Luther Thie
lutherthie [at] gmail [dot] com
Summary
Design meaningful user experiences while making the process experiment-based and fun. Lead end-to-end creative product thinking, with special attention to visual design polish and delightful animation. Serve as an empathy advocate for the user (including those with disabilities) and a bridge to product development. Collaborate, support and encourage designers in crafting simple and meaningful interactions while fostering an environment for designers to best explore, take risks and execute their ideas. Facilitate workshops & design sprints to then create journey maps, experience maps, rapid prototypes, visual explorations, detailed wireframes, pattern libraries and style guides. In parallel, collaborate with developers, QA and product stakeholders at all stages to launch great products.
Experience
Product Design Lead – Rally Health
April 2021 – Present
Design lead for Virtual Visits for United Healthcare
Responsibilities:
- Lead product design for virtual visits welcome, overview and connecting to Optum Virtual Care and other virtual care services
- Understand and document touchpoints connecting UHC and Optum
- Design research prototypes to expose ambiguities
- Create pixel perfect design for development
- Represent XD across all product features
Senior Product Designer – Rally Health
December 2018 – Present
Design lead for Find & Price Care and Pharmacies & Prescriptions for United Healthcare and other Insurance Companies
Responsibilities:
- Lead product design for healthcare field
- Create user flows and pixel perfect sketches based on pattern library
- Collaborate with Product Managers and Developers to build features for internal and corporate stakeholders
- Create InVision prototypes for development and product feedback and reference
- Maintain pattern library
- Represent XD across all disciplines
- Advocate for polished design including Accessibility Best Practices
Senior UX Designer/Animator – Greenhouse Mobile App by Wells Fargo
May 2017 – November 2018
Design a new banking app that helps users spend within their means in a simple and fun way. When I first joined the team in 2017, I was focused on animation and transitions. I have since taken on a lead role running design sprints for new features, mapping & prototyping new experiences, addressing accessibility affordances, as well as fine-tuning design documents.
Responsibilities:
- Lead workshops and design sprints for new features
- Create and maintain detailed high resolution wireframes
- Participate in development grooming, clarify QA ambiguities and audit app builds
- Design and document in Sketch and Keynote
- Create rapid prototypes in Principle and InVision
- Animate icons and logos in After Effects and Lottie
- Use communication and project management tools of the trade such as Confluence, Slack, Trello
- Design for accessibility (ADA)
Design Director at Sony Interactive Entertainment, San Francisco, CA
April 2015 – April 2017
Directed visual design across PlayStation social network including PS4, PS App 2.0 and Web platforms. Duties included guiding 10 designers, presenting design in quarterly executive reviews and representing design in director reviews with stakeholders from business, product and engineering. Initiated design critique within PlayStation design studio to build trust for designers to share and discuss work in an open and safe environment. In weekly video conferences and quarterly travel to Tokyo, managed the relationship with Tokyo design team including keeping in sync with manager and lead art director and making sure visual design was consistent across 12 scrum teams based in both the US and Japan.
For PS4:
- Directed visual re-design for PS4 features including What’s New social activity feed, Live Detail game page, Rich Profile and a system-wide “refresh” of key visual design elements across 6 scrum teams (launched to market in Sept 2016)
- Oversaw 4 design updates in close collaboration with product and 3 scrum teams
- Directed the design and launch of Communities on PS4 (released 2015)
For PS App V2 (2017 release TBD):
- Led “phase 0” UX design process initiative on PS App to improve UX’s ability to inform version 2 product innovation in parallel with typical Agile SAFE production process
- Led visual design consistency from brand perspective with a team of 4 designers
- Managed check-ins with San Francisco and Tokyo design teams including keeping visual design consistency with Messages and Communities apps
- Consulted with researchers and directed production of prototypes for usability testing
For Web:
- Directed outside agency on initial concepts and UX patterns for web social initiative
- Facilitated design sprints with key business & product stakeholders and designers from US, UK and Japan
- Led design team of 3 designers for web social toolbar (released 2016) and full experience (released 2017)
- Translated qualitative usability results into actionable design patterns
UX Researcher & Art Director (Sports UX) – Sony Creative Center Tokyo
April 2014 – March 2015
Stationed in Tokyo for one year to work on a series of Sony Sports wearables projects, I served as both a UX researcher and an art director for visual design.
