Kat Windley, Designer in Santa Barbara, CA, United States
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Kat Windley

Verified Expert  in Design

UX/UI Designer

Location
Santa Barbara, CA, United States
Toptal Member Since
October 22, 2015

Kat has over 14 years of experience as a product designer. She's worked at a wide range of companies from Condé Nast, where she redesigned GQ.com, Glamour, and Vogue, to co-founding her own start-up. Kat uses a variety of tools to make working prototypes and works well with teams of all sizes as a strong communicator. Her work includes a wide range of projects, from admin tools to online publishing and eCommerce.

Visual DesignUser Interface (UI)Web UX DesignUX DesignUser Experience (UX)Photoshop CCSketchWireframingeCommerceApp UIApp UXIllustrator CCPrototypingDigital DesigneCommerce Design

Portfolio

Work Experience

Freelance UX Designer

2016 - PRESENT
Self-employed
  • Designed and built a new homepage for sharesies.nz with the goal to increase sign-ups for users new to the stock market.
  • Led UX design for Amber, a fashion loyalty app for Middle East-based customers.
  • Designed a UX app and website for a startup breaking into the US travel equipment rental market.
Technologies: HTML, CSS, InVision, Sketch

Co-founder, Design Director

2014 - 2016
Finesse.io
  • Designed a tool that web designers and developers can use to work on front-end code for live websites.
  • Created wireframes and the UX of the dashboard, where users can create and manage projects.
  • Designed the UI for the IDE, where the user can manage files, write and edit code, and commit their work.
  • Worked on the UX/UI design of the marketing site to introduce the product and get users to sign up.
Technologies: Sketch

Senior UX Designer (Freelance)

2015 - 2015
AKQA San Francisco
  • Created concepts and designed a new fit guide for the Levi's and Dockers websites to improve discoverability of styles and increase sales.
  • Developed the wireframes and UX for a one-click checkout system on Levi's website.
  • Designed the UX and key templates for the eCommerce site, including the Category, Subcategory, and Product pages.
  • Built HTML/CSS prototypes.
  • Worked individually and led many client meetings.
Technologies: CodePen, HTML, CSS, Sketch, InVision

Lead Designer

2011 - 2014
Condé Nast UK
  • Hired and managed a team of four other designers, from junior to senior levels, and mentored them in processes.
  • Headed the design and branding of most editorial sites under the Condé Nast UK brand, including vogue.co.uk, gqmagazine.co.uk, glamourmagazine.co.uk, wired.co.uk, cntraveller.com, and houseandgarden.co.uk.
  • Designed and branded magazine apps for Glamour and Vogue.
  • Led the design team in creating an article and gallery framework for all the titles.
  • Redesigned vogue.co.uk in 2012, which was one of the first fully responsive magazine websites and a finalist for the Webby Awards.
  • Liaised directly with top editors.
  • Served as the creative director for all of the design work and aided the design team in creating their designs with CSS.
Technologies: CSS, HTML, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop

Senior Designer

2009 - 2011
Condé Nast UK
  • Redesigned GQ.com in 2009.
  • Redesigned Glamour in 2010.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop

Senior Designer (Freelance)

2008 - 2009
Fullsix, London
  • Worked as the senior designer for Waitrose.com, a website for online grocery shopping and delivery.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop

Senior Designer

2007 - 2008
Uber Digital, London
  • Redesigned the Leeds University website.
  • Worked on the Divine Chocolate website.
Technologies: Adobe Photoshop

Senior Designer

2006 - 2007
Applied Works, London
  • Worked on a full redesign of all the global product websites for AstraZeneca.
  • Redesigned the AstraZeneca intranet and created CSS/HTML templates to handover.
  • Represented the company at client meetings with AstraZeneca in Sweden.
Technologies: HTML, CSS, Adobe Photoshop

Designer

2003 - 2006
Shift LTD, New Zealand
  • Designed and built the front-end for a listings database.
  • Assisted in creative concept development, business analysis, and project costing.
  • Worked with key clients like Enterprise Northland, Gold Coast Tourism, and the NZ Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
  • Worked on Teara.govt.nz, which won "Best Award for Interactive Media and Web Design" in 2005.
Technologies: HTML, CSS, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop
2000 - 2003

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Graphic Design

Wanganui School of Design - New Zealand

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