United Kingdom

UX Design

UI/ Visual Design

Design Operations

Product Design

Interaction Design

BA with Honors, magna cum laude

Alison Park Douglas

Senior UX Design Manager

Collaboration

Problem-solving

Time management

Critical-thinking

Organisation skills

Stakeholder management

Leadership

Project management

Information architecture

Adobe Photoshop

Figma

InVision

Lucidchart

Miro

Adobe Creative Suite

Empathy

Communication

Team player

Presentation skills

Introduce yourself, define mentoring expectations and goals. Learn and grow together.

General mentorship

Talk to people who have learned to manage their imposter syndrome.

Dealing with imposter syndrome

Navigating micro-aggression, getting paid what you are worth and finding a community.

Being a woman in tech

Understand the process of training, motivating and directing your team members.

Managing people

How to create a positive workplace culture that drives collaboration and productivity?

Fostering a good team culture

Steps to building and maintaining a strong, cohesive and effective team.

Building an effective team

Learn the tips to successfully manage a team in a remote environment.

Managing a remote team

How to maintain trust, commitment, accountability deliver results while handling conflict

Avoiding common dysfunctions

How to determine what is a good balance of skill sets for your organization's needs

Building balanced teams

Get actionable feedback on your resume or portfolio.

Resume and portfolio review

Practice HR, technical and behavioural interviews with mentors.

Practice mock interviews

Talk to people who've broken into the tech industry and learn their stories.

Breaking into tech

Learn the best ways to answer technical interview questions with frameworks

Acing technical interview questions

How to set up the team for success by defining and measuring team's performance.

Choosing metrics and team goals

Best practices for running productive design critiques.

Running effective design critiques

How to define and execute a successful launch and managing stakeholders expectations. (eg. MVP)

Launching new products or features

Methods of prototyping and solution validation. When to use which kind of prototype (eg. Webflow, Notion, etc)

Prototyping methods and tips

Manage team expectations and get the most out of your meetings.

Running effective meetings

Identify and define potential product problems and generating possible solutions.

Identifying problems vs solutions

Learn how to properly present your work and share ideas and opinions.

Presenting your work with impact

Tips on how to work and collaborate with designers.

Working with designers

How to work with team members with different skill sets but towards a common goal?

Working cross-functionally

Methods and models of exploring, deciding and delivering design.

Building a design process

Navigating the working relationship with PM's and engineers as a designer.

Working with product and engineering

How to set up product analytics and metrics to track success?

Leveraging Product Analytics

Ways to provide constructive feedback to team members.

Giving effective feedback

What is a successful user onboarding flow and how to achieve it?

Onboarding new users

How to successfully prepare and position yourself for a job promotion?

How to get promoted

How to think about design career paths and what progression looks like for designers?

Design career path

• The Red Dot Design Award is an international design competition that has become established as one of the most sought-after seals of quality for good design.
• There are 3 Red Dot Award disciplines: Product Design, Brands & Communication Design, and Design Concept.
• The Red Dot Brands & Communication Design Jury is made up of 24 international design experts, and I was invited to be on the jury starting in 2023, specifically to evaluate Advertising, Websites, and Digital Solutions.

• As a Senior UX Design Manager, I pioneered efforts with AI in the LegalTech segment; my 2 design teams were at the forefront of exploring how we could harness advances in AI to solve user problems, increase efficiencies, and reduce low-value work for our customers 
• My team was responsible for Document Intelligence, an AI solution powered by Practical Law expertise which accelerates information retrieval and review time for legal professionals by more than 50% 
• In mid-2024, my team launched 2 additional AI innovations in LegalTech: our first official integration of Thomson Reuters CoCounsel with Microsoft Copilot, and CoCounsel Drafting, our end-to-end legal drafting solution that brings together professional-grade GenAI with trusted Thomson Reuters legal content

• Throughout 2022, I was the UX Design Manager for 2 design teams, with 24 team members across 4 countries; my leadership was instrumental in creating a culture of collaboration and design thinking in the LegalTech portfolio 
• My team was responsible for design deliverables that span the full LegalTech portfolio including drafting, contract lifecycle management, transaction management, and matter management, specifically for two of Thomson Reuters' most successful LegalTech products: HighQ and Legal Tracker 
• HighQ is a legal operations platform used by 93% of the FTSE, and 75% of the Fortune 500, with revenue of over $100 million, and 45% YoY growth in 2022 
• Legal Tracker is the world's leading legal matter management, e-billing, and legal analytics system, used by over 42,000 law firms, with a client renewal rate of 98%, and revenue of over $100 million
            

    
    

    
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• As SMART's Head of UX, I assumed a wide range of strategic and operational responsibilities
• Collaborated with the VP of Software to spearhead the launch of Lumio, an innovative EdTech software platform which integrated disparate products into a cohesive solution
• Pioneered SMART’s inaugural Design System, ensuring consistency and efficiency across our software products. This system harmonized visual elements and elevated our overall design quality
• Accessibility advocacy: Introduced comprehensive accessibility guidelines into our UX design process - by prioritizing inclusivity, we enhanced usability for all users
• Managed both Industrial Design for our hardware products and UX Design for our native apps and integrated cloud-based software. This dual focus brought seamless alignment between physical and digital experiences
• Responsible for the entire UX org within the company: budgets, vendor relationships, design resourcing, UX team performance management, and hiring

