James Tucker
Designer
Location
San Francisco, CA, United States
Toptal Member Since
May 31, 2018
James is an idea machine and master problem-solver when it comes to user interfaces. He is passionate about making users love the product because of the user's naturally intuitive adoption of the UI. James fuses cognitive science techniques with clever interaction design to create products people love.
James is available for hire
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Work Experience
2020 - PRESENT
Director of User Experience
AutoFi
- Created an entirely new "startup within the startup" by taking their online sales tool success and researching ways to use it for a sales transaction tool to replace others installed at dealerships.
- Developed new UI patterns and the style guide for products and the website to make them consistent with the SaaS product, consumer products, website, and all marketing and sales materials.
- Established the "voice of the customer" and "voice of dealership" by conducting a lot of research in order to write content and design UIs that require little training.
- Led a cross-functional team including founders, product managers, UX designers, and software engineers to deliver a large-scale auto financing platform for car dealerships in the US and Canada.
Technologies: Figma, Maze, UserZoom, Usertesting.com, Lookback, Sketch, InVision, Miro, Jira, Asana, Pivotal Tracker, FullStory, User Experience (UX), Slack, Remote User Testing, Responsive Design, User Testing, Test Planning, Product Design, UX Prototyping, UI Pattern Library, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, Service Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Mobile Design, UX Leadership, Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing, Remote Usability Testing, Usability Testing, Branding, UX Research, UI Design, Mobile App Design, Design Thinking, Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, eCommerce, Data Visualization, Web UX, Bootstrap UI, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, UI Branding, User Interface (UI), Dashboard Design, SaaS Design, Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Enterprise Design, Fintech, Digital Banking, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits, Brand Design, Responsive UI, eCommerce UX, eCommerce UI, System Design, Android, Apps, Android App Design, Design Research, iOS App Design, User Psychology, Material Design, Apple Human Interface, Amplitude, Writing & Editing, Content Strategy, Annotated Wireframes, User Journeys, UX Wireframes, UI Components, UX Design, Dashboards, Design, UI Prototyping, Component Libraries, Storybook, CSS, Web UI, Responsive Web Design (RWD), MVP Design, UX Strategy, User Interviews, Market Research & Analysis, Research, Competitive Analysis, Visual Concepts, Multimedia Design, Cross-platform, Interactive Prototypes, High-fidelity Mockups, High-fidelity Prototypes, Illustration, Creative Direction, Marketing Design, Websites, Website Redesign, Design Ops, Process Optimization, Team Leadership, Design Leadership, Market Research, Ideation, Ideation Workshops, Concept Testing, Concepting, Brand Guidelines, Corporate Branding, Mobile, Strategic Design, Customer Journeys, Product Strategy, Heuristics, User Personas, Discovery, DataViz, B2B, Design Workshops, Layout Design, Best Practices in Design, Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems, Journey Mapping, Discovery Workshops, Surveys, A/B Testing, Strategy, Responsive Web Apps, User-centered Design (UCD), Adobe Suite, Emerging Technologies, User Validation, Team Mentoring, Mentorship, Leadership, Interaction Design (IxD), Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, Collaboration, Web UX Design, User Stories, White Label Design, Web Applications, User Journey Maps, Feature Prioritization, Style Guides
2018 - PRESENT
UX Researcher and UI Designer
Toptal Projects
- Designed desktop, tablet, and mobile dashboards for large construction manufacturing companies.
- Validated product-market fit for new and existing products while gaining deep experience with IoT machinery.
- Solved how forepersons manage autonomous fleets as a core project.
- Researched on-site at quarries and construction job sites.
- Defined new processes and improved existing workflows.
