About Me
My primary strength lies in the ability to see and close the gaps between web presences and business goals.
I’m seeking an opportunity to join and strengthen an open, collaborative, and mission-focused design culture.
Dennis Lees
Designer, Optimizer, User Advocate
I thrive making order from chaos. I like to straighten lines. I have an eye for pattern, a head for numbers, and an ear for a good turn of phrase. Clean process and smooth workflow are the only ways I know.
I’m a husband, father, and a dual-citizen of Ireland and the USA. I have lived and worked in Europe and Asia, and I have travelled the world.
SEE WHAT I CAN DO
What I Can Provide
My strong experience design skills are built on a foundation of web developement and conversion optimization.
The services I've provided for employers and clients over the past decade have included the following.
Website Analysis
I can ask and answer the questions that identify strengths and weak-nesses and maximize the ROI of your website outlay.
Conversion Rate Optimization
I can define your primary goal funnels and create the hypotheses that drive the tests that lead to more leads and more sales.
Content Strategy
I can help you define and execute the most effective ways to plan, design, develop, deploy, and promote your content.
Search Engine Optimization
I can increase organic traffic by improving site health, defining and implementing a keyword strategy, and building inbound links.
User Experience Design
I can research your users and make sure their voices and pain points are represented in your decision-making processes.
Information Architecture
I can organize your content and design navigation that maximizes usability and facilitates indexing by search engines.
Copy Writing
I can analyze your copy for form and tone, ensuring it complem-ents your brand and maximizes conversion rates.
Web Project Management
I can drive and steer in-house or outsourced teams on projects from design and development to SEO and copy writing.
SKILLS & TOOLS
DOING
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Interaction Design
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Wireframing
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Lean UX
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User Research
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CRO
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Screen Design
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Prototyping
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User Research
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Content Strategy
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Copy Writing
USING
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Adobe CC
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Invision
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Optimal Workshop
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Optimizely
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Scaled Agile
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Google Analytics/GTM
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Adobe XD
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UserLeap
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Morae
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After Effects
Resume
My first career was in the field of outdoor instruction and youth development. While waiting for my greencard after I moved to the United States in 2007, I taught myself to develop websites and the rest is history.
Work History
UX Manager @ GMO GlobalSign, Inc.
from 2012 to present day
Lean UX, Design Planning, Process
Applying Lean UX methodologies in collaboration with business owners and product managers to understand end users, identify problems, seize opportunities, and chart solutions. Leading a team of in-house and outsourced designers in best-practice approaches to ideating, validating, testing, and documenting delightful screens and interactions
Principle @ Dennis Lees Consulting
from 2012 to present day
Web Analysis, Optimization
Consulting with business owners to close gaps between web presences and business goals. Providing user and competitive research, content strategy, heuristic evaluation, analytics tuning, funnel definition, and conversion optimization.
Web Team Lead @ GMO GlobalSign, Inc.
from 2010 to 2012
Web Tech Leadership, Project Management
Hired and led a diverse team in the migration of fourteen international websites to one content-managed, regionalized, optimized, performant mega-site. Managed a broad range of projects, from technical CDN integrations to motion graphics content creation.
Webmaster @ LOCO Sports, Inc.
from 2009 - 2010
Web Design & Development, Content Strategy, Social Media Marketing
Laid the foundation for the company’s main web portal. Cut my teeth on projects involving front end development and server-side administration. Developed domain authority and established the site in a competitive local organic search market.
Afilliation, Qualifiations & Education
Affiliations
Interaction Design Foundation Member
User Experience Stack Exchange Contributor
Qualifications
Google Analytics Independent Qualification Holder
Education
2010 - Social Media Marketing - Peter T. Paul College of Business & Economics
1999 - BSc(Hons) Exercise Physiology - London South Bank University
DESIGN METHODS
Less a showcase of the work than of the methods used to produce it, recognizing not just the products of design, but the process itself.
Personas
Using Photoshop, Adobe XD
Even minimally viable personas such as those shown below create a lot of value, often most crucially in the form of shared language and understanding among owners and stakeholders.
Journey Maps
Using Miro, Illustrator
Journey maps are the classic example of where the journey is more important than the destination. The finished asset and resulting actions are valuable, but the real value is in the colloborative process required to generate them.
Wireflows
Using Interactive Sketching Notation in Adobe Illustrator
For communicating large amounts of interaction design quickly and economically.
Interactive Prototypes
Using Adobe XD, Photoshop, Sketch, Invision
For design review, stakeholder signoff, user testing, or developer handoff.
System Maps
Using XMind, Miro
It's amazing how often stakeholders have never taken an holistic view of their applications or data. Mindmap-style digrams are a valuable part of the auditing process and can highlight imbalance and complexity.
Process Communication, General Ideation
Using Whiteboards, Invision Freehand
My whiteboarding skills, both offline and on, are legendary.
Interactive Wireframes
In UXPin and Photoshop
Cloud-based design tools like UXPin enable the creation of wireframes that are clickable. These can be shared with stakeholders and commented on in collaborative environment.
Screen & Layout Design
Adobe XD | Sketch
Polished design spec delivered via XD or Sketch and Invision.
Contact Me
If you're interested in collaborating on a project, use the contact information below to get in touch with me.
MY CONTACT DETAILS
+1 (603) 502-6862
Ashland, VA