Hi. I'm John

an economist turned designer. I'm passionate about using technology to enable better customer experiences that build brands. 

 
 

About

Currently, I’m a sr. venture design lead guiding cross-functional teams to build tools and businesses to power the future of decentralized finance. My work relies on close collaboration with diverse groups of stakeholders and subject matter experts. I have over 7 years of experience advocating for end-users and creating solutions that drive business results with a focus on user research, design strategy, feature validation, and design system development. While working with Global Business Services for the Coca-Cola Company I led the design of software for clients all over the world including finance, IT security, procurement, and global marketing.

I received a BBA as well as a BA from Mercer University (Macon, GA) with an emphasis on business finance and economics.  After graduation, I worked abroad in the Republic of Korea where I became intrigued with how different cultures approach the design of products and services. After returning to the U.S. and working in business consulting, I realized that design is where my true passion lies and enrolled in Georgia Tech's prestigious Master of Industrial Design program.

At Georgia Tech, I broadened my skill set and developed a strong understanding of human-centered design process. Grounding these skills with my knowledge of business organization and strategy has given me a unique ability to identify design opportunities around stakeholder needs. Now as I continue to develop my skills, I am eager to take on new challenges and create designs that benefit all stakeholders. Design research, service innovation, futures, and UX are areas in which I have particular interest.

Beyond design, I am an avid traveler and lover of cultures.  I have been fortunate to visit 29 countries across 4 continents and value the experience and insight these travels have given me more than anything.  When I am not working, I am active: exercising, snowboarding, hiking, woodworking, or exploring the city of Denver.  I am always seeking out new experiences and trying to learn as much as I can from them.

 

KIA shares the same drivEtrain and warranty as Hyundai and the 2013 Optima was awarded "international car of the year" so... 

WHY IS HYUNDAI, WHICH IS NEARLY IDENTICAL UNDER THE HOOD, RANKED SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN CONSUMER BRAND PERCEPTION?

Node

Node is a service system which connects in-town neighborhoods with KIA dealerships. The Node kiosk provides a tangible touchpoint to draw attention to the brand within vibrant urban neighborhoods. Users can enjoy the neighborhood or shopping center amenities while using the Node system to access automotive services including vehicle maintenance, test drives, and product information. Node provides convenience for users who are servicing their vehicles and exposes consumers to the brand in a low stakes shopping environment.  

 

Features

  • realtime tracking via mobile app
  • Skype calls with dealership staff
  • basic vehicle maintenance
  • fleet information/marketing 
  • complimentary test drives

Understanding the Brand

To better understand the perception of the KIA motors brand, extensive research was conducted into the history of the company, the evolution of brand image, and the design language of KIA's products. 

50 Years of Distruption

KIA_Timeline
 

Brand Identity Crisis

Disruption in the early years of the company is reflected in the company's vast array of products, bland design language, and inconsistent brand mark. 

Bankruptcy

 

For 50 years, KIA motors struggled to maintain a brand identity as it produced a disparate assortment of bicycles, trucks, motorcycles, and cars. In 1997, three years after entering the U.S. market, KIA Motors declares bankruptcy galvanizing the company as being known for cheap, low-quality vehicles.

After being acquired by Hyundai that same year, the companies began sharing power trains with an industry best 10-year warranty. While this made the two companies' vehicles virtually identical under the hood, KIA's still lacked a distinctive design language. Under the direction of Peter Schreyer, KIA invested heavily in design and transformed the company. 

Kia_Bankruptcy
KIA_Awards

Awards

Since 2012, KIA has won more prestigious, Reddot Design Awards than some of the largest and most well respected brands in the world including BMW, Volkswagen, and Mercedes. The 2013 Optima was voted "international car of the year," but consumer perception of the brand greatly lags even it's twin, Hyundai, which was ranked 17th on top 50 consumer automotive brands. 

