About Kevin
Is the juice worth the squeeze?
Some personal,
some professional.
With over 20 years in the digital advertising industry, working with both large holding companies and specialized boutiques, I have honed my skills blending the lines between development, design and digital marketing. I constantly evaluate efforts by asking, 'Is the juice worth the squeeze?'—determining if what’s being done is beneficial, enhances the experience, and adds true value, or if it’s simply a wasted effort. I wholeheartedly embrace culture and brand identity and am an avid supporter of celebrating both small and large victories daily. I believe in crafting compelling stories that provoke emotions and engage users, fostering deeper connections with brands, which truly make the squeeze worth it.
Outside the office floor, you can typically find me tinkering with “nerdy” tech like Arduino and Raspberry Pi, and I have a particular passion for mid-sixties Buicks. I’ve found success both professionally and personally and am always open to guiding others in their digital pursuits. If you’re looking for a hand in your digital efforts feel free to drop me a line.
SANDBOXES I PLAY IN
When leading teams or managing product execution, I emphasize the importance of open and clear communication to ensure all team members are fully aligned with our project’s vision and objectives. This involves proactive discussions from the very beginning and throughout each phase of the project, especially in addressing and navigating any technical challenges that emerge. Such transparency is crucial not only for maintaining the project’s momentum but also for achieving our collective goals.
My leadership approach is deeply rooted in empathy and inclusivity, allowing every team member a voice in the process. This democratic style supports a dynamic and flexible team environment, adapting effectively as projects evolve. I actively encourage engagement and feedback, which facilitates immediate problem-solving and fosters an atmosphere of continuous improvement and innovation. This strategy not only enhances our workflow but also drives the team towards excellence, ensuring that we meet our deliverables with creativity and precision.
My approach to UX, UI, CX, and branding is deeply rooted in a strategic understanding of user needs and business goals, beginning with engaging stakeholders to explore mission and ‘why’ statements. This sets the foundation for comprehensive persona development and precise definition of user expectations, using techniques like interviews and surveys. My adeptness with various design tools allows me to select the most appropriate software for each project phase. For example, Adobe Photoshop is my go-to for detailed image editing, while Illustrator is perfect for vector-based graphical elements. For layout-intensive projects, I utilize Adobe InDesign, which excels in handling complex text and image arrangements.
When it comes to prototyping and UI design, I select between Sketch and Figma based on team needs and project specifics—Sketch is often favored for its robust vector editing tools and extensive plugin ecosystem, while Figma excels in facilitating collaborative, real-time design environments. This comprehensive familiarity with multiple tools ensures that I deliver precisely tuned UX solutions. Additionally, I occasionally flex my animation skills using Adobe Animate and After Effects, and I enjoy exploring three.js and WebGL to enhance UX with interactive 3D elements.
As the project moves into development phases, I conduct rigorous user testing and A/B testing, which are crucial for refining the user journey from first interaction to loyal brand advocacy. By continuously tracking data and user feedback, I develop lifecycle strategies that significantly enhance the user experience at every touchpoint. This meticulous process guarantees that the final product not only meets but surpasses user expectations, helping transform customers into brand advocates. My comprehensive tool mastery and methodical approach ensure that every design element is optimally executed for maximum impact.
Navigating the intricacies of technology solutions for projects requires a deep understanding of various technologies and how they align with specific business needs. Whether you’re deciding on the right CMS or CRM, considering hosting options like Netlify, or selecting the appropriate front-end stack such as JAM, MERN, MEAN, or LAMP, it’s crucial to consider several factors. These include the need for rapid market entry, scalability, and the specific features that benefit your business from a CRM standpoint. Each technology choice hinges on these project needs and goals.
Through my extensive experience working with a broad range of technologies, I have developed a good ability to assess client requirements and suggest the most suitable solutions based on their specific circumstances. My approach involves a careful evaluation of the project’s scope, the potential for scalability, and investment considerations to ensure the technology stack not only meets but enhances the business’s digital strategy. This experience allows me to pose the right questions and provide expert recommendations, ensuring that before any code is written, the chosen solutions are primed for success and aligned closely with the project’s long-term objectives.
