# James Witcher > Product and UX Design Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/jameswitcher I blend strategic leadership with hands-on design expertise to thoughtfully connect people to product experiences. I’ve designed consumer products for technology, e-commerce, fintech, media, and community/platform, and have built & led teams in both agency and product company settings. I truly believe in the power of design, and maintain an unwavering passion for craft, curiosity, and intention. Industry expertise: Design Direction, Design Thinking, Art Direction, Digital Product Design, User Experience Design, Mobile Design, Design Management, E-Commerce, Online Media ## Work Experience ### Product Designer @ Intuit Jan 2026 – Present | San Francisco, CA Hands-on product design leadership, building 0>1 consumer banking products at scale. ### Product & Design Leadership @ James Witcher Design Jan 2024 – Jan 2026 | San Francisco Bay Area Shipped design for a new iOS app that helps voters focus on the issues instead of partisan politics. Launching early 2025. Led a company rebrand, reimagined and launched ecommerce experience, and manage multiple agencies for a niche kitchen housewares brand. ### Chief Design Officer @ Blueriver Jan 2021 – Jan 2024 | California, United States At Blueriver, I led design strategy and direction for our clients, including one of the most recognized brands in the world. Highlights include: Introduced design storytelling to the organization to establish and communicate product design vision. Created and implemented Blueriver’s design process across the organization, and refined the scoping and estimation process. Navigated the design team through remote working, including how we review in-progress work as a team, weekly team coffee, etc. Refined our design workshop process to be more efficient and less friction for our clients while maintaining quality, timing, and budget for deliverables. Transitioned the organization to Figma, which has streamlined our workflow, provided engineering with better prototypes and documentation, and enhanced the way we collaborate and share product design initiatives with our clients. ### Vice President, Design @ Blueriver Jan 2020 – Jan 2021 | San Francisco Bay Area I was hired to establish a San Francisco office and build a team in order to grow the company’s west coast footprint. We were forced to pivot due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns in the Bay Area. I led and delivered digital products for clients across the US, including Glint (LinkedIn), KEH, Purple, JPMorgan, and more. ### UX Design Manager @ Google Jan 2017 – Jan 2020 | Mountain View, California, United States I managed and designed digital products as part of the Google Search design team. Highlights include: Managed a UX team and collaborated with cross-functional teams on multiple product updates for Gboard, the mobile keyboard for Android and iOS devices with built-in Google Search. Crafted a vision for a new vertical within Google Search. Designed a new, intuitive way for users to manage their content subscriptions. Designed a Google Search entry point for the “Next Billion Users” market under sizable constraints including low-end hardware, no touchscreen, and an audience new to the internet. Served as a mentor to designers across teams as part of the Google mentor program. Worked with cross-functional teams in offices around the world, including Beijing, Tokyo, Tel Aviv, London, Gurgaon, New York, and Boulder. ### Director of Product Design @ Fandom Jan 2016 – Jan 2017 | San Francisco Bay Area As Director of Product Design at Fandom (rebranded from Wikia in October 2016, boasting 360,000+ fan communities and a global audience of over 170 million monthly uniques), I provided direction and oversight for key product initiatives, mentored UX and visual designers spanning three GEOs, and worked closely with cross-functional teams and exec staff for resource allocation, strategy, planning, and delivery. Highlights include: Led the rebranding for the company’s transition from Wikia to Fandom. Created the first editorial digital product for Wikia, “News & Stories”, to surface current and relevant news, and provide an experience to support premium ad products. Created the vision and directed the design for Fandom's v2 News and Stories editorial digital product. Created and led the design vision, strategy and direction for Fandom’s "Wiki Premiumization" digital product. Facilitation and guidance of my team's Product Design Principles. Created a concept and prototype for a modern editorial workflow and toolset to ease the wiki product’s learning curve. ### Principal Product Designer @ Fandom Jan 2014 – Jan 2016 | San Francisco Bay Area As Principal Product Designer at Wikia, I worked closely with cross-functional and exec teams to define, design, and launch key digital products. In 2014, I designed a new approach to wiki articles. The design focused on both the consumption and contribution fronts, as well as promoting video content. Although it was not implemented at the time, this project laid the groundwork for what eventually became a company priority in early 2017. In 2015, I designed "Discussions", a new mobile-first product to replace Wikia's outdated, threaded forums. Working closely with key stakeholders, I designed the Fandom editorial product, which launched in January, 2016. ### Design Lead @ Start-up - Undisclosed Jan 2013 – Jan 2014 | San Francisco, California, United States ### Designer in Residence @ General Assembly Jan 2013 – Jan 2013 | San Francisco Designer in Residence for the 12 week UX Design course at General Assembly. ### Director, Design + Experience @ IGN Entertainment Jan 2013 – Jan 2013 Led and managed IGN's product design team for multiple consumer products. Highlights include: Led strategy and design for the IGN native iOS consumer app for iPhone and iPad, which launched to a 4.5 star rating on the Apple App Store and a loyal following. ### Senior Product Designer @ IGN Entertainment Jan 2012 – Jan 2013 ### Associate Creative Director @ SapientNitro Jan 2011 – Jan 2012 Creative direction, art direction, graphic design, information architecture, client presentation, new business pitches, resource staffing, design consulting for Sapient's Atlanta office. Highlights include: Led design and research for American Airlines' Check-in kiosk, which launched in airports worldwide. Led the design of Alamo's consumer website. Led research, content, and design for the JCPenney online gift registry, creating experiences for both at-home and in-store use cases across desktop, tablet, and mobile touchpoints. Clients include: American Airlines, Alamo, JCPenney, Sallie Mae. ### Senior Art Director @ Sapient Jan 2009 – Jan 2011 Art direction, graphic design, information architecture, client presentation, new business pitches, design consulting for Sapient's Atlanta office. Clients include: DirecTV, GE, The Hartford, Lenovo, Osh Kosh B'Gosh, TradeStation, TSA. ### Art Director @ Sapient Jan 2006 – Jan 2008 Art direction, graphic design, information architecture, client presentation, design consulting for Sapient's Atlanta office. Clients include: AT&T, AutoTrader.com, Coca-Cola, DHL, HoneyBaked Ham, Humana. ### Instructor @ Creative Circus Jan 2005 – Jan 2006 Part-time instructor at a well-regarded portfolio school in Atlanta. At the time, the web classes being taught were production-oriented, so I created my own class and curriculum to focus on the marriage of user experience and visual design. ## Education ### Graphic Design Miami Ad School ### Graphic Design Georgia State University ### Fine Arts Reinhardt University ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jameswitcher - Portfolio: https://jameswitcherdesign.com --- Source: https://flows.cv/jameswitcher JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/jameswitcher/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13