Technologies: Design Systems, Enterprise SaaS, UX Design, Mobile App Design, User Flows, Information Architecture (IA), Web App UX, Prototyping, UX Research, Microsoft PowerPoint, Sketch, Marvel, Figma, User Research, UX Flows, Personas, Visualization Design, Analytics, Mobile Apps, Redesign, Consumer Applications, Startups, Content Creation, Usertesting.com, User Experience (UX), Slack, Remote User Testing, Responsive Design, User Testing, Test Planning, Product Design, UX Prototyping, UI Pattern Library, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, Service Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Mobile Design, Asana, UX Leadership, Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing, Remote Usability Testing, Usability Testing, Branding, iOS, UI Design, Design Thinking, Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, eCommerce, Data Visualization, Web UX, Bootstrap UI, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, UI Branding, User Interface (UI), Dashboard Design, SaaS Design, Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Enterprise Design, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits, Brand Design, Responsive UI, eCommerce UX, eCommerce UI, System Design, Android, Native Mobile Apps, Apps, Android App Design, Design Research, iOS App Design, User Psychology, Material Design, Apple Human Interface, Amplitude, Writing & Editing, Annotated Wireframes, User Journeys, UX Wireframes, UI Components, Dashboards, Tailwind CSS, Design, UI Prototyping, Component Libraries, Web UI, Responsive Web Design (RWD), MVP Design, UX Strategy, User Interviews, Market Research & Analysis, Research, Visual Concepts, Multimedia Design, Cross-platform, Interactive Prototypes, High-fidelity Mockups, High-fidelity Prototypes, Creative Direction, Marketing Design, Websites, Website Redesign, Design Consultation, Design Ops, Process Optimization, Team Leadership, Consulting, Design Leadership, Market Research, Ideation, Concept Testing, Concepting, Product Consultant, Brand Guidelines, Corporate Branding, Mobile, Strategic Design, Consumer Banking, Customer Journeys, Consumer Finance, Heuristics, User Personas, Discovery, DataViz, B2B, Design Workshops, Layout Design, Best Practices in Design, Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems, Journey Mapping, Discovery Workshops, Surveys, A/B Testing, Strategy, Responsive Web Apps, User-centered Design (UCD), Smart TV, Adobe Suite, Emerging Technologies, User Validation, Mentorship, Leadership, Interaction Design (IxD), Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, Collaboration, Web UX Design, User Stories, White Label Design, Web Applications, User Journey Maps, Feature Prioritization, Style Guides
2018 - 2019
UX/UI Designer
Caterpillar
- Took ideas from briefs to wireframes and clickable prototypes for field research.
- Led global daily meetings with attending leadership, business, product, and engineering teams.
- Created reports for my on-site, qualitative research to better show productivity and production insights.
Technologies: Sketch, Figma, InVision, Big Data, Software as a Service (SaaS), Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, Data Visualization, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, User Interface (UI), Dashboard Design, SaaS Design, Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits, Brand Design, Responsive UI, System Design, Android, Native Mobile Apps, Apps, Android App Design, Design Research, iOS App Design, User Psychology, Material Design, Apple Human Interface, InVision Studio, User Testing, Writing & Editing, Annotated Wireframes, User Journeys, UX Wireframes, UI Components, UX Design, Dashboards, Design, UI Prototyping, Component Libraries, Web UI, MVP Design, UX Strategy, User Interviews, Research, Visual Concepts, Multimedia Design, Cross-platform, Interactive Prototypes, High-fidelity Mockups, High-fidelity Prototypes, Illustration, Creative Direction, Websites, Design Consultation, Design Ops, Process Optimization, Team Leadership, Consulting, Design Leadership, Market Research, Ideation, Ideation Workshops, Concept Testing, Concepting, Product Consultant, Mobile, Strategic Design, Customer Journeys, Product Strategy, Heuristics, User Personas, Discovery, DataViz, B2B, Design Workshops, Layout Design, Best Practices in Design, Journey Mapping, Discovery Workshops, Surveys, A/B Testing, Strategy, User-centered Design (UCD), Adobe Suite, Emerging Technologies, User Validation, Leadership, Interaction Design (IxD), Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, Collaboration, User Stories, Web Applications, User Journey Maps, Feature Prioritization, Style Guides
2017 - 2018
VP of User Experience
Tenfold
- Collaborated with the CEO to define new products and processes.
- Redesigned core products and presented reports when piloting to customers.
