Jeff Zimmerman
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
New York, NY, United States
Toptal member since August 22, 2022
Jeff is a product, UX/UI, and visual designer with a proven track record of applying the human-centered design process to build compelling experiences anchored in rich brand stories. He is adept at effectively balancing user needs with business goals.
Portfolio
Zephyr Responsive Weather App
Brand Activation for Merrill Lynch
Work Experience
Principal
Zimmerman Design
- Advocated developing rich user personas, user stories, and user journeys to understand five key user groups, including institutions and regulators.
- Synthesized 20 user tasks and flows to drive users toward contacting company representatives for assistance in developing retirement strategies.
- Proved the viability of the subscription model through interviews, competitor analysis, and affinity mapping.
- Evaluated information architecture with card sorting, user interviews, and A/B testing.
- Partnered with the UX design team to unify the digital and print experience for The Guardian Annual.
- Collaborated with the UX design team to expand the visual design system and improve accessibility.
- Expanded the relationship with key senior vice president of marketing to fund three additional design, production, and traffic consultants over two years.
- Restructured the highly visible Global Trading Guide to provide more user functionality; success in the first year resulted in a 20% budget increase to $150,000.
- Analyzed and synthesized conversion and performance marketing data to evaluate and brainstorm retention strategies through A/B testing.
- Coded Alexa skill for voice prototype deployment. Based on user testing, pivoted product direction from food recipes to cocktail recipes.
Creative Director
Skillsoft
- Activated the new 2020 brand identity in a compressed 6-week timeline through COVID-19 together with marketing leadership.
- Coordinated with a branding agency to establish visual execution standards and brand governance for the new 2020 visual identity.
- Partnered with executive and sales leadership to craft narratives and visuals for eight high-end keynote experiences.
- Assisted with an 8-week conversion of a 5,000 in-person attendee conference to a digital, worldwide experience in response to COVID-19.
- Harmonized creative direction and verbal messaging within the new 2020 strategic direction as an innovative leader on the content marketing team.
- Led graphic designers, video production designers, and digital creatives across three worldwide locations as mentor and coach.
Art Director
FTI Consulting
- Promoted from junior designer to art director in under 24 months. I was the most senior creative on the east coast for three years.
- Improved profitability by 15% by establishing new processes that identified and quantified out-of-scope work for timely billing.
- Enabled the creative director to establish west coast office by demonstrating the ability to work independently and manage multiple projects.
- Managed the development of a $600,000 clean energy mobile exhibit on a condensed eight-week timeline while the creative director was out of the country.
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design
Rochester Institute of Technology - Rochester, New York, USA
Skills
Tools
Adobe CC, InDesign CC, Illustrator CC, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop CC, After Effects CC, Asana, OptimalSort, UsabilityHub, Marvel, Zoom, Draw.io, Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, TextEdit, Spreadsheets
Platforms
Figma, Web, iOS, Safari
Languages
HTML, CSS
Industry Expertise
Apparel & Accessories, Hospitality
Other
2D Design, Typography, Design, Design Systems, Editorial Design, Information Design, Branding, Visual Identity, Color Theory, Communication Design, Logo Design, Logotype, Data Visualization, UX Design, UI Design, Visual Design, Web Design, User Research, Creative Direction, Brand Design, User Interface (UI), Booklet Design, Presentation Design, B2B, Design Thinking, Experience Design, Storytelling, Visual Storytelling, Reviews, User Experience (UX), MVP Design, UI Branding, Document Design, Graphic Design, User Experience Design, Websites, 3D Design, Interactive Design, Experiential Design, Landing Page Design, Prototyping, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Accessibility, Drawing, Calligraphy, Advertising Design, Package Design, Agile, Motion Graphics, Collateral Design, Digital Design, Social Media, Brand Activation, Photography, Presentations, Event Design, Event Signage, Environmental Design, Email, Invitation Design, Environmental Graphics, App Design, Digital Kiosks, Trade Show Booth, Floor Plans, Packaging, Brand Guidelines, Digital Advertising, Collateral, Digital Communication, EPUB, Copywriting, Thought Leadership, Healthcare Services, Content Creation, Styling, Food Styling, Art Direction, Product Design, Personas, User Journeys, User Flows, Research Synthesis, Alexa Skills, Voice, User Interviews, Affinity Mapping, Competition Research, Competitive Analysis, Chrome, User Stories, User Personas, Task Analysis, Card Sorting, Low-fidelity Prototypes, Mid-Fidelity Prototypes, Pen-and-Paper Wireframes, High-fidelity Mockups, UX Wireframes, System Personas, Scriptwriting, Voice Script, Integration, Wizard of Oz Testing, User Testing, Mobile Design, Mobile App Design, Mobile UI Design, Mobile UX Design, Rapid Prototyping, Product Consultant, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Web Animation, Scroll Animations, Web App UI, Web App UX
Experience
- Branding - 20 years
- Color Theory - 16 years
- Experiential Design - 16 years
- Design Systems - 16 years
- Visual Identity - 16 years
- Information Design - 16 years
- Typography - 16 years
- Motion Graphics - 6 years
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