From branding new companies to launching new processes in an enterprise corporation, I've learned good design has some universal truths, common pitfalls, and collaborative solutions that can be shared across all industries.
Now, I'm looking to share that knowledge to help bring great design to everyone.
nelson@whitti.co
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Resume
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Experience
Manager / Lead Product Designer (UX / UI)
CarMax ↗
January 2020 – Present
Remote / Richmond, VA
Working throughout the purchase journey, I have been a part of multiple new initiative launches and existing product overhauls. Whether it's introducing a new way for customers to find cars in their budget or a new way for associates to find customers in the enterprise database, I'm always aiming to make things better for our users.
A few projects I’ve worked on:
- Customer-facing online checkout process
- Associate-facing in-store order tool
- Establishing a pattern to share frontend and backend data
- Quick and easy financing
- Integrated financed-based shopping
Design Consultant (Branding, Visual, UX / UI)
Freelance, Various
February 2015 - Present
Remote (clients in CA, DC, GA, FL, NC)
Designed and developed innovative products, brands, and marketing materials for a variety of clients.Projects include UX/UI for an educational game, branding and merchandise design for a creative commune, and consulting on multiple websites and games.
Clients include:
- Publix
- Beats by Dre
- The Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts
- iam8bit
- Indie MEGAbooth / Adult Swim
Senior Product Designer (UX / UI)
Shockoe ↗
November 2015 - December 2019
Richmond, VA
- Facilitated clear and efficient communication across cross-functional teams (Marketing, Brand, Creative, IT, QA), ensuring seamless collaboration and project alignment.
- Proactively identified and integrated industry trends, emerging technologies, and cultural insights to enhance creative output and maintain brand relevance.
- Clients include:
- American Express
- Michael’s
Skills
Hard + soft skills in use
- User Experience (UX) Design
- Creative Strategy
- User Interface (UI) Design
- Accessibility-first mindset
- User-centered interaction design
- Prototyping and testing with users
- User behavior and trend research
- Moderated discovery (user interviews)
- Unmoderated discovery (analytics)
- AI prompt engineering
- Process Improvement
- Cross-team collaboration and leadership
Toolset familiarity
- Markers, sticky notes, and whiteboards
- Figma + Sketch
- UserTesting, Ethnio, Fullstory
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Miro + FigJam + WhiteBoard
- Jira, Axure DevOps, LeanKit
- CoPilot / Claude / Perplexity / ChatGPT
- Windows / Mac OS
- Android / iOS / iPad OS
- Slack / Teams / Discord
- Keynote / Slides / PowerPoint
- Google Workspace / Microsoft Office 365
Education
Brandcenter (VCU)
Master’s in Business
Experience Design / Creative Technology
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
Bachelor’s in Creative Advertising
Design Philosophies
- Empathy-first, we’re all people.
- Do no harm, design shouldn’t hurt.
- “Perfect doesn’t exist, don’t get hurt chasing it.
- Gut checks are good. Ask early + often.
- Always ask why something is important and to whom it is important.
Interests + Side Projects:
- Collaborating on the UX, UI, and overall game design for an indie game showcased at EGX 2025
- Re-branding and re-launching a local retail store after going independent
- Guest and co-host for multiple online pop culture / gaming shows and charity events (Giant Bomb, PAX, Ward Cast, and Guest Controller)