Hi, I'm Nathan Brooks

I love solving problems and evolving strategies through design thinking methodologies and first principals.

Product and UX Designer with 10+ years of experience designing and developing high-impact solutions in industries requiring complex technologies and data-informed design, such as manufacturing, technology, and life sciences. I specialize in human-centered design and love to create innovative design solutions through collaboration with customers, product teams, program managers, engineers, customer success, and c-suite stakeholders. I am experienced in driving product strategy through design thinking and systems thinking to solve complex customer challenges and deliver engaging and scalable user experiences.

Sr. Product Designer (Jul. 2022 - Feb. 2024)

First Resonance

Acting head of design, leading the evolution of ION, a comprehensive manufacturing operations platform. Refined and enhanced the existing SaaS operating system by strategically redesigning core workflows and user interfaces. Orchestrated cross-functional collaboration between design, engineering teams, customer success, product, and leadership to deliver streamlined user experiences that enhance manufacturing efficiency.

Hired and led the company’s first product design team, implementing processes that enabled concurrent management of multiple product initiatives while maintaining rapid research, prototyping, and implementation cycles
Created a bespoke design system that achieved uniformity across new components, workflows, and interfaces, resulting in shorter turnaround times for design, ideation, prototyping, feedback loops, testing, design QA, and beta releases
Implemented structured processes and accurate task tracking for the design team, which increased transparency, improved cross-team workflows and information sharing, and increased meaningful collaboration while decreasing potential roadblocks
Led redesign of the Actual Build of Material (aBOM) feature set, streamlining inventory management workflows and standardizing platform-level components, resulting in reduced task completion times and achieving 100% user adoption post-beta

UX Lead (Nov. 2015 - Jun 2022)

Cognizant

Led UX and design system initiatives for global healthcare, pharma-bio, medical device, and automotive clients, driving digital transformation through complex systems and data-driven workflow solutions.

Select Clients: Ford Motor Company, Medstar Health, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Incyte, Abbvie, Abbott, BMS, Gilead, Santen, Amicus, AmeriHealth, GlaxoSmithKline, General Parts Company

Spearheaded large-scale digital transformation projects, including AbbVie's design system implementation that reduced feature development time by 40% and increased code reusability by 75%
Designed and implemented experience management systems for Abbott, delivering a cohesive component library that enabled the successful launch of 41 international websites within 6 months
Led cross-functional teams in developing cloud-based solutions and scalable design practices, consistently delivering enterprise-scale products within 12–15-week timeframes

Director of Design and UX (Dec. 2013 - Nov. 2015)

Backe Digital Brand Marketing

Led multidisciplinary design team in delivering integrated digital and print solutions, driving creative strategy and execution across branding, advertising, email campaigns, and web design initiatives.

Select Clients: GlaxoSmithKline, Project Management Institute, HTH Worldwide, YSC Sports, Delaware Valley University, Gesu School, Endo Pharmaceutical

Established and implemented UX testing and design thinking methodologies across all client projects, resulting in significant increases in user engagement metrics and client satisfaction
Created standardized iterative workflows and mentorship programs for junior designers, improving team performance by 50% while fostering stronger cross-functional collaboration
Led end-to-end creative processes for major healthcare and education sector clients, delivering cohesive brand experiences across digital and print channels
Co-created the creative strategy for multiple local and regional brands leading to an average increased engagement of 20%

Senior Creative Specialist (Aug. 2011 - Dec. 2013)

Jacobs

Led creative strategy and execution for sales and management teams in the Pharmabio and semiconductor industries, delivering high-impact presentations, infographics, and marketing materials.

Developed compelling visual narratives and design solutions that directly contributed to securing over $1B in client contracts
Created targeted sustainability campaign materials that increased employee participation by 50% while establishing new design standards for internal communications

That Freelance Though (2003 – Present)

Brooksmade

Lead an independent design consultancy delivering comprehensive creative solutions across print, web, and social media platforms, specializing in marketing collateral and complete brand identity systems.

Select Clients: Digitas Health, D4 Creative Group, and Starr Restaurant Organization

Partner with agencies and organizations to provide strategic design solutions, focusing on healthcare, creative services, and hospitality sectors
Manage end-to-end project lifecycle from client acquisition through delivery, maintaining long-term relationships with notable Philadelphia-area businesses

Technical Skills:

Leadership & Strategy: Design Leadership, Product Design Strategy, Systems Thinking, Design Thinking, Agile Methodology, User Research, Mentoring
Tooling: Figma, Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects), Webflow, Framer, Mix Panel, Userberry, Linear
Coding Knowledge: HTML, CSS (Working Knowledge), JavaScript (Working Knowledge)