Blake Organ Email & Phone Number

Remote

CivicActions has a history of helping government agencies deliver better public services through open-source technology and design for over 20 years with the core values of Balance, Openness, and Care. Their partnerships with government agencies have modernized technology systems, improved user experiences, and built capacity for making government services accessible and effective for all.

Led design initiatives for a decoupled Drupal CMS on VA.gov, benefiting over 20 million Veterans. Focused on enhancing the experience for editor-centered management of Veteran-centered content._________________________Project highlights include...CMS Design System Management:Established a Design System Runbook and governance processes, aligning the CMS Design System with VA and U.S. Web Design Systems. Introduced Github ticket templates for organized documentation and implementation, providing a cohesive, consistent, and accessible user experience for design components used across the CMS.Reduction of Outdated Content:Launched CMS notifications, resulting in a 20% reduction of outdated content on VA.gov within the first quarter of launch. Conducted generative research study, held user interviews, and iterated on design prototypes. Implemented monthly email notifications for CMS editors to review and update content with minimal disruption to their established workflows. Established process for compliance with VA Directive 6102 which ensures the accuracy of content on VA.gov. Set the groundwork for future expansion of notification types.Alternative Text Improvements: Collaborated with accessibility specialist, researcher, and Drupal engineers to enhance alt text input fields for users with a varying knowledge of alt text best practices. Identified common best practice violations and implemented the Client Side Validation Drupal module to provide immediate and informative error messaging that prevents the creation of poor alt text. Set the groundwork for future expansion of client side validation on other input fields facing similar content quality issues.

Little Rock, Arkansas, United States

Collaborate with businesses across a variety of industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to home renovation. Tasks include logo and identity design, web design, photography and retouching, social media management, and more.

Little Rock, Arkansas And Remote

Founded in 2015 with a culture of thoughtfulness and high performance, Apptegy is the fastest growing education technology startup in the United States and has seen over a 200% year over year growth in both sales and personnel. Most recently being recognized as one of the Best Startup Employers by Forbes, Apptegy has grown into an international team of nearly 200 people working with more than 2,000 school districts across all 50 states. I have seen the company evolve quite a bit since my tenure starting in 2018 and have been heavily involved in several teams within the company.

Little Rock, Arkansas And Remote

Collaborate with product managers and engineering teams to improve the UI/UX of Apptegy’s core products which include a content management system and publishing platform. Implementclient feature requests. Build and maintain a comprehensive design system. Iterate on user flows, prototypes, and high-fidelity visuals.

Little Rock, Arkansas And Remote

Within the Client Experience team, I specifically work on the Client Work team to produce branded design materials in the form of apps, websites, logos, and promotional assets for school districts across the country. I also briefly worked on the Content Migration team to move content from our existing CMS to our updated CMS._________________________Primary Duties:• Design branded mobile apps and websites for 500+ school districts across the US using our internal content management system and publishing platform.• Vectorize low quality logos using Adobe Illustrator. Design custom logos upon request.• Collaborate with Implementation and Client Success teams to achieve client goals.• Produce client launch packets that provide a drip campaign and graphics for schools to easily promote their new app and website.Highlights:• Worked on Apptegy’s largest client in terms of student enrollment and annual recurring revenue.• Lead internal weekly status report meetings to inform VP of Client Experience, Director of Implementation, and Client Work Team Lead of upcoming projects, current pain points, and provide team updates.• Perform Asana workflow audits and make improvements to increase efficiency across teams.• Collaborate with Product team to test for bugs and suggest ongoing improvements to our internal website builder.• Designate tasks among the Client Work team for incoming clients .