Brand Misperception

Ethnographic research including consumer interviews confirmed  that many consumers view KIAs as low quality and cheap. This perception often prevents these consumers from considering KIA in their purchase decision.

“I JUST FIGURED THEY WEREN’T WORTH BUYING”
— Luke J.
 
“KIAS ARE SHIT.”
— Sarah M.

Persona Development

Shifting Demographics

A new generation is beginning to shape the automotive industry with its unique attitude towards car ownership and desire for product features and value. Millennials are a growing segment with $200 million in spending power.

 

Millennials, Urbanization, & Multimodal Living

In a 2013 report, the U.S. Department of Transportation described millennial consumers as preferring a "multimodal lifestyle" that includes walking, cycling, public transit, and driving. As a result millennials tend to prefer urban areas that enable multimodal transportation. These consumers desire products and services that offer immense value through feature and ease-of-use.

 

56% LIVE IN URBAN AREAS

42% WOULD RAISE THEIR FAMILY IN THE CITY

The peer-to-peer economy is expected to grow by 25% in 2015. Airbnb generates $632 million of economic activity each year in new york city alone.

HOW MIGHT WE USE TECHNOLOGY TO CREATE NEW CHANNELS FOR RETAILERS TO REACH CUSTOMERS WITHIN THE GROWING PEER-TO-PEER ECONOMY?

Introducing Markit

Markit_Overview.png

A New Way to Shop

Markit Touchpoints

Research

The inquiry phase of this project was spent understanding the motivations of users within peer-2-peer services such a AirBnB to determine opportunities for service innovation. The needs of users were visualized using stakeholder maps and research was conducted to determine the feasibility of the service.

Stakeholder Mapping

A stakeholder map was created to better understand the context of the service and the needs of the primary stakeholders. The motivations and challenges of each stakeholder group was considered to identify opportunities for the new service. Specifically, the motivations and challenges facing homeowner/proprietors and renter/buyers were essential for constructing service journey maps.

 
ServiceJourney.png

Customer Journey Mapping

To better understand what touch points would be needed to support a peer-to-peer retail service, journey maps were constructed for both homeowners and renters. Maps for both user types were essential in identifying essential touchpoints for the service.

Touchpoint Design Criteria

Prototyping the service and the buyer/seller journeys helped identify the need for specific touchpoints within the service. These touchpoints would be developed for two different user groups:

 

Homeowner/proprietor  needs

  • support materials: quick-start guide, account management tips
  • easy account management: showroom room set-up, product library
  • flexible/easy credit redemption process

Renter/Buyer needs

  • awareness/marketing materials: advertising, brand touchpoints
  • intuitive/engaging product discovery
  • convenient/enjoyable ordering & delivery process

Branding Across Touchpoints

In order to create a cohesive brand experience, a brand mark was designed to be scalable across various touchpoints both digital and physical. A blueprint of the service was created to help further identify design criteria for each touchpoint. 

Prototyping

The service was rapidly prototyped using modified journey maps, sticky notes, and persona journeys. Low fidelity modeling and body storming helped identify important touchpoints and features within the service.

StickyNotes.JPG
 

Wireframing

Because the primary functions of the service require user interaction with a mobile application, the information hierarchy was crafted to fit the specific needs of each user group. To ensure the success of the service, key processes with each of the user journeys were designed to be as simple, engaging, and enjoyable.

 

Homeowner/seller needs

  • quick/easy account setup
  • simple management of "showroom" inventory
  • convenient credit redemption

Renter/buyer needs

  • quick/easy account setup
  • intuitive product discovery process
  • flexible purchase process


CVS Minute Clinic is well positioned amidst the rapid growth of the retail healthcare sector, but long wait times and overworked nurse practitioners undermine the brand image.

HOW CAN WE STREAMLINE THE RETAIL HEALTHCARE EXPERIENCE BY EMPOWERING PATIENTS AND EASING THE WORKLOAD OF NURSES?

