Background
If you’ve streamed a movie on Disney+, poured yourself a cup of Republic of Tea, or conducted an Internet search, chances are you know my work. For over three decades, I’ve designed the products and built the teams that have defined how we interact with today’s world.
As a leader in both startup and corporate environments, I have a proven track record of shaping product portfolios that customers genuinely love. My experience spans streaming, mobile, and internet technologies as well as consumer packaged goods.
Most recently, I built and managed a design team of 41 people at Disney that was responsible for one of the most successful digital product launches of all time — Disney+ — with more than 10 million subscribers on launch day, and now in 40+ languages and 130+ countries. The work my team pioneered was pivotal in creating the strong emotional connection subscribers have with the products, and the associated growth in engagement.
I've also founded several companies, with one successfully achieving IPO status and another being acquired by IBM. Currently, my design, consulting, and marketing firm caters to clients including PureStorage, Dell, Sutter Health, Beckton-Dickenson, and VMware.
A pioneer in user interface simplicity, I specialize in streamlining products and crafting brand designs that captivate clients and earn wide admiration from customers. My passion for product design has been a lifelong journey that continues to grow. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing.
Experience
The Walt Disney Company, Sr. Director Product Design
Oct 2019 - Nov 2023
Oct 2019 - Nov 2023
Built and managed a design team of 37 people at Disney responsible for one of the most successful digital product launches of all time — Disney+ — with over 10 million subscribers on launch day, 40+ languages and 130+ countries.
Worked with teams to develop and enhance innovative approaches to product design. Incorporated video, content presentation, and straight-forward flows to enhance discovery, engagement, and consumer delight. Much of my teams work has been copied by virtually all of the newcomers to streaming, as well as several of the incumbents.
Created unique in-product flows, including videos, to communicate the options around parental controls with the inclusion of more mature content on Star in Europe, and Hulu content on Disney+ in the US. Worked closely with product marketing and growth product and design teams on the logged-out app experience to drive understanding around the product offerings, bundling options, and pricing tiers.
Crafted visual product artwork design for all films, series, and collections, product marketing design, design systems, and motion UX for Disney+ and Hulu
Led Creative Design to drive both engagement and acquisition. Responsible for email frameworks, landing pages, and in-app messaging for Disney+, ESPN+, Star+, and Star.
Designed micro-interactions for streaming products, including animated profile avatars, player lock animation, brand-landing animations, and content animations for major studio titles.
Pioneered a design-systems-centric approach in UX/IUI, guiding the broader Product Design organization towards a systematic and framework-oriented methodology.
Developed scalable workflows to support artwork creation for International regions, partners, and distribution platforms (i.e. Apple, Amazon, Google).
IMVU, Inc., SVP Marketing
Aug 2017 - Oct 2019
Aug 2017 - Oct 2019
Established new brand identity, brand messaging, and multiple consumer campaigns to communicate the product values to new audiences. Partnered with fashion influencers and major events including FashionWeek (NYC), MTV, and VOGUE.
Drove the growth of the largest avatar-based social game (200M registered users, 1M daily active users, 200K creators).
Built multi-channel content marketing programs to boost awareness, engagement, and subscriber growth by better leveraging Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media.
Created an influencer program that rewarded creators with IMVU currency instead of cash. Utilizing the performant content, delivered highly optimized user acquisition programs to bring our CPA down to new lows. More than 45% user acquisition cost savings resulted in a doubling of content performance and funnel conversion.
Launched a Creator Advertising program, enabling creators on the platform to promote their digital goods. Generated 7X revenue increase for creators and an incremental $500K for the company in year 1. Grew the Creator Community by more than 600%
Soap-AI
Sep 2016 - Jul 2017
Sep 2016 - Jul 2017
Developed the product vision. Built early prototypes & roadshow presentations
Demonstrated through design, our AI/ML’s capacity to interpret diverse content, offering a transparent, trustworthy news experience.
Glam Media, Inc., Co-Founder & SVP Product Design
Jun 2010 - Sep 2016
Jun 2010 - Sep 2016
Led the design team, driving the flagship App’s continuous innovation and rocketing user engagement to 400M Monthly Active Users.
Steered digital advertising design, seamlessly integrating into our applications. Exceeded 2015 revenue goals by $100M.
Zaudhaus, Founder & Creative Director
Dec 1999 - Oct 2019
Dec 1999 - Oct 2019
Founder and creative leader of this Design Agency. Focused on Product Design, UX, and Print/Brand Building.
Product Design, UX/UI, Systems Design: Collaborated with startups and established technology companies like PureStorage and Beckton-Dickenson. Worked with Design Leaders, Chief Product Officers, and Engineering teams, to define requirements and develop user models, product designs, and test concepts.
Brand Strategy, Identity Design + Voice: Specializing in formulating strategic brand and packaging initiatives, and designs for The Republic of Tea, JASÖN cosmetics, Juice Beauty, and SugarFish.
Marketing Strategy, Product Marketing & Design: Crafted marketing strategies for renowned brands such as Descanso Gardens, VMware, Amber Composites, and WeOwnTV. Covered all stages from conceptualization to execution, demonstrating a keen ability to grasp brand and market dynamics and translate them into effective marketing plans.
Juice Beauty, Founder & Chief Creative Officer
Apr 1999 - Nov 2001
Apr 1999 - Nov 2001
Developed original organic skin care recipes and custom fragrances. Sold to Gwyneth Paltrow in 2019.
NetObjects, Design Director
Feb 1995 - Dec 1999
Feb 1995 - Dec 1999
Led the team that created the first visual website design tool. Secured early success with a majority investment from IBM, followed by an IPO in 1999. Employee #7.
The Understanding Business, Design Director
Jul 1993 - Jan 1994
Jul 1993 - Jan 1994
Led the transition from graphic design & publishing to digital information systems and consulting, aligning with the rise of the Internet in 1994.
The Republic of Tea, Senior Designer
May 1992 - Jun 1993
May 1992 - Jun 1993
Successfully combined great design, thoughtful materials, a creative story, and the best teas to enable a business that’s been successful for over 30 years. Designs are still showcased in stores today.
Clement Mok Designs, Senior Designer
Jul 1991 - May 1992
Jul 1991 - May 1992
Pioneered the field of "user-interface design" and contributed to its early growth.
Apple, Designer
Apr 1985 - Nov 1988
Apr 1985 - Nov 1988
Worked on marketing collateral and software interface designs, including HyperCard, a precursor to Internet Search and Information Design.
Education
Art Center College of Design
BFA in Graphic Design, Packaging & Advertising with Honors, 1991, Pasadena, California
BFA in Graphic Design, Packaging & Advertising with Honors, 1991, Pasadena, California
Patents
#7278098, 2007 (owned by Adobe Systems, Inc.)
Method and apparatus for implementing web pages having smart tables
Method and apparatus for implementing web pages having smart tables
#7870481, 2011
Method and system for presenting automatically summarized information
Method and system for presenting automatically summarized information