Hi, I’m Marlon,
a Boston-based UX/UI Designer.
Discovering the right problem to solve by leveraging user research to drive meaningful UX solutions.
What have I been up to lately? Currently, I am enrolled in a 4-month online course in ‘Gamification - How to Create Engaging User Experiences’ with the INTERACTIVE DESIGN FOUNDATION. It’s been really fascinating to see how simple UI adjustments can tap into the user’s mind to get them to behave a certain way. Gamification takes advantage of mental models already available and helps drives users down happy paths which support customer conversion.
Contact
mcviolette@gmail.com
LinkedIn
Industry Experience
Insurance, Financial, Biotech, Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Agency, Corporate, Gaming, Startup, B2B, B2C, SaaS
Brands and Companies
GEICO, Progressive, (+30 other insurance brands), OnStar Insurance, Fidelity Investments, Harvard Medical School, Dell EMC, Pall Corporation, Activision
About
During the pandemic's peak, the inches grew around my waist, but now I am putting down the burritos and picking up the weights. These days I am into bodybuilding. Also for 22 years, I’ve practiced Praying Mantis Kung Fu. Check out this tournament clip from 2008.
Outdoor safety is important to me, as I love backpacking in winter to test my mind. Recently I completed my NOLS Wilderness First Aid and have my First Aid/CPR/AED license. I am looking forward to becoming a lifeguard soon.
Speaking of the cold, you can find me drilling holes in 3" of ice because ice fishing in the middle of a desolated lake is something else.
Pre-pandemic, I played roller derby for Mass Maelstrom, was a certified kettlebell training coach, completed two Spartan Races and one Tough Mudder, and a lifelong rock drummer whose band played numerous shows in southern California in the '90s.
On some evenings after work, you can find me fishing at a lake dressed in my favorite custom herringbone vest while listening to a UX or ghost-hunting podcast.
Experience
SENIOR PRODUCT DESIGNER
Rectangle Health | Valhalla, NY
March 2022 – November 2022
Full-time position
Improved SaaS UX/UI experiences for point of sale solutions and payment processing for leading national healthcare payment and premium processing company, which services over 50,000+ healthcare providers in the US, processing over $5 billion annually. Synthesized user feedback into designs, leveraging customer pool to validate hypotheses with prototypes, and provided UX strategy to solve complex payment scenarios and streamline payment processing and management.
SENIOR UX/UI DESIGNER
Homesite Insurance | Boston, MA
February 2020 – March 2022
Contract position
Created brand-agnostic customer experiences for GEICO, Progressive and 33 other major insurance companies nationally. Improved renter to homeowner’s experience in the servicing side by retaining 7,560 customers and $4.3M in sold premium. Reached success in customer moving and retention by expanding multi-channel communication, integrating multi-policy holder enrollment, and improving payment experiences. Valuable user insights from extensive user surveys, Google analytics, and A/B testing helped shape end goal strategy.
SENIOR UX/UI DESIGNER
Evoke Mind+Matter | Boston, MA
April 2019 – December 2019
Project-based contract position
Executed UX strategy for a fast-paced, full-service global brand agency for pharmaceutical products. Deliverables include heuristic evaluations, website creation, email campaigns, touchscreen displays for tradeshows, and client presentations.
View Kyowa Kirin Cares About CTX Interactive Symptom Checker
UX DESIGNER
Pall Corporation, Life Sciences Division | Westborough, MA
October 2018 – March 2019
Project-based contract position
Developed Axure prototypes for complex filtration machines. Empowered by usability sessions, and user interviews, I helped identify solutions for touchscreen interfaces for scientists producing antibodies.
