Kaylin is available for hire
Hire KaylinKaylin Kudla
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
San Francisco, CA, United States
Toptal member since March 20, 2016
Bio
Kaylin is a senior design professional who specializes in crafting award-winning solutions for global brands and the people who matter to them. She brings a hands-on approach to managing cross-functional teams, collaborating with clients, and bringing creative concepts to life.
Work Experience
Product Design Manager
2017 - PRESENT
WarnerMedia
- Led the product design team responsible for WarnerMedia video streaming services Crunchyroll & VRV on the web, mobile, and TV platforms.
- Worked with product and engineering and other cross-functional partners to drive design vision and strategy. Helped turn business objectives into customer-centered problems and steered team strategy.
- Met regularly with designers, product, and engineering to provide and gather feedback on project progress.
- Translated strategic goals into actionable priorities, resource planning, and execution.
- Conducted user research to validate user insights from stakeholders and subject matter experts as well as uncover additional user needs.
- Cultivated positive relationships with executives and peers across the organization to ensure alignment and delivery of a holistic end-to-end user experience.
- Collaborated with design leadership to evolve our process, tools and systems to ensure we’re creating great, consistent work.
- Coached and mentored designers on both soft and hard skills to help them develop and achieve their career goals.
Technologies: Design Thinking, Product Design, Research, Adobe Creative Suite, Jira, InVision, Zeplin, Sketch
Lead Designer and User Experience Manager
2015 - 2016
Jumpshot, Inc.
- Led design and user experience across multiple large, fast-paced projects for an international big data company.
- Analyzed market trends and competitors, creating value proposals that improve overall design quality.
- Consulted with customers to identify current pain points and future opportunities for product development.
- Hired and managed an international team of designers in their daily responsibilities, mentoring them and providing daily feedback.
- Established identity guide, core messaging, and branding standards for company and product.
- Created high-fidelity interactive prototypes and wireframes.
- Contributed to high-level strategic decisions with the rest of the product team.
Technologies: Scrum, InVision, Adobe Creative Suite, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Product Design Lead
2014 - 2015
Anagram
- Worked directly with the founding team to leverage design to help achieve our ambitious growth and engagement goals.
- Established the design systems and front-end framework for our HIPAA-compliant web app.
- Designed visuals and pitch decks to support our sales and marketing initiatives.
- Conducted user research and testing to support the design and business decisions.
- Identified high-impact opportunities; presented clear design decision rationale to gain consensus across teams and leadership.
Technologies: Sketch, Usability Testing, Responsive Design, InVision, Sublime Text, JavaScript, CSS3, HTML5, Adobe Creative Suite
Creative Strategist and Front-end Developer
2012 - 2014
Ronald McDonald House Charities
- Crafted the entire visual identity and online experience for the 2013 and 2014 Ronald McDonald House Charities balls, including print promotion materials, responsive website, and stage backdrop.
- Illustrated the event's stage backdrop/responsive website background based on the event's theme (Peter Pan, 2013 and Cinderella, 2014).
- Used themed illustration across mailings, social media campaigns, presentations, stage material, and event banners.
- Developed and directed the art for campaign ideas, including traditional advertising and style guides.
- Built final visual designs for website using front-end development technologies including HTML5, CSS3, Sass, JavaScript, jQuery, and Bootstrap Framework.
- Handled all cross-browser development, testing, bug fixing, and maintenance.
- Assisted the video team in creating visual elements and editing footage for use at event presentations.
- Won a Davey Award for the website: Bronze W3 Award in Event Category, Bronze W3 Award in Non-Profit Category, and a MarCom Award for Best Website Design.
Technologies: Responsive Design, Vector Illustration, Sublime Text, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Senior Designer and Front-end Development Manager
2012 - 2014
Gate6 Digital Agency
- Represented the design team when pitching to new clients as well as developing campaign ideas for existing clients.
- Generated creative concepts while working with copywriters, project managers, engineers, and the creative director.
- Executed campaign concepts using Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Sketch, and additional software at a rapid pace.
- Pitched ideas to the creative director and presented finished campaigns to clients.
- Managed a small team of junior designers and front-end developers to support campaign generation and execution.
- Acted as technical liaison between design and engineering teams.
- Developed visual identities for various brands, events, and products including traditional advertising and style guides.
- Conducted target user and market research.
- Oversaw front-end framework creation for a multitude of projects with collaboration with junior front-end devs and back-end engineers.
Technologies: JavaScript, CSS3, HTML5, Front-end Development, UX Research, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite
Lead Developer and Asset Designer
2012 - 2012
Eric Clapton | Crossroads Guitar Festival 2012
- Developed a website and provided visual assets for a large entertainment event.
- Managed a dedicated server, performed load testing, and developed cache strategies to prepare for large traffic spikes as the event drew closer.
- Tested all code to ensure that the final design displayed appropriately on all supported browsers and devices.
- Handled cross-browser testing, bug fixing, and website maintenance.
- Assisted in creating visual assets for social media campaigns, event promotion, banners, and more.
- Won the Communicator Award of Excellence in Event Category and Communicator Award of Distinction in Entertainment Category.
Technologies: Responsive Design, Vector Illustration, Sublime Text, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Junior Designer
2008 - 2012
March of Dimes
- Designed a wide range of print assets including booth displays, posters, brochures, newsletters, invitations, editorial layouts, and more.
- Designed digital promotional material such as animated web banners, display advertisements, interactive website content, and social media assets.
- Maintained and protected brand guidelines.
- Conducted target user and market research.
- Generated creative concepts as part of a large creative team.
- Produced creative visuals in response to design briefs.
- Produced pixel-perfect deliverables and assets to ensure consistent visual output.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Education
2007 - 2011
Bachelor's Degree in Interactive Media Design
Art Institute of Phoenix - Phoenix, Arizona
Skills
Tools
Zeplin, Figma, Slack, Zoom, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Creative Suite, Jira, UsabilityHub, Miro, InVision, Sketch, Final Cut Pro, Sublime Text
Languages
CSS3, HTML5, JavaScript
Other
Research, Design Thinking, Landing Page Design, Mobile Design, App Design, Interface Design, UX Design, Design Strategy, Web Design, UI Design, Product Design, Design, Accessible Design, UX Research, Scrum, B2B, Dashboard Design, Data Visualization, Usability Testing, Information Architecture (IA), Graphic Design, Prototyping, User Flows, Cognitive Psychology, Creative Direction, Team Mentoring, User Interviews, Project Management, Typography, Market Research, Mobile App Design, Wireframing, Responsive Design, Front-end Development, Vector Illustration, Interactive Media Design, Responsive Development, Business Solutions, Business Analysis, Social Media Optimization, Writing & Editing, Data Analysis
Experience
Collaboration That Works
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