- Communicated the value of the redesign through product marketing efforts.
- Defined detailed specification, design, and tests; built, shipped, and monitored the workflow.
- Improved the workflow and reduced 200-220 seconds and 5.5 clicks per call.
Technologies: Design Systems, Enterprise SaaS, Axure RP Pro, UX Design, User Flows, Information Architecture (IA), Web App UX, Prototyping, UX Research, Lucidchart, Jira, Confluence, Amplitude, Mixpanel, Axure, Lookback, Adobe Photoshop, Sketch, InVision, User Research, UX Flows, Personas, Visualization Design, Analytics, Mobile Apps, Redesign, Startups, Content Creation, Usertesting.com, Figma, User Experience (UX), Slack, Remote User Testing, Responsive Design, User Testing, Test Planning, Product Design, UX Prototyping, UI Pattern Library, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, Service Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Mobile Design, Asana, UX Leadership, Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing, Remote Usability Testing, Usability Testing, Branding, UI Design, Mobile App Design, Design Thinking, Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, Data Visualization, Web UX, Bootstrap UI, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, UI Branding, User Interface (UI), Dashboard Design, SaaS Design, Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Enterprise Design, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits, Brand Design, eCommerce UI, System Design, Android, Apps, Android App Design, Design Research, User Psychology, Apple Human Interface, InVision Studio, Principle, Tumult Hype, Writing & Editing, Content Strategy, Annotated Wireframes, User Journeys, UX Wireframes, UI Components, Dashboards, Design, UI Prototyping, Component Libraries, CSS, Web UI, Responsive Web Design (RWD), MVP Design, UX Strategy, User Interviews, Market Research & Analysis, Research, Competitive Analysis, Visual Concepts, Multimedia Design, Cross-platform, Interactive Prototypes, High-fidelity Mockups, High-fidelity Prototypes, Illustration, Creative Direction, Marketing Design, Websites, Website Redesign, Design Consultation, Design Ops, Process Optimization, Team Leadership, Consulting, Design Leadership, Market Research, Dovetail, Ideation, Ideation Workshops, Concept Testing, Concepting, Product Consultant, Brand Guidelines, Corporate Branding, Mobile, Strategic Design, Customer Journeys, Product Strategy, Heuristics, User Personas, Discovery, DataViz, B2B, Design Workshops, Layout Design, Best Practices in Design, Journey Mapping, Discovery Workshops, Surveys, A/B Testing, Strategy, Responsive Web Apps, User-centered Design (UCD), Adobe Suite, Emerging Technologies, User Validation, Team Mentoring, Mentorship, Leadership, Interaction Design (IxD), Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, Collaboration, Web UX Design, WordPress, User Stories, White Label Design, Web Applications, User Journey Maps, Feature Prioritization, Style Guides
2016 - 2017
Director of User Experience
Tubular Labs
- Defined the UX process and shaped the product feature requirements.
- Created flow charts, wireframes, prototypes, and visual design concepts.
- Gathered data from all departments to formally kick-off features.
- Discovered new business opportunities through UX research studies.
- Validated theories on how to build the next evolution of product.
