Charles Estes
Senior User Experience (UX/UI) Designer
A forward-thinking, results-driven, and enterprising Senior User-Experience (UX/UI) Designer, with more than eight years of specialized experience in project coordination, strategic planning, client and vendor relations, process improvement, training and mentoring, implementations, and user experience and interaction design. Spearheads innovative initiatives that capture company vision and value, and expand marketability. Builds and develops long-lasting and collaborative partnerships while fostering dedicated teams and meeting client needs. A dedicated top performer, who enables a company to optimize workflow processes and enhance business growth.
UX/UI Design (Wireframing, Prototyping) · UX Strategy and Vision · Interaction Design · User Research and Analysis · Design Systems · Design Implementation · End-to-End Product Design · Client Relationship Management · Stakeholder Communication · Continuous Learning and Improvement · User-Centered Design Principles · Clear Communication · Holistic Approach · Servant Leadership and Mentorship · Cross-Functional Collaboration · Leading with a Point of View · Detail-Oriented · Purpose-Driven · Quality-Focused
Experience
Kin + Carta
Senior User Experience Design Consultant
Sep 2021 - Feb 2024
Chicago, IL • Hybrid
Managed and prioritized all design tasks across multiple cross-functional teams.
Established long-term UX strategy, defined requirements, understood user needs, assisted with research tasks, and aligned user and business needs to create digital experiences that scaled across multiple products and services.
Delivered value to the vice president and senior-level client stakeholders to enhance user-centric experiences that aligned with the strategic vision.
Led and mentored designers on team, assisted with design operations, and managed client relationships by setting expectations.
Co-led a team of five designers for a health insurance client project.
Served as lead UX and UI designer for the launch of a new health insurance member portal, which resulted in survey data showing an increase of average monthly NPS scores by 12 points.
Set new design standards for web-based products for a health insurance client.
Created and maintained an extensive component library for development and design teams.
Kin + Carta
User Experience Design Consultant
Feb 2019 - Sep 2021
Chicago, IL • On-site
Balanced user and business needs to produce engaging digital user experiences across multiple cross-functional teams.
Contributed to research tasks by providing feedback for study guides, interviews, card sorting, and analysis.
Utilized research insights to make decisions on user experience and product direction.
Oversaw wireframing, prototyping, and creating final mock-ups for development.
Collaborated with development teams to ensure proper design implementation.
Coordinated with stakeholders to uncover business goals, requirements, and to get alignment on product strategy and
direction of the user experience.
Pioneered new search experiences for industrial automation client.
Kin + Carta
User Experience Design Analyst
May 2017 - Feb 2019
Chicago, IL • On-site
Mastered the craft of design through wireframing, prototyping, and creating final mock-ups, using best practices.
Presented designs to stakeholders to gain buy-in and acquire feedback.
Provided source material and analysis for research tasks, including interviews and usability testing to support design decisions.
Designed guidelines and best practices while endeavoring to uphold consistency across feature teams.
Focused efforts on bottom-up, human-centered design for the first $1M client project for a major financial services company.
Intelligent Product Solutions
Contract UX/UI Designer
Nov 2015 - May 2017
Chicago, IL • Remote
Practiced UX design through wireframing, prototyping, and creating final mock-ups, using best practices for a variety of products and industries.
Crafted experiences for multiple platforms, including Web, iOS, Android, and physical products.
Presented designs to stakeholders to gain buy-in and acquire feedback.
Intelligent Product Solutions
Industrial Design Intern
Jun 2015 - Aug 2015
Hauppauge, NY • On-site
Created product rendering and high fidelity imagery for various physical products to be used in marketing material for print and web.
Crafted 3D models in CAD software