Little Rock, Arkansas And Remote

Our team produces research and content for school leaders in the form of print publications, video interviews, podcasts, and online articles for Apptegy’s media brand, SchoolCEO. We aim to be a thought leader in school marketing and our printed publication is sent to every superintendent in the US as a free resource._________________________Primary Duties:• Collaborated with researchers, copywriters, editors, illustrators, and the VP of Marketing & Media to produce several issues of a 64-page, quarterly magazine designed to support public school leaders in marketing and leadership.• Used InDesign and InCopy to fluidly design layouts for magazine articles, spreads, and covers in tandem with copywriters as they went through the editorial process.• Used Ghost to implement hero images designed for online articles on SchoolCEO.com. Designs used in the printed publication were repurposed for digital content to achieve brand consistency.• Used Unbounce to design landing pages for both Apptegy and SchoolCEO.• Collaborated with digital marketers to implement social media graphics for both Apptegy and SchoolCEO. Highlights:• Produced visual data on the largest study of millennial teachers in an easily digestible format.• Designed a travel guide called the Superintendent’s Guide to Los Angeles for a national superintendents conference.• Designed layouts for articles on superintendent spotlights, guest written articles, brand identity essentials for schools, and marketing towards senior stakeholders• Designed the cover of our Spring 2019 issue on Recruiting Millennial Teachers

Little Rock, Arkansas And Remote

As the Demand Generation Team Lead, I remotely lead a team of five graphic designers based at Apptegy’s office in Monterrey, Mexico to produce custom brand analysis reports and video brochures that were used as sales material._________________________Brand Analyses • Collaborated with the VP of Marketing and digital marketers to select key data points on the online brand presence of school districts. Data points included metrics on ADA Compliance, Mobile Accessibility, Social Media, Search Engine Optimization, and Logo Consistency.• Designed a booklet to present these complex branding ideas into an efficient piece of visual communication that was easy to understand and provided actionable insights to improve their district’s online image.• Streamlined the brand analysis process into a scalable system. Created a Google Form, Zapier automations, and an Indesign template to systematically collect information on each district’s brand and perform data merges. Decreased production time from 3 days down to less than an hour each.• Developed an Asana workflow and lead the team to produce over 1,250 brand analyses over a 6 week period.• Conducted workflow audits and provided status reports on team production numbers to VP of Marketing and CEO.• Data collected from this project would later be utilized in SchoolCEO articles to present our overall findings.Video Brochures• Collaborated with Sales Enablement team and created a workflow to produce video brochure covers for every district in Apptegy’s addressable market of roughly 12,000 school districts.• Lead the Demand Generation team in vectorizing logos for every district to create a companywide database of vectorized school district logos.

Nashville, Tn

In my role, I have the pleasure of working at the largest advertising agency in Tennessee with some of the most talented minds around. As a part of “The Content Team,” I collaborate with copywriters, art directors, social media managers, and brand managers to create meaningful, measurable and lasting results for our clients.Some of my day to day tasks include concepting, designing and optimizing social and digital content for clients across a variety of industries. I assist in creating over 300 unique paid and organic posts per month across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The content that I produce ranges from static, motion graphic, and video content. I also assist in strategizing social media campaigns and promotions.Being a part of The Buntin Group has allowed me the opportunity work on both regional and national brands including :- Kentucky Lottery- Tennessee Lottery- Perkins Family Restaurants and Bakeries- SERVPRO Cleanup and Restoration Industries- RedKap Construction Workwear- Huhtamaki Foodservice Packaging- Savannah Classics Hushpuppies- Bargain Hunt Discount Retailers- Logan's Roadhouse Restaurants

Jonesboro, Arkansas Area

Community Development, Programming, Emergency Response, 24/7 Role Model, Student Conduct Duties, Administrative Duties, Staff Development

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

-Work with Graphic Designers to complete design projects including but not limited to websites, logos, print materials, sketches, chalkboard drawings, video graphics, and content marketing imagery.-Participate in brainstorming sessions with designers, writers, and developers.-Collaborate with design, content, and development teams to ensure quality design and functionality of website projects.-Research industry trends and design principles to implement on internal and client projects

Bachelor Of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), Graphic Design

Activities and Societies: AIGA (The Professional Association for Design), HCA (Honors College Association)

General Studies