Technologies: Design Systems, Axure RP Pro, UX Design, User Flows, Information Architecture (IA), Web App UX, Prototyping, UX Research, Hype, Jira, Confluence, Mixpanel, Lookback, Slack, InVision, User Research, UX Flows, Personas, Visualization Design, Analytics, Mobile Apps, Redesign, Startups, Content Creation, Usertesting.com, User Experience (UX), Remote User Testing, Responsive Design, User Testing, Test Planning, Product Design, UX Prototyping, UI Pattern Library, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, Service Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Mobile Design, UX Leadership, Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing, Remote Usability Testing, Usability Testing, UI Design, Design Thinking, Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, Data Visualization, Web UX, Bootstrap UI, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, UI Branding, User Interface (UI), Dashboard Design, SaaS Design, Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Enterprise Design, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits, Brand Design, Responsive UI, System Design, Android, Apps, Android App Design, Design Research, User Psychology, Framer Prototyping, Principle, Tumult Hype, Writing & Editing, Content Strategy, Annotated Wireframes, User Journeys, UX Wireframes, UI Components, Dashboards, Design, UI Prototyping, Component Libraries, CSS, Web UI, Responsive Web Design (RWD), MVP Design, UX Strategy, User Interviews, Market Research & Analysis, Research, Competitive Analysis, Sports, Visual Concepts, Multimedia Design, Cross-platform, Interactive Prototypes, High-fidelity Mockups, High-fidelity Prototypes, Social Media Design, Creative Direction, Marketing Design, Banner Design, Websites, Website Redesign, Design Consultation, Design Ops, Process Optimization, Team Leadership, Design Leadership, Market Research, Ideation, Ideation Workshops, Concept Testing, Concepting, Brand Guidelines, Social Media Marketing (SMM), Corporate Branding, Strategic Design, Customer Journeys, Product Strategy, Heuristics, User Personas, Discovery, DataViz, B2B, Design Workshops, Layout Design, Best Practices in Design, Journey Mapping, Discovery Workshops, Surveys, A/B Testing, Strategy, Responsive Web Apps, User-centered Design (UCD), Smart TV, Over-the-top Content (OTT), Adobe Suite, User Validation, Team Mentoring, Mentorship, Leadership, Interaction Design (IxD), Collaboration, Web UX Design, WordPress, User Stories, Web Applications, User Journey Maps, Feature Prioritization, Style Guides
2012 - 2015
Director of User Experience
Xtime
- Redesigned core product to make it more intuitive and add new features with improved workflow.
- Designed six new products for the automotive dealership including a check in, leaderboard, collaboration system, marketing tool, executive dashboard, and an inventory tool.
- Boosted efficiency, reduced book-time, and improved return on investment (ROI).
- Reduced the number of customer-created support tickets by more than 50%.
- Increased dealership pricing accuracy from 70% to 99%.
Technologies: Design Systems, Enterprise SaaS, Axure RP Pro, UX Design, User Flows, Information Architecture (IA), Web App UX, Prototyping, UX Research, Lucidchart, Jira, Confluence, Google Analytics, Axure, Adobe Photoshop, Sketch, Adobe Illustrator, InVision, User Research, UX Flows, Personas, Visualization Design, Analytics, Mobile Apps, Redesign, Consumer Applications, Startups, Content Creation, Usertesting.com, User Experience (UX), Remote User Testing, Responsive Design, User Testing, Test Planning, Product Design, UX Prototyping, UI Pattern Library, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, Service Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Mobile Design, UX Leadership, Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing, Remote Usability Testing, Usability Testing, iOS, UI Design, Mobile App Design, Design Thinking, Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, eCommerce, Data Visualization, Web UX, Bootstrap UI, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, UI Branding, User Interface (UI), Dashboard Design, SaaS Design, Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Enterprise Design, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits, Brand Design, Responsive UI, eCommerce UX, eCommerce UI, System Design, Android, Apps, Android App Design, Design Research, User Psychology, Tumult Hype, Content Strategy, Annotated Wireframes, User Journeys, UX Wireframes, UI Components, Dashboards, Design, UI Prototyping, Component Libraries, Storybook, CSS, Web UI, Responsive Web Design (RWD), MVP Design, UX Strategy, User Interviews, Market Research & Analysis, Research, Competitive Analysis, Branding, Visual Concepts, Multimedia Design, Cross-platform, Interactive Prototypes, High-fidelity Mockups, High-fidelity Prototypes, Creative Direction, Marketing Design, Banner Design, Websites, Website Redesign, Design Ops, Process Optimization, Team Leadership, Consulting, Design Leadership, Market Research, Ideation, Ideation Workshops, Concept Testing, Concepting, Brand Guidelines, Corporate Branding, Mobile, Strategic Design, Customer Journeys, Product Strategy, Heuristics, User Personas, Discovery, DataViz, B2B, Design Workshops, Layout Design, Best Practices in Design, Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems, Journey Mapping, Discovery Workshops, Surveys, A/B Testing, Strategy, Responsive Web Apps, User-centered Design (UCD), Smart TV, Adobe Suite, Emerging Technologies, User Validation, Team Mentoring, Mentorship, Leadership, Interaction Design (IxD), Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, Collaboration, Web UX Design, User Stories, White Label Design, Web Applications, User Journey Maps, Feature Prioritization, Style Guides
2011 - 2012
Director of User Experience
Analyte Health
- Redesigned the entire platform and patient onboarding.