Crafting an effective digital strategy involves a thoughtful blend of setting clear goals, choosing the right channels, and creating compelling content. Here’s how to approach each component to maximize impact and drive conversion:
Setting Goals: The first step in defining a digital strategy is to set clear, measurable goals. These should align with broader business objectives and can range from increasing brand awareness and engagement to boosting sales or generating leads. Goals must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), which provides a clear roadmap for the initiatives to be undertaken.
Selecting Channels: Choosing the right digital channels is crucial. This decision should be based on where your target audience spends their time and the nature of your content. Common channels include:
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Optimizes your content to rank higher in search engine results, making it easier for potential customers to find you.
- Social Media: Allows for both broad and targeted engagements through organic interactions and paid advertisements. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn cater to different demographics and offer varied tools for engaging with content.
- Content Marketing: Involves creating valuable content that attracts and retains audience attention. This can include blogs, white papers, ebooks, and more, which help establish authority and drive engagement.
Creating Content: Content creation should focus on delivering value to your audience, answering their questions, and solving their problems. The content should be optimized for each channel to ensure it performs well, whether it’s formatted for easy reading on a blog, engaging visuals for social media, or detailed articles for LinkedIn.
Ads and Targeting: Building and targeting ads involves more than just creating compelling visuals and copy. You need to segment your audience and tailor your messages accordingly. Platforms like Google Ads and Facebook provide robust tools for targeting specific demographics, behaviors, and even locations. The key is to constantly test and refine your ads based on performance data to ensure the highest return on investment.
Optimizing for Conversion: Finally, driving potential customers to conversion requires a seamless user experience from the first touchpoint to the final action. This involves optimizing website speed, ensuring mobile-friendliness, and crafting clear calls-to-action. Conversion rate optimization (CRO) techniques, such as A/B testing landing pages or tweaking email campaign messages, are vital in turning visitors into customers.
A holistic digital strategy that integrates SEO, social media marketing, and targeted content creation, aligned with well-defined goals and continuous optimization, is essential in today’s competitive landscape. Each element should not only coexist but also complement one another to drive meaningful engagement and successful conversions.
A streamlined and effective analytics strategy is crucial for understanding user behaviors and optimizing digital platforms. Tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Tag Manager (GTM) play a fundamental role in this process. GA4 allows for a user-centric approach, capturing interactions across websites and apps to measure both engagements and conversions. GTM facilitates the deployment of marketing tags without altering website code, crucial for managing complex tracking setups efficiently.
Incorporating advanced tools like Adobe Analytics, Hotjar, and Crazy Egg enhances this analytics suite by providing deeper insights into user interactions and website usability. Adobe Analytics offers robust data processing capabilities for large-scale enterprises, while Hotjar and Crazy Egg specialize in heatmaps and user behavior tracking, which are invaluable for visualizing user engagement hotspots on your site. These tools together create a holistic view of how users interact with your content, enabling you to make data-driven decisions to refine user experiences and improve conversion rates.
Utilizing a combination of these tools allows for comprehensive monitoring and testing of digital interactions, ensuring that every element of the user journey is optimized for maximum engagement and effectiveness. This approach not only helps in identifying what attracts users but also highlights what converts them into loyal customers, providing a solid foundation for ongoing strategy refinement.
Vision
To be a transformative leader in digital experiences, continually enhancing user engagement and business growth through innovative design, strategic development, and cutting-edge technology. My vision is to shape the future of digital interactions, making them more intuitive, accessible, and impactful for users worldwide.
Mission
My mission is to leverage my expertise in UX/UI design, digital strategy, and front-end development to create seamless and compelling digital solutions. I aim to drive success by deeply understanding user needs, implementing effective digital strategies, and continuously optimizing performance through data-driven insights. Committed to excellence and innovation, I strive to deliver outcomes that not only meet but exceed client expectations, fostering growth and advancing the digital landscape.