My Care

Is a web application that allows users to store their medical records, prescriptions, and insurance information as well as locate nearby CVS Pharmacies and Minute Clinics with the shortest expected wait times. Once at the clinic, users check-in and exchange medical records with nurse practitioners via iBeacon technology. 

 

Features:

  • Store medical records and insurance information

  • Locate nearby clinics & check wait times

  • Mobile check-in

  • Share records & insurance with healthcare providers

Empathize_Icon.png

Research

The inquiry phase of this project included contextual research, competitive analysis, nurse interviews, and a consumer survey to better understand the needs of stakeholders. Service design tools including service blueprints, customer experience journeys, and stakeholder maps were created to distill field research. 

Mapping the Minute Clinic Experience

 

Minute Clinic Stakeholder Map

Contextual research and nurse interviews informed a stakeholder analysis to understand the dynamics between front-line workers and customers at CVS Pharmacy and Minute Clinic. Recognizing the motivations and challenges faced by each stakeholder, helped build empathy and identify opportunities for design intervention.

The Problem & The Opportunity

Health care reform, a shortage of doctors, and an aging population have driven innovation in the retail healthcare market. As a result, Minute Clinic's convenient, low-cost services are in high demand. The clinic business model reduces operating costs by allowing 1-2 nurse practitioners to manage the operations of the clinic in addition to primary responsibilities of consulting patients, diagnosing illnesses, and writing prescriptions.   

waitroom

Long & Unpredictable Wait Times

Minute Clinic's  services are often in heavy demand leading to longer wait times for customers. By keeping, the service as a walk-in "first-come, first-serve" model, Minute Clinic is able to offer lower costs than competitors such as Walgreens which provide online reservations and appointments. However, patients are unaware of how busy a clinic is until arriving at the retail outlet. As seen in twitter activity, this negatively impacts customer perception of the service and undermines the brand image. 

 

Service Blueprinting

A closer analysis of the Minute Clinic service was conducted to better understand the role and tasks of the nurse practitioner within the service. Nurses play a key role not only consulting patients, providing diagnoses and prescriptions, but also in managing the clinic.

Nurse Practitioner Tasks

Contextual research and interviews with nurse practitioners revealed a large and diverse task load including many routine activities. Over 3 clinic visits, insurance processing and medical history were seen to take up to 15% of time spent with the nurse. Tasks noted during contextual research included:

  • storing/securing lab samples

  • consulting patients

  • updating patients on the expected wait
  • checking wait times at other clinics for patients
  • writing prescriptions
  • processing insurance
  • running tests
  • administering vaccines
  • overseeing NP training
  • printing bills/documentation
  • processing payments
 

Solving the Problem

Consumer and nurse pain points uncovered in field research were used to define design criteria:

  • Inform patient of clinic wait times 
  • Reduce task load for nurse practitioners & minimize time spent processing patients
  • Create opportunity for customer engagement outside the service period
 

Competitive Analysis

Ideation was conducted in conjunction with a SWOT analysis of the Minute Clinic brand to determine opportunities based on the brand's strategic positioning. A large network of outlets and a strong health-oriented brand image, were identified as key assets in the retail healthcare sector. Additionally, a new partnership with a major health records provider Epic Systems provided an opportunity for Caremark to provide a new level of healthcare convenience to it's customers and patients.

Finding a Solution

A consumer survey of 40 healthcare customers was conducted to determine what consumers would like in their retail healthcare experience. Over half of consumers polled, expressed a strong interest in:

 

Screen Shot 2014-04-22 at 8.25.56 AM.png
  • More information about clinic wait times
  • Easier access to healthcare records and accepted insurance providers 
  • Mobile Sign-in Option

The Design

The information heirarchy of the MyCare application was designed to allow users to quickly and easily navigate through their health data. Primary menu items including health records, insurance, prescriptions  can be swiped through quickly. Sharing insurance and records with healthcare providers, finding clinics with the shortest wait times, and adding new Rx can all be accomplished conveniently through secondary menus.