• Led and mentored a high-performing team of 8+ UX Designers, spanning multiple countries
• Nurtured the team's professional growth through regular performance coaching, evaluations, and goal-setting
• Championed robust user-centered design processes, collaborating closely with User Research to leverage both qualitative and quantitative assessment methodologies during design and post-launch phases
• Set a high standard for design best practices including: regular design critiques, rapid prototyping, and iterative testing through close collaboration with User Research
• Cultivated cross-functional relationships to influence product roadmaps and provide executive visibility into our UX deliverables
• Engaged in executive leadership initiatives that improved communication and transparency for the whole company

• In my first 3 years at SMART, I designed and shipped 4 EdTech software products, including web, desktop, and mobile apps
• Deeply involved in every stage of product design: user research, workflows, interaction design, wireframes, prototyping, and visual design
• Took on additional leadership responsibilities, including managing a junior UX Designer, and participating in an cross-functional task force
• Drove several process improvements for design and engineering teams, including establishing a more structured UX design review process, and promoting adoption of new tools to streamline design-to-dev hand-off

• SMART Technologies is an industry-leading producer of Interactive Flat Panel displays (SMART Boards). I designed educational software for devices ranging from phones to 86” SMART Boards.
• Sole designer responsible for the end-to-end design of 4 software products:
1. A ground-up redesign of a desktop and web app used by teachers to create interactive lessons to engage their students and encourage flipped classroom pedagogy (launched Dec 2016).
2. New software licensing and account management portal used by resellers and school district admins. This portal supports our entire software user base (launched Jan 2018).
3. A new mobile "scanner" app for business, academic, or personal use. This iOS app converts documents to digital ink that can be rearranged, annotated, and shared (launched Feb 2018).
4. New, digital collaborative platform for students which encourages project-based learning and student co-creation. It was a critical initiative for SMART's 2018 roadmap (launched Dec 2018).

• Contributed to a major UX re-design of the Starbucks intranet, the Partner Hub
• Led the Information Architecture, Usability Testing, and User Research for our team
• My role included initiating User Research with Starbucks employees, conducting weekly Usability Testing in an Agile environment, analyzing and sharing test results with Starbucks stakeholders, streamlining the site's taxonomy, and improving the Information Architecture framework

• Worked directly with the company founder to design an overhaul of their existing project management software product
• My role required adaptability and quick turnaround in a startup environment
• Incorporated user interviews, heuristic evaluations, and competitive analysis to determine the Information Architecture of the product
• Rapid prototyping in Axure and usability testing allowed me to move quickly and deliver an impactful product re-design within a very short timeframe

• Estimated and negotiated creative fees, image licensing, and usage
• Formulated individually-suited, long and short-term marketing strategies for our artists
• Contributed online marketing expertise and established the company's initial web presence

• Managed the daily studio operations for a successful editorial photographer
• Handled portfolio mailings and a targeted, high-volume direct mail marketing campaign

• Provided professional photographers, illustrators, and commercial artists with Portfolio Review consultations centered on the visual integrity, style, editing and sequencing of their portfolios
• Consulted with artists on the importance of branding, how to improve the visual elements of their portfolios, and market their work successfully to their chosen audience
• Created three new consultations for artists focused on marketing, copyright, and pricing issues

• Responsible for end-to-end ad campaign production workflow, ensuring seamless execution and timely delivery
• Curated compelling creative content for diverse advertising and corporate clients
• Strategic Project Management of commercial photo shoots from inception to completion: cultivated a robust network of creative talent, assembled and led dynamic creative teams, adhered to budget constraints, conducted talent casting, skillfully negotiated licensing and usage rights, and delivered impactful and effective creative content
• Client portfolio includes: T-Mobile, Publicis, The History Channel, Ernst & Young, The Assembly Agency (London), Fidelity, Stratus, Furniture.com, Artisoft, and UMass Hospital

• Worked on a variety of medium to short-term freelance design projects for small businesses in the fine art, photography, and fashion industries
• Designed and hand-coded websites in HTML
• Created flyers, business cards, and other printed materials
• Responsible for branding, art direction, photography, illustration, and copywriting

• Founded in 1998, this was one of the first e-commerce fashion marketplaces where users could buy and sell new and secondhand clothing - a concept popularized years later by companies such as Poshmark, Vinted, and Depop
• Established and curated an online marketplace, connecting independent fashion designers and individual vendors with an active global community of discerning buyers
• Sustained a dynamic content ecosystem for over 15 years, overseeing content creation, graphic design, creative asset management, and catalog photo enhancement, while publishing new content weekly
• Responsible for the executive, administrative, and creative operations of the company: product management, content strategy, photo shoot production, design of the marketing materials, website UX Design, social media, and publishing
• Collaborated closely with software engineers to develop proprietary content management tools
• Successfully orchestrated the sale of the business to a major client in 2014

•	Responsible for generating stock photo sales from clients in the New England territory
•	Researched image requests and provided tailored selections of stock photography for Art Buyers, Photo Editors, Designers and other photography clients
•	Negotiated the sale and licensing terms for stock photo usage

•	Working at Fidelity Investment's in-house advertising agency, I selected and negotiated with photographers, and produced photo shoots based on the needs of our Art Directors and Designers
•	Negotiated fees and usage rights with photographers, stylists and models
•	Ordered stock photography and negotiated prices for their use

Alison Park Douglas🇬🇧