UI/UX SPECIALIST
Harvard Medical School | Boston, MA
April 2008 – April 2018
Full-time position
As the sole UX/UI designer on a startup team of five, I designed user flows from different use cases from inception to completion for an open-source data mining tool for research collaboration. Fulfilling an NIH grant-funded initiative, we empowered medical professionals to find other researchers easily and quickly with specific areas of expertise while providing deep-faceted search and analysis and customizable relationship visualizations. UX wins include enticing cross-institutional participation by strategically employing social proofing and gamification elements. Profiles Catalyst web app was successfully adopted by thousands of researchers worldwide.
View Profiles Catalyst Interactive Radial Graph Interactive Cluster Graph
USABILITY SPECIALIST
Fidelity Investments | Boston, MA
March 2007 – February 2008
Contract position
Ensured product adherence to the corporate style guide and usability guidelines by monitoring every stage of the product's development—translated findings from moderated user tests, A/B testing, and eye-tracking software. Additionally, I designed user flows for investment and retirement products.
UI DESIGNER
Dell EMC | Franklin, MA
August 2006 – December 2006
Project-based contract position
To encourage cross-team participation for company-wide affairs, I was hired to design and create templates, design patterns, style guides, and graphics for an interactive and dynamic internal website. Features included: weekly newsletters from team leaders, an events planner, charity drive, and fun facts about employees. The resulting feedback included employee delight and improved morale boost from cross-departmental teams.
WEB DESIGNER
Fidelity Investments | Boston, MA
February 2006 – July 2006
Contract position (maternity leave)
While managing the intake and scheduling of design projects and providing management reporting as required, I maintained internal websites. Deliverables included logo creation, illustrations, graphics, and business collateral for both web and print.
Being an autonomous position, I worked with clients, analysts, and dev independently to gather design requirements, communicate expectations, and see the implementation to its completion.
SKILLS
User Research, Usability Testing, Heuristic Evaluation, Site Audit, Competitive Analysis, UX Strategy, Microcopy, User Persona, Wireframe, Prototype, UX/UI Design, Product Design, Responsive Design, Interaction Design, Mobile First, Design Systems, Style Guide, Branding, WCAG and ADA Compliance, Accessibility, Executive and Client Presentation
TOOLS
Figma, XD, Sketch, InVision, Axure, Adobe Creative Cloud, HTML, CSS, Affinity Diagrams, Design Systems, WordPress, Squarespace, Miro, Lucidspark, Lucid, Trello, Hotjar, Tableau, Google Analytics, Maze, Pendo, UserTesting.com, Grammarly, Hemingway Editor, Traditional Media
PRINCIPLES
Design Thinking, Double Diamond, Mobile First, Lean UX
UX Toolkit
EDUCATION
UX Certificates
Public Speaking Foundations, LinkedIn - 2020
Note-Taking for Business Professionals, LinkedIn - 2020
Customer Experience: Journey Mapping, LinkedIn - 2020
UX Research: Lean Experimentation, LinkedIn - 2020
Design Thinking: Implementing the Process, LinkedIn - 2020
Certificate in CSS - The Cambridge Center for Adult Education, Cambridge MA - 2006
UX Workshops Attended
Aligning with Stakeholders in UX with Jared Spool
Week-long Online Workshop - 2021
Improve Your Testing, UserTesting.com
Online Course Series - 2021
Reddit User Research Evolution with Dr. Kristen L. Guth Ph.D
3-hour Online Discussion - 2021
User Story Mapping with Jeff Patton
1.5-hour Online Discussion - 2020
Journey Mapping Workshop, General Assembly
3-hour Class, Boston, MA - 2020
Panera CX Seminar at Bentley University
3-hour Workshop, Waltham, MA - 2018
Dive Deeper into Web 2.0 with Barry Livert at Babson College
2.5-hour Discussion, Boston, MA - 2009
Usability Day Workshop at Bentley University
1 Day Workshop, Waltham, MA - 2007
ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration | 1992 – 1995
Pasadena, CA
VENTURA COLLEGE
Associate of Arts in Commercial Arts | 1989 – 1991
Ventura , CA
FRAMEWORKS
Material UI, Bootstrap
DELIVERY
Agile, Waterfall