Hi, I’m Drew, a Product Design Lead and Art Director who brings strategic vision to design systems, user experience, and brand storytelling.
I build systems and stories through
Design Leadership.
Art Direction.
UX / UI Strategy.
Design Systems.
Brand Identity.
Visual Storytelling.
Accessibility.
Inclusive Design.
Collaboration.
Mentorship.
Over 15 years of experience leading design across fintech, technology, and creative industries—bridging systems thinking, storytelling, and strategic UX leadership.
Professional Experience
2020 - Present | First Trust Portfolios
Product Design Lead
Lead UI/UX strategy for enterprise applications that power sales automation and advisor workflows. Guide visual systems, mentor cross-functional teammates, and deliver cohesive experiences adopted by hundreds of internal users.
Spearheaded the redesign of Sales Overview, simplifying navigation and improving efficiency for 1,000+ internal users.
Built a Tailwind CSS–driven design system adopted across 15+ internal tools, reducing UI development time by 30%.
Partnered with engineering and leadership to align creative direction with product strategy and measurable business outcomes.
Led weekly design strategy sessions and mentoring, embedding accessibility and UX standards across product teams.
Elevated marketing communication through standardized templates, improving engagement and reducing production time.
2017 - 2020 | First Trust Portfolios
Senior Visual Designer
Led brand and visual design initiatives across marketing, product, and internal communication teams, bridging creative and product design disciplines.
Designed and implemented 500+ HTML/CSS email campaigns, standardizing templates and improving deliverability across multiple product lines.
Created a cohesive visual identity system for marketing collateral, reducing design turnaround by 25%.
Partnered with compliance, marketing, and product teams to unify visual consistency in investor materials and advisor communications.
Served as informal mentor to junior designers, establishing visual guidelines and workflow best practices.
2016 - 2017 | Ozinga
Art Director
Served as sole in-house designer and creative strategist, leading a full rebrand and crafting the firm’s visual foundation.
Directed identity modernization across investor reports, presentations, and fund collateral.
Developed scalable template systems for regular performance updates and marketing literature.
Partnered with executive leadership to align brand vision with investor relations and marketing goals.
2016 | Verb
Freelance Senior Designer
Executed digital and print campaigns for clients including BP Amoco.
Designed responsive HTML email templates, social assets, and internal communications.
Strengthened small-agency operations by standardizing deliverable templates and QA processes.
2016 | Envisionit
Interaction Designer (UX/UI)
Collaborated on UX and interface design for digital campaigns and public-facing web projects, integrating usability principles within agency creative workflows.
Supported design for Notion (user journey mapping) and Skylanding (public installation by Yoko Ono).
Applied MFA research into UX communication design to refine digital experiences.
2012 - 2016 | PT Asset Management
Art Director
Acted as sole in-house creative, leading a complete rebrand and establishing the firm’s visual foundation.
Directed a full rebrand of the firm, modernizing its identity across all investor communications.
Created scalable design templates for recurring reports and presentations, improving production efficiency.
Partnered with executives to align visual language with investor and marketing strategy.
Served as sole creative lead, setting brand standards still in use across the firm.
Affiliated with Performance Trust Capital Partners
Early Career
2010 - 2012 | Performance Trust Capital Partners | Efficient Capital Management | Taylor University
Various Graphic Design Roles
Executed design deliverables for investment firms, supporting branding transitions and collateral updates.
Designed investor presentation decks and conference materials for both domestic and international audiences.
Art Director, Senior Thesis Exhibition (Taylor University) — led event branding, coordinated team roles, and oversaw promotional design.
Education
2012 - 2015 | Harrington College of Design
MFA, Communication Design
2006 - 2010 | Taylor University
BA, Visual Arts / Graphic Design
Media
2015 | Medium / InVision Blog
Building an App for People Living with Epilepsy
Featured on InVision’s Inside Design blog exploring accessibility and empathy in UX design. Continue Reading
Originally published on October 21, 2015.