- Directed visual design in collaboration with outside agency in LeanUX design studio process
- Directed design of proof of concept prototype
- Led UX research on sports UX initiatives for golf, tennis and running products. Efforts included biometrics prototypes using Unity game engine, motion capture prototype, field user testing, interviews, video scenarios and guerrilla testing
- Collaborated with visual designers to craft design system for sports products
Art Director – Sony Entertainment Network, San Francisco, CA
May 2012 – March 2014
- As part of original PS4 design team, contributed to design of Content Launcher, What’s New, Live Detail, Library, Commerce and Video Player (shipped 2013)
- Directed outside UX agency to design concepts and wireframes for PlayStation Mobile Store – (shipped 2014)
- Led visual design production for Mobile Store
- Directed outside agency to create concepts for branded motion graphics and loading indicators. Then collaborated closely with engineer to produce these intended effects.
Founder / Design Director at Acclair
2004 – 2013
Co-founded independent research consultancy to explore ideas regarding the augmentation of everyday life through the design and implementation of Neurocapital services. Directed the concept and design of neuro-aware experience prototypes exhibited internationally in museums, galleries, festivals and trade shows.
- Founded conceptual vehicle investigating biometrics-based interrogation and valuation scenarios
- Strategically partnered with curators to deeply understand, connect and grow their audiences
- Directed design of iOS app that connects brain sensors to app and database, and collects users’ brain activity in response to artworks in gallery context
- Directed design of data collection and visualization systems including on-site video projections
Assoc. Creative Director at Publicis Modem San Francisco
February 2010 – August 2011
Directed media campaigns for LG Mobile in partnership with Marvel movies and other co-branding projects
- Managed 2 art directors, 4 designers and 2 copywriters in all phases of creative from concept through production
- Collaborated with producers to obtain appropriate creative talent
- Directed actors on set in green-screen and live action environments
- Directed production process for in-house development of interactive web microsites (Ironman, Green Lantern) that included 3D models, live Street View technology and composited actors
- Partnered with business strategy to create Facebook specific campaigns
- Developed the LG Girl brand ambassador
Senior Interaction Designer at IDEO
June 2009 – December 2009
- Designed a financial instrument for a leading financial institution as a freelancer
Art Director at McCann Worldgroup & MRM Worldwide
February 2008 – June 2009
- Concepted and designed interactive display ads, micro sites and application prototypes
as a freelancer
Artist at Headlands Center for the Arts
October 2008 – December 2008
- Artist in Residence – Explorations juxtaposing video and large drawings
Creative Director at Razorfish
December 2006 – January 2008
Led concept, design and development of digital experiences for WaMu
- Managed team of 2 art directors, 4 designers, 3 copywriters and 2 creative technologists
- Articulated creative vision to business stakeholders and clients
- Shaped brand strategy
- Led creative pitches for new business
- Leveraged analytics findings to optimize design to meet client objectives and goals
- Planned budgets with project manager
Artist in Residence at Montalvo Arts Center
June 2008 – August 2008
Collaborated with art technologist Carlos Castellanos to create “neuro-metric architecture” using brain-scanning and other biometrics embedded in a video projection capsule space. Users were shown a series of visual stimuli while they lay and reacted to yes or no questions and their body’s reactions were measured and visualized in a 3d model animation for viewing by the audience on the exterior of the capsule.
Artist at ISEA International
2006
Won “Emerging Artist” award for Acclair (acclair.co.uk)
Interactive Art Director at Grey San Francisco
2006
Art Directed and designed interactive prototypes and motion graphics media as a freelancer.
Presenter and Exhibitor at CHI 2005
2005
Presented in the Spotlight Session: Safety in a Complex World. The title of my piece was “Acclairism: Questioning biometric technology through an airport security clearance system”. Also exhibited Acclair in the trade show booth area.
Skills & Expertise
Product Design & Direction
User Centered Design
Experience Design & Direction
Visual Design & Direction
Motion Graphics & Interface Transition Design & Direction
Social Media UX Design & Direction
Education
Interaction Design Institute Ivrea
MA, Interaction Design, 2002 – 2004
Focused on Service & Interaction Design
San Francisco State University
MFA with Honors, Sculpture, Installation, 1990 – 1993
California State University-Los Angeles
Teaching Credential, Multiple Subject, Elementary School, 1987 – 1990
University of California, Los Angeles
BFA, Fine Art, 1984 – 1986
University of California, Santa Barbara
Fine Art, 1982 – 1984