Since 2007, I’ve been designing digital things that help people discover information and accomplish their tasks. I love discovering unexpected behaviors and streamlining workflows. I believe that user experience designers should be the advocate for users within an organization, and as a designer it’s my job to make their voices heard, even if it means more work for the team.
I’ve designed websites and software interfaces for a variety of teams: startups, consulting firms, and large for- and non-profit companies. I’ve worked in several industries: higher-education, e-commerce, banking, and healthcare. Most recently, I served as the UX designer for a top-ten business school for over nine years.
I get energy from interacting with other people, and I’ve been active in the Triangle UX community. I am the current president of Triangle UXPA, and have volunteered for the organization since 2010, including as President in 2014 as well. I founded the Triangle UXPA Book Club in 2012 and started a conference called UX Y’all in 2018.
In my spare time I like to do almost anything nerdy. I’m a fan of video and tabletop games and have even designed my own alchemy-themed card game. I’ve also never met an honest Wikipedia article I didn’t like.
Interested in reaching out? Let’s chat!
jake@xplusd.com
Testimonials
Jake’s strong abilities for researching, analyzing, and implementing user experience design on new and existing projects improved the quality and quantity of our department’s web products. His input and guidance influenced my team of developers to appreciate and prioritize user experience design in our software development process. Beyond his talent for analysis and design, Jake always has great working relationships with his customers and peers. It was a pleasure to have him on my team.
— Joe Conder, Manager, Software Development Services, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business
With his easy-going nature and genuine friendliness, Jacob has been a joy to manage. He has enthusiastically participated in team training and is quick to volunteer assistance even when his own workload is already heavy. Jacob consistently delivers his work on schedule and it is always of the highest quality.
Jacob’s outstanding attitude and ability to quickly learn new technologies and methodologies position him to be very successful as he progresses in his career. I recommend him highly and without reservation.
— Tim Sherfy, Development Manager, Inkubook
Jake is a great designer, with a passion for sweating the details and an eagerness to learn and adapt. Most importantly, Jake has a sincere concern for the needs of the customer, which shows through in his work.
— Chris Huffman, Team Member, UX Designer, Inkubook
About the image:
In-person user feedback session conducted at the central café at Fuqua at lunchtime. Post-its from this session were displayed in the IT office and organized to make it easy to see the quality of students’ experiences with the various software tools they used along with their specific feedback.