Some Work History
Beginning my career in design and animation, I quickly discovered a knack for coding, which led me to merge my passion for both fields into roles such as New Media Designer and Front-End Developer. My dedication and positive attitude propelled me from creating web pages and apps to leading dynamic teams. Throughout my career in the advertising industry, I’ve kept a sharp eye on emerging trends, mastering email marketing, automation, content creation, and digital marketing strategies focused on lead tracking and targeted advertising.
However, at the core of all these activities is UX—essential for developing a cohesive brand strategy. A strong user experience lays the groundwork for a robust brand identity, ensuring that all elements work harmoniously to engage and convert audiences. Over the years, my roles have evolved, reflecting my growing expertise and the changing landscape of digital marketing. Below are some of the key positions I’ve held, each illustrating a step forward in my continuous journey to enrich digital interactions and user experiences.
Human Code – Interactive Marketing Manger
I spearhead the development of digital marketing campaigns and transformations across diverse sectors such as landscaping, construction, office supplies, SaaS, and pharmaceuticals. At the critical intersection of Marketing and Development, I oversee tasks including ad set creation, email automation, wireframing, journey mapping, SEO audits, and content creation. Using technologies like React, Node, TypeScript, or Vanilla JS tailored to specific project needs, I ensure all digital assets are responsive and perform optimally. Daily tasks also include HTML and CSS edits, essential for maintaining a variety of digital properties.
I collaborate closely with clients to build trust and thoroughly understand their unique needs, which helps in redefining content strategies and crafting tailored solutions. My role also involves refining site architecture and working alongside UX teams to ensure content is presented intuitively and effectively across platforms like HubSpot, Zoho, Marketo, Salesforce, Shopify, and WordPress.
Furthermore, my expertise with Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics 4 enables me to implement strategies that significantly enhance lead tracking and optimize performance indicators such as CPC, ROAS, and CPL, thus boosting email marketing efforts and amplifying overall digital impact.
01
Jan Kelley – Front End Development Lead
I led the development of comprehensive website transformation projects for a diverse portfolio of B2B clients, coordinating CMS migrations to HubSpot to improve marketing automation processes and optimize system integration. I refined and implemented analytics tagging frameworks to systematically capture a wide range of user engagement metrics, such as page views, video plays, and CTA interactions, thereby deepening insights into customer behavior and enhancing data-driven decision-making.
In addition, I oversaw the creation of UX wireframes and provided digital strategy consultations to clients. I managed the transition from waterfall to agile methodologies, introducing innovative development practices to accelerate production. I also conducted weekly ‘Digital Mastery Workshops’ to boost team knowledge about the latest possibilities in the digital space and regularly presented to stakeholders on emerging technologies, including IoT, UX best practices, augmented reality, and NFTs.
02
Publics Sapient – Manger Interactive Development
At Sapient Nitro, I played a pivotal role in strategizing and implementing HTML5 ad campaigns and websites, liaising directly with clients and vendors to ensure adherence to best development practices. My oversight spanned diverse CMS platforms across three international offices, ensuring excellence in delivery before the launch of campaigns and sites. Additionally, I led dynamic creative campaigns, meeting the diverse requirements of a multi-client portfolio. My managerial expertise was essential in evaluating project scopes with producers and project managers, as well as in the recruitment and onboarding of new interactive talent within the production studio.
Among my key accomplishments at Sapient Nitro, I successfully led international development teams in the adoption of Google Tag Manager, which significantly enhanced productivity and workflow efficiency across our projects. I also pioneered innovative advertising campaign strategies that leveraged real-time analytics from Google Analytics 4, delivering agile and adaptable solutions to high-profile clients including Fiat, McDonald’s, Nutella, and Siemens. Additionally, my involvement in weekly status reviews was crucial in maintaining and strengthening business relationships with a diverse portfolio of clients, ensuring continuous communication and alignment on project goals.