James Witcher Email & Phone Number

California, United States

California, United States

At Blueriver, I led design strategy and direction for our clients, including one of the most recognized brands in the world.Highlights include:Introduced design storytelling to the organization to establish and communicate product design vision.Created and implemented Blueriver’s design process across the organization, and refined the scoping and estimation process.Navigated the design team through remote working, including how we review in-progress work as a team, weekly team coffee, etc.Refined our design workshop process to be more efficient and less friction for our clients while maintaining quality, timing, and budget for deliverables.Transitioned the organization to Figma, which has streamlined our workflow, provided engineering with better prototypes and documentation, and enhanced the way we collaborate and share product design initiatives with our clients.

San Francisco Bay Area

I was hired to establish a San Francisco office and build a team in order to grow the company’s west coast footprint. We were forced to pivot due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns in the Bay Area. I led and delivered digital products for clients across the US, including Glint (LinkedIn), KEH, Purple, JPMorgan, and more.

Mountain View, California, United States

I managed and designed digital products as part of the Google Search design team. Highlights include:Managed a UX team and collaborated with cross-functional teams on multiple product updates for Gboard, the mobile keyboard for Android and iOS devices with built-in Google Search.Crafted a vision for a new vertical within Google Search.Designed a new, intuitive way for users to manage their content subscriptions.Designed a Google Search entry point for the “Next Billion Users” market under sizable constraints including low-end hardware, no touchscreen, and an audience new to the internet.Served as a mentor to designers across teams as part of the Google mentor program.Worked with cross-functional teams in offices around the world, including Beijing, Tokyo, Tel Aviv, London, Gurgaon, New York, and Boulder.

San Francisco Bay Area

As Director of Product Design at Fandom (rebranded from Wikia in October 2016, boasting 360,000+ fan communities and a global audience of over 170 million monthly uniques), I provided direction and oversight for key product initiatives, mentored UX and visual designers spanning three GEOs, and worked closely with cross-functional teams and exec staff for resource allocation, strategy, planning, and delivery.Highlights include:Led the rebranding for the company’s transition from Wikia to Fandom.Created the first editorial digital product for Wikia, “News & Stories”, to surface current and relevant news, and provide an experience to support premium ad products.Created the vision and directed the design for Fandom's v2 News and Stories editorial digital product.Created and led the design vision, strategy and direction for Fandom’s "Wiki Premiumization" digital product.Facilitation and guidance of my team's Product Design Principles.Created a concept and prototype for a modern editorial workflow and toolset to ease the wiki product’s learning curve.

San Francisco Bay Area

As Principal Product Designer at Wikia, I worked closely with cross-functional and exec teams to define, design, and launch key digital products.In 2014, I designed a new approach to wiki articles. The design focused on both the consumption and contribution fronts, as well as promoting video content. Although it was not implemented at the time, this project laid the groundwork for what eventually became a company priority in early 2017.In 2015, I designed "Discussions", a new mobile-first product to replace Wikia's outdated, threaded forums. Working closely with key stakeholders, I designed the Fandom editorial product, which launched in January, 2016.

San Francisco, California, United States

San Francisco

Designer in Residence for the 12 week UX Design course at General Assembly.

San Francisco Bay Area

Led and managed IGN's product design team for multiple consumer products.Highlights include:Led strategy and design for the IGN native iOS consumer app for iPhone and iPad, which launched to a 4.5 star rating on the Apple App Store and a loyal following.

San Francisco Bay Area

Creative direction, art direction, graphic design, information architecture, client presentation, new business pitches, resource staffing, design consulting for Sapient's Atlanta office.Highlights include:Led design and research for American Airlines' Check-in kiosk, which launched in airports worldwide.Led the design of Alamo's consumer website.Led research, content, and design for the JCPenney online gift registry, creating experiences for both at-home and in-store use cases across desktop, tablet, and mobile touchpoints.Clients include: American Airlines, Alamo, JCPenney, Sallie Mae.

Art direction, graphic design, information architecture, client presentation, new business pitches, design consulting for Sapient's Atlanta office.Clients include: DirecTV, GE, The Hartford, Lenovo, Osh Kosh B'Gosh, TradeStation, TSA.

Art direction, graphic design, information architecture, client presentation, design consulting for Sapient's Atlanta office.Clients include: AT&T, AutoTrader.com, Coca-Cola, DHL, HoneyBaked Ham, Humana.

Part-time instructor at a well-regarded portfolio school in Atlanta. At the time, the web classes being taught were production-oriented, so I created my own class and curriculum to focus on the marriage of user experience and visual design.

Graphic Design

Awarded the MAS "Top Dog" Award for best overall student portfolio work. Participated in two Quarter Away programs to work at agencies.

Graphic Design

Fine Arts