# Alyson Blume > Product & Design Leader Location: Menlo Park, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/alyson DESIGNING SIMPLE SOLUTIONS FOR COMPLEX PROBLEMS I like exploring tough questions that don’t always have straightforward answers. My work has focused on taking complex problems and designing solutions that make the information easy to understand. In my work as a UX Designer and Product Designer, I have shepherded designs from ideation to launch, leading to increased revenue and greater traction. My work has included everything from wireframes to prototyping to visual design for web, mobile, and more. A proven leader, I can quickly distill key information from multiple sources, create dynamic strategies, and communicate these ideas to my team and other stakeholders. I'm a product design leader who transforms complex challenges into intuitive, impactful experiences. My design philosophy goes beyond aesthetics – I'm obsessed with solving real-world problems by bridging user needs with innovative solutions. With a track record of driving significant business outcomes through design, I thrive in environments that demand both strategic thinking and creative problem-solving. My superpower lies in my ability to untangle complex user journeys, creating design solutions that are both beautifully simple and strategically powerful. Whether I'm leading cross-functional teams, conducting deep user research, or prototyping breakthrough experiences, I'm always focused on one core goal: designing solutions that truly make a difference. From enterprise software to consumer platforms, I specialize in: - End-to-end product design (0 to 1) - User research and journey mapping - Design system development - Stakeholder collaboration - Metrics-driven design strategy I believe the best designs tell a story, solve a problem, and create meaningful connections – turning complex interactions into intuitive, delightful experiences. Let's connect and create something extraordinary. Expertise: product management, user interaction, user experience design, branding and identities, visual language, process flows, typography, mockups, prototyping, user flows, wireframes, user-centered design, user testing, analytics, strategy, and management. ## Work Experience ### Co-Founder @ StoryTransformer Jan 2024 – Present Story transformer is developing tools to provide actionable environmental information to underserved communities on Nature’s frontline. Around the world, billions of people face environmental threats—deforestation, fisheries collapse, water scarcity, and extreme heat—but often lack access to timely, relevant, and comprehensible information to respond effectively. Scientific data may exist, but it rarely reaches the decision-makers whose choices directly impact the health of ecosystems. These micro decision-makers—such as smallholder farmers, artisanal fishers, Indigenous land stewards, or community forest leaders—often operate in information deserts. ### Product & UX Consultant @ Alyson Blume Design and Product Consulting Jan 2016 – Jan 2024 | Remote Experienced Director Level UX Design and Product Consultant. www.alysonblume.com • Advised early and mid-stage startups on product strategy, branding, and user experience enhancements, driving improvements to their platforms to increase user engagement, retention, and overall market competitiveness. • Spearheaded the conceptualization and development of the company's branding identity, establishing a cohesive and compelling look and feel that resonated with the target audience. • Collaborated with executive teams to transform conceptual ideas into viable products, providing strategic guidance and hands-on support throughout the entire product development lifecycle, including branding and product design. ### Director of Product & Design @ Kanekto Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | San Francisco Bay Area • Led cross-functional workshops and ideation sessions to align stakeholders on product vision, roadmap prioritization, and feature development. • Designed the entire product roadmap, balancing short-term objectives with the long-term vision to drive product evolution and meet market demands effectively achieving a 100% growth in revenue. • Enhanced team collaboration and streamlined communication across functions, aligning cross-functional efforts with product goals and deadlines. ### Design and Product (Consultant) @ Interact Jan 2020 – Jan 2022 • Directed comprehensive user research initiatives, gathering invaluable insights and feedback that drove a strategic overhaul of the company's product platform, enhancing usability and customer satisfaction. • Conceptualized and designed the revised product platform, incorporating user-centric principles and best practices to deliver a refined and intuitive product experience that exceeded user expectations and accounted for record-breaking numbers of completed quiz creations. • Led a multidisciplinary team of visual designers and content strategists in the redesign and redevelopment of the company's marketing website, leveraging compelling visuals and engaging • Systematically updated all user flows within the product ecosystem, optimizing navigation pathways and enhancing user journeys to streamline interactions and maximize user retention and conversion rates. • Product managed the end-to-end rebuild of the platform, meticulously orchestrating development sprints, prioritizing features, and collaborating closely with engineering teams to ensure timely delivery and alignment with project objectives. ### Product and Design Lead @ Wexus Technologies, Inc. Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 | San Francisco Bay Area • Ran the entire product team in a fast-moving Agile environment, designing AI-powered software, shaping the product roadmap and managing all team members ### Lead UX Designer @ Wexus Technologies, Inc. Jan 2016 – Jan 2019 • Defined information architecture, user interfaces and key features of both the Wexus mobile and desktop software platforms leading to the first several million dollars in revenue • Led design (UX design, interaction design & visual design), user research, & testing of new features from ideation to launch increasing customer sign-up frequency by 40% & an increase in engagement of 60%. ### UX Design Consultant @ Mongabay.com Jan 2015 – Jan 2016 | Redwood City •. Redesigned look and feel the donation page for Mongabay, the world’s most popular site for rainforest science and conservation news ### UX Designer @ General Assembly Jan 2015 – Jan 2016 A 10 week immersive program that teaches the fundamental theories, techniques, and tools of user experience design. The program is taught by top UX practitioners and is designed to provide students with real world experience through a variety of client facing projects. Course Work: User Research, Interface Design, Wireframing, Prototyping, Interaction Design, Mobile Design, Responsive Web Design and Usability Testing ### Head of Marketing @ Trinity Ventures Jan 2014 – Jan 2015 Developed the firm’s brand strategy, including the design & launch of a new mobile-optimized website, which drove deal flow by leveraging content to increase awareness & build affinity within specific industry verticals ### Gala Chair @ San Francisco Ballet ENCORE! Jan 2011 – Jan 2015 San Francisco Ballet's ENCORE! is a group of young professionals who promote awareness of the ballet through galas, cocktail events, educational events and ballet performances. ### Senior Manager, Content Strategist @ Zynga Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 • Served as product development strategy & design advisor for all Zynga-used social media enterprise software vendors to define the product roadmap • Championed Zynga’s player advocate program including the design and development of engaging & efficient web pages & forums for each game studio ### Senior Social Media Manager @ Zynga Jan 2013 – Jan 2013 Social Media Thought Leadership. Bringing Zynga games to the forefront of the world: creating unforgettable social experiences, connecting hundreds of millions of people throughout the world and delighting players through games. ### Social Media Manager @ Zynga Jan 2012 – Jan 2013 • Conceived, designed and partnered with product management teams to launch Zynga’s first game landing pages for its new gaming platform • Established social media best practices and training for Community, Ad Sales, Brand, Customer Service and Human Resources • Built out and designed all Social Media Reports and Analytics Dashboards for product launches, community, partner campaigns, social support to give game teams greater insight into player behavior and Social ROI • Negotiated all social media contracts and managed strategic partnerships leading to custom tool development by external vendors to support Zynga’s social roadmap ### Production Coordinator @ DreamWorks Animation Jan 2010 – Jan 2012 | Redwood City • Managed 100 plus employees across the Lighting, Character Effects and Visual Effects departments for Megamind, Puss in Boots, Rise of the Guardians and the How to Train Your Dragon Television Special • Created & launched a new tracking system for multiple technical departments resulting in greater efficiency, detail and accuracy in all cross departments that led to a reduction in total revisions and increased productivity • Wrote bidding and complexity projections for the above film and television productions that was 99% accurate resulting in a reduction in employee overtime. • Appointed to captain a pilot initiative to educate and enrich talent within the company to improve the artistic quality of DreamWorks films and spearheaded internal marketing campaign to company executives to secure future funding for the project ### Social Media Consultant @ Mongabay.com Jan 2008 – Jan 2012 | Redwood City • Initiated higher engagement on multiple social media platforms resulting in increased customer participation in the form of over 7000 Facebook fans and 46,000 Twitter followers leading to an increase in 67% increase in referrals to mongabay.com • Created branded social media strategies for the central website and the children’s website ### Web Producer @ Boston University School of Management Jan 2009 – Jan 2010 • Created and branded online original web series, The MBA Report detailing the MBA experience • Wrote, filmed and produced all episodes of the MBA Report • Increased traffic to Boston University’s social networking and video web sites by over 300% ### Social Media Consultant @ Boston University School of Management Jan 2008 – Jan 2010 | Boston Consulting Projects: • IBM Global Services -Created an integrated marketing and communications strategy for IBM Cloud Computing -Designed a web social media strategy geared toward driving traffic to the Cloud Computing Homepage • Alzheimer's Association -Created and ran the Massachusetts and New Hampshire Region Online Marketing Campaign - Utilized Google Adwords and Analyitics to create engaging and relevant advertising on six campaigns • T.W. Garner: Texas Pete -Developed an integrated brand strategey increasing brand value and strength -Increased online and social media buzz surrounding the Texas Pete Line of condiments • Wallix -Created an integrated plan for the Paris based company to move to the United States ### Show Development Intern @ DreamWorks Animation Jan 2009 – Jan 2009 | Glendale, CA • Managed the creation of a strategic framework for franchise development of major motion pictures including Megamind and How to Train Your Dragon, resulting in the creation of virtual world games and creative properties worth over $700 Million • Responsible for the development and execution of the award nominated How To Train Your Dragon Olympic Marketing Campaign, which aired on NBC during the 2010 Olympic Games in primetime. • Supervised the cross-promotional marketing strategy presentation for How to Train Your Dragon to NBC C-level executives ## Education ### MBA in Concentration: Marketing Questrom School of Business, Boston University ### MS in Media Ventures Boston University ### BFA in Drama, Minor :Business Administration Carnegie Mellon University ### Designing and Building AI Products and Services in Certification MIT Professional Education ### User Experience Design Immersive General Assembly ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ablume - Portfolio: http://www.alysonblume.com/ --- Source: https://flows.cv/alyson JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/alyson/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13