Samantha Havas, Designer in Charlestown, RI, United States
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Samantha Havas

Bio

Samantha is a senior product designer who turns complex problems into intuitive, human-centered experiences. With 10+ years spanning consumer apps, zero-to-one product design, and AI-native workflows, she brings strategic vision and hands-on execution to every product she touches.

Portfolio

Work Experience

Senior Product Designer

2022 - 2026
Angi
  • Owned end-to-end UX for high-traffic, mobile-first surfaces including the homepage, sales funnel, SEO and SEM landing pages, and pro profiles, impacting $3+ million in daily revenue.
  • Drove the creation of a scalable component library for the growth organization and contributed to Angi's cross-brand design system that encompasses Angi and HomeAdvisor, ensuring design consistency and technical alignment with engineering partners.
  • Spearheaded cross-functional alignment on a strategic shift back to a directory-first model, reimagining user navigation, discovery, and service-provider selection experiences.
  • Mentored junior designers and championed design excellence through feedback, design reviews, and hands-on collaboration with PMs and engineers.
  • Developed interactive, SEO-optimized components to boost landing page discoverability, reduce bounce rates, and increase engagement.
Technologies: Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, Cursor AI, Zeroheight, Storybook, Contentful, GitHub

Product Designer

2020 - 2022
HOMER
  • Directed end-to-end design for a Sesame Street social-emotional learning app from wireframes and prototyping through testing, design system, and final UI.
  • Partnered cross-functionally with product, engineering, and brand teams to drive a cohesive design vision across multiple platforms—iOS, Android, web—and devices, supporting Homer's brand unification and product roadmap.
  • Designed and optimized user experiences for Learn & Grow, Homer's core app, improving educational engagement for children aged 2 – 6 through iterative UX design, usability testing, and content flow enhancements.
  • Conducted qualitative and quantitative user research, including field observations, playtesting, customer interviews, and surveys, synthesizing insights to inform data-driven design decisions and prioritize features.
  • Contributed to growth initiatives by supporting monetization flow and marketing efforts, designing landing pages, email campaigns, and promotional materials to increase user acquisition and engagement.
Technologies: Figma, Adobe Creative Suite

Lead Digital Designer

2019 - 2020
SARANKCO
  • Guided end-to-end design and delivery of websites, email campaigns, ads, and microsites for major clients, including AMEX and Sephora, ensuring brand alignment and user engagement.
  • Collaborated closely with cross-functional teams, including copywriters, strategists, account managers, and clients, to translate business goals into compelling digital experiences.
  • Presented design concepts and solutions to clients, articulating rationale and incorporating feedback to drive client satisfaction and project success.
  • Participated actively in design critiques and contributed to the continuous improvement of team quality and design standards.
  • Mentored junior designers, fostering growth and elevating the creative output of the studio.
Technologies: Figma, Sketch, InVision

Lead Visual Designer

2016 - 2019
Stackla
  • Led a comprehensive brand refresh by evolving visual language, rewriting guidelines, and redesigning all brand, marketing, and sales assets, ensuring consistent brand integrity across global channels.
  • Redesigned homepage and core web pages, driving a 31% increase in product demo requests and a 33% boost in organic web traffic through user-centered design and performance optimization.
  • Created visually engaging marketing assets supporting global communications, including web, email, social, and event materials, to elevate brand presence and product awareness.
  • Designed a product demo microsite that generated 500+ net new leads in its first month, contributing directly to pipeline growth and sales enablement.
  • Owned brand guideline maintenance and evolution as sole steward, aligning marketing and product teams around a unified brand vision.
Technologies: Figma, Adobe Creative Suite

Graphic Designer

2015 - 2016
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank
  • Developed quality brand campaigns, websites, digital assets, infographics, environmental design, and print collateral for both internal and external communication.
  • Maintained and evolved corporate brand standards during a rebranding effort.
  • Contributed to photography and photo editing using Photoshop (Adobe Creative Suite).
Technologies: Adobe Creative Suite

Education

2009 - 2013

Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design

Boston University - Boston, MA, USA

Certifications

SEPTEMBER 2017 - PRESENT

UX Design

General Assembly

Skills

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite, Claude, AI Tools, GitHub, Usertesting.com, Zeroheight, Sketch, InVision

Platforms

Figma, Vercel, Contentful

Other

Graphic Design, Web Design, Product Design, UI Design, UX Design, Design Systems, MVP Design, User Journeys, Interactive Prototypes, Prototyping, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Visual Design, Claude Code, Cursor AI, ChatGPT, Ideation, User Testing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Rapid Interactive Prototyping, Rapid Prototyping, User Research, User Validation, AI Design, Presentation Design, System Design, Web App Design, Storybook, Edtech Design, Kids, Apps, Email, Digital Marketing, Digital Marketing Design, Email Design

Experience

  • Design Systems - 10 years
  • Web Design - 10 years
  • Product Design - 6 years
  • Figma - 6 years
  • UX Design - 6 years
  • UI Design - 6 years
  • Claude Code - 1 year
  • ChatGPT - 1 year
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