- Built and managed a team of five UX professionals to evolve the product.
- Presented how distraught patients seek and choose medical services.
- Demonstrated body language reading expertise during user-testing sessions.
- Reduced anxiety levels of patients before, during, and after medical lab results.
Technologies: Design Systems, Axure RP Pro, UX Design, User Flows, Information Architecture (IA), Web App UX, Prototyping, UX Research, Lucidchart, Jira, Confluence, Google Analytics, Axure, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, InVision, User Research, UX Flows, Personas, Visualization Design, Analytics, Mobile Apps, Redesign, Consumer Applications, Startups, Content Creation, Usertesting.com, User Experience (UX), Remote User Testing, Responsive Design, User Testing, Test Planning, Product Design, UX Prototyping, Rapid Prototyping, Wireframing, Service Design, Mobile UX, Mobile UI, Mobile Design, UX Leadership, Unmoderated Remote Usability Testing, Remote Usability Testing, Branding, iOS, UI Design, Mobile App Design, Design Thinking, Mockups, Web App UI, Web App Design, Visual Design, eCommerce, Web UX, Icon Design, Iconography, Desktop App Design, UI Branding, User Interface (UI), Early-stage Startups, Workflow, Web Design, UX Audits, UI Audits, Brand Design, Responsive UI, eCommerce UX, eCommerce UI, System Design, Android, Apps, Android App Design, Design Research, User Psychology, Psychology & Mental Health, Framer Prototyping, Tumult Hype, Writing & Editing, Annotated Wireframes, User Journeys, UX Wireframes, UI Components, Dashboards, Design, UI Prototyping, Component Libraries, CSS, Web UI, Responsive Web Design (RWD), MVP Design, UX Strategy, User Interviews, Market Research & Analysis, Research, Competitive Analysis, Visual Concepts, Multimedia Design, Cross-platform, Interactive Prototypes, High-fidelity Mockups, High-fidelity Prototypes, Creative Direction, Marketing Design, Banner Design, Websites, Website Redesign, Design Consultation, Design Ops, Process Optimization, Team Leadership, Design Leadership, Market Research, Ideation, Ideation Workshops, Concept Testing, Concepting, Brand Guidelines, Mobile, Strategic Design, Customer Journeys, Heuristics, User Personas, Discovery, DataViz, Design Workshops, Layout Design, Best Practices in Design, Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems, Journey Mapping, Discovery Workshops, Surveys, A/B Testing, Strategy, Responsive Web Apps, User-centered Design (UCD), Over-the-top Content (OTT), Adobe Suite, User Validation, Team Mentoring, Leadership, Interaction Design (IxD), Mobile UX Design, Mobile UI Design, Collaboration, Web UX Design, WordPress, User Stories, Healthcare, Web Applications, User Journey Maps, Feature Prioritization, Style Guides
Education
1987 - 1999
Associate of Arts Degree in Architecture
Mesa College - San Diego, CA
1990 - 1992
Fundamentals in Cognitive Science, Visual Arts
University of California San Diego - La Jolla, CA
1991 - 1991
Fundamentals in Sales
Dale Carnegie Training - San Diego, CA
1989 - 1991
Fundamentals in Filmmaking, Marketing
San Diego State University - San Diego, CA
Experience
Web App UX - 20 yearsWireframing - 20 yearsPrototyping - 20 yearsUX Design - 20 yearsUX Research - 20 yearsEnterprise SaaS - 15 yearsTest Planning - 15 yearsDesign Systems - 15 yearsLocation
