Dennis Crothers is a Product Designer based in San Francisco.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

ThumbJive, Independent Contractor
April 2018 – present
 

Contract designer for ThumbJive, a startup comprised of seasoned product developers and entrepreneurs. ThumbJive's debut product, JiveWorld, is a mobile app (iOS/Android) for language learners wanting to achieve native level listening fluency in a foreign language.
 

• Developed the UI, visual design, and working prototypes for the the mobile app's first content partner, Radio Ambulante, a Spanish-language narrative journalism project with more than 60 episodes from more than 20 countries. Radio Ambulante is distributed by NPR.
   

• Worked seamlessly with remote teams across 3 continents, providing UI and design specs.
   

• Designed in quick, iterative cycles in collaboration with an engineering team to test technical capabilities when paired with UI experiments.
   

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MDsave, VP of Design

July  2015 – March 2018

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First design hire, brought on to lead product and marketing design efforts for a $20M venture backed B2B SaaS bundled payment platform and consumer transactional healthcare marketplace. MDsave has had national coverage in Forbes, Fortune, Modern Healthcare, Nashville Business Journal, CNBC.com and more.
 

• Brought new products to market (including MDsave Direct, MDsave Plus, and NewPayer) for employers, PPOs, and providers —  increasing SaaS customer base by 700%, and growing revenue by 2X every year.
   

• Revolutionized antiquated workflows for hospital admins and accountants through intuitive UI and automated processes, resulting in 33% YOY increase in POS collections.
   

• Worked alongside executive team in efforts to grow business and awareness through visual storytelling and information graphics in presentations and RFPs.
   

• Hired and managed all full-time and contract UX, visual, and marketing designers.
   

 

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GoodGuide, UL, UX Director

May 2014 – July  2015

 

Led UX Design for GoodGuide, a consumer advocate product owned by UL, which provided information on health, environmental, and social performances of products and companies ­— and PurView, a B2B platform utilized by anyone along the supply chain to measure the sustainability of their supply chain.
 

• Created custom data visualization solutions for clients including Target, Method, CVS, and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.
   

• Designed the first revenue-generating advertising opportunity ($250k media buy) on GoodGuide for Target’s Made to Matter campaign.
   

• Designed the 2015 Earth Day campaign for Amazon, with GoodGuide’s recommendations collected and featured on Amazon.
   

• Launched a completely redesigned and mobile responsive GoodGuide.com
   

• Integrated lean UX design cycles into product development process, with user interviews, iterative prototypes, and user testing.

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AOL, Principal Designer

September 2013 – May 2014
 

Principal designer for user experience and visual design of several initiatives within the Brands Group division of AOL. Shaped customer experience, developed visual language, and collaborated with engineering to develop innovative products.

 

• Principal UI designer for a major new content platform initiative (codenamed Archetype) built to power the next generation of mobile and service-driven content experiences.
   

• Led UX and visual design for several R&D and future product initiatives across the AOL network. 
   

• Practiced Agile development process for iterative design cycles.

 

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Wired.com, Conde Nast, Director of UX

October 2007 - September 2013
 

Responsible for all aspects of the user interface and visual design of Condé Nast’s award-winning website, Wired.com. Oversaw the conceptualization, mockups, UI specs, and visual guidelines for all product design.

 

• Through product improvements, and supporting the marketing team, increased traffic by 20% and grew unique visitors from 2.5 million to 18 million per month.
   

• Helped grow website revenue from $5M to nearly $30M annually, surpassing the print magazine in ad sales by 2012, by partnering with EIC and sales team to develop new streams of revenue through integrated sponsorship programs.
   

• Launched WIRED's first iOS app, Webmonkey.com and the first mobile version of Wired.com.
   

Awards & Honors

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• D&AD Award Winner 2010 Magazine & Newspaper Design / Print with Online: Cutthroat Capitalism, Wired.com

• WEBBY Award Nominee 2010 Best Magazine Web Site: Wired.com

• ASME National Magazine Award Finalist 2009 Interactive Feature: iPhone 3G Map, Wired.com

• MIN Best of the Web Winner 2009 Integration With Print: High Tech Cowboys of the Deep Sea, Wired.com

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CNET Networks (now CBS Interactive), Managing Art Director

January 2003 - October 2007
 

Led a multi-disciplined team of over 12 designers for CNET.com, CNET Reviews, News.com, and Download.com, focusing on product development as well as consumer, industry, and sales marketing.
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• Hired and directed teams of designers and contractors, including visual designers, illustrators, animators, 3-D modelers, copywriters, and Flash developers.
   

• Developed and implemented time-saving processes for creative and product development teams, while deploying user-centric development methodologies.
   

• Collaborated with partners including MSN, ABC, CBS, TiVo, AOL, ESPN, and Best Buy, to build co-branded experiences.
   

• Developed workflows and UI for internal tools to improve editorial processes.

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