myths – Prototyping, User Testing, and UX Deliverables (Publication)
https://www.toptal.com/designers/ux/ux-myths-prototypes
Prototyping, user testing, and UX deliverables are important to the design process, but there are some UX myths that can put these processes at risk of being devalued by clients.

Education

Associate of Arts Degree in Architecture
1987 - 1999
Mesa College - San Diego, CA
Fundamentals in Cognitive Science, Visual Arts
1990 - 1992
University of California San Diego - La Jolla, CA
Fundamentals in Sales
1991 - 1991
Dale Carnegie Training - San Diego, CA
Fundamentals in Filmmaking, Marketing
1989 - 1991
San Diego State University - San Diego, CA

Experience

UX Design20 years
Web App UX20 years
Wireframing20 years
Prototyping20 years
UX Research20 years
Test Planning15 years
Design Systems15 years
Enterprise SaaS15 years

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Designer in San Francisco, CA, United States

Portfolio

Employment

Director of User Experience

UX Researcher and UI Designer

UX/UI Designer

VP of User Experience

Director of User Experience

Director of User Experience

Director of User Experience

Other Experience

Education

Experience

Location