Hi! I’m Ellen, a product designer from San Francisco.
I’ve spent the past decade designing and building digital products that help people get things done while generating both delight and profit.
I believe that good technology is indistinguishable from magic, and that only design thinking can make this possible.
Finding signal in noise: how I helped Quantcast launch an insights-rich ad platform that keeps things simple
With the help of machine learning and AI, Quantcast had been at the forefront of audience analytics for over a decade, providing the world’s biggest publishers with deep, rich data. When it was time to build something for marketers, we had a much larger challenge.
Challenge:
Build a next-generation digital ad platform and insights engine from 0, disrupting a landscape dominated by Facebook and Google.
My role:
As Principal Product Designer, I led product design, user research and strategy for the teams that built the foundation of the project.
Outcome:
Launched in 2021, the Quantcast Platform has received positive reviews from users, with many praising its ease of use.
Privacy as a user problem: how I used lean processes to design one of the world’s top CMPs
I made something that interrupted over a billion user journeys and counting. Potential karma and UX principles aside, here’s why I’m proud of it.
Challenge:
Build a consent management platform from the ground up to help Quantcast’s customers comply with GDPR in less than 6 months.
My role:
As the sole designer on a small tiger team, I designed and iterated this product up to and beyond launch, working closely with users and developers.
Outcome:
After launch, Quantcast Choice quickly became one of the top-used CMPs on the market, generating profit and great reviews for Quantcast before being sold to inMobi in 2023.
Roadmapping the user journey: how I helped Amplitude get hyperfocused on the customer
Sometimes even the best backlogs can become so bloated that it’s hard to discern what will move the needle the most…but getting clarity about customer’s most pressing problems can be an energizing team sport.
Challenge:
Help a small full-stack product team get a full picture of their customer’s journeys…and teach them how to use these insights to plan real product roadmaps.
My role:
To help Amplitude’s experiment team prepare for a new designer, I planned and ran a series of workshops to map and synthesize everything we knew about our customer’s workflows.
Outcome:
Amplitude’s Experiment team gained new clarity on some of the product’s biggest friction points, opportunity gaps and places to focus. This directly informed yearly and quarterly planning.
Building the world map of human experiences: explorations in founding an empathy engine
Can a bootstrapped startup growing slowly become a force for good? With minimal spare time, money or coding skills, I decided to find out.
Challenge:
Create a way for people to share and read stories about their lives, through the lens of physical space.
My role:
I built, launched and developed this product as a solo founder.
Outcome:
Since soft-launching cornerstory.com at SXSW, I’ve been slowly building and developing this site in preperation for a larger launch in SF.
Transformation on a timeline: how I helped Prosper redesign their funnel, brand and process
As an early designer in an inflection moment of big change, I had to dive deep into my skillsket to make a fintech company’s big dreams come true…and the clock was ticking.
Challenge:
Optimize a sales funnel, fix a payment system, and redesign the entire product with a new brand.
My role:
As one of the first design hires, I spearheaded the redesign, funnel optimization and payment system projects.
Outcome:
Launched succesfully and on deadline, the redesigned site and product increased conversion and repayment metrics by large orders of magnitude.