Bret Schwalb
Experienced
DESIGN
LEADERSHIP
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About Me
Through my career my goal has been to be the voice of the user and produce highly usable solutions. I have proven experience with both building design operations from the ground up, and modernizing existing practices.
I also believe it's important to pass along my experience. To that end, I have trained teams on topics ranging from developing an innovator's mindset to design thinking for non-designers. 
Explore my portfolio to learn more about my experience and the solutions I have produced.
   
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User Flow Example - DCI Onboarding 800
Wireframes and design in progress - Cropped
My Gated
Approach
To Great design

4 Principles

  • Design is people-centered and puts the end user's needs first.
  • Design solves the right problems, focusing on understanding the results the end user wants to achieve, the business needs and technical opportunities.
    • Good design works at a system level, considering the entire user journey in relation to existing systems.
    • Small, simple interventions over time allow a design to improve without being jarring.


Gated Process

  • Initial UX review in partnership with project management to understand the business case and high level concept.
  • Full Discovery, interviewing end users to understand the work they do, results they need to achieve, and why those results are a benefit to the organization and people we serve.
  • Define and lock main requirements in close partnership with the product owner and engineers.
  • Define the user flow (Story), from how the person finds and enters the experience, their interaction in the experience, through how they exit and what they experience next.
  • Rapid iteration through wireframes.
  • Lock design direction through technology feasibility review and business review
  • Prototyped solution
  • Usability testing and design refinement
  • Business stakeholder presentation, sharing the design, our rationale, and testing results.
  • Handover and engineering support.
  • Continuous improvement


Unified Team

  • The design team is fully integrated with the project team, from the beginning.
  • All stakeholders have a voice and buy-in from early in the project.
  • Requirements and the design are evidence-based and agreed to from the beginning, preventing scope creep and rework.
  • Discovery results are used to inform the entire project, improving speed-to-market.
Software & Web

My domestic and global software always starts from a UX first view.

Full Cycle
Design Leadership
Template concepts v2

       Discover Financial Services

     API Documentation Experience
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       Omeda Communications

     Customer Experience Portal
Mobile App
& Responsive
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       Alight Solutions (Formerly Aon)

    Mobile App - Retirement Tracking
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       Alight Solutions (Formerly Aon)

    Employee Benefits Portal
International
Projects
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       Alight Solutions (Formerly Aon)

    Portal Avatar
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       Gendex Dental X-Ray

     X-Ray Machine Operation Guide
Design and
Development
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       Allstate Insurance

    Custom Video Library
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       Allstate Insurance

    E-Card Solution
Outside Of Software

This selection showcases my experience beyond UX and UI Design.

Custom
Furniture
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       5 Pebbles llc

    Custom to the Trade
Photography
Art & Stock
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       5 Pebbles llc

    Available on Getty Images
Books

We all grow when we share our knowledge.

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            Available

            On Amazon
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          Available

           On Amazon 
What People Are Saying

Bret is a pleasure to work with. He is always very diligent with his designs and accommodating when requirements change mid-process. His designs are always user friendly and flexible to ensure that the experience within the application is always improving. He works very well with both internal and external stakeholders to influence the design of the final product. I would not hesitate to have Bret work on any project I needed UX design for these very same reasons.

Shawn
- Shawn Garner, CSM, CSPO

I worked with Bret for about 4 years at Alight. During that time, he demonstrated a strong, analytical approach to UX design, utilizing best practices with a creative edge. He brought a refined human touch to the experience, creating relatable and emotional features with which users could identify...A natural creative thinker, teacher, and leader, Bret was a valuable asset to our projects.

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- Maïa Semmes

Bret is a dedicated and versatile team member who would help his teammates solve various problems ranging from UX design to product marketing. He excels in interviewing users and clients to truly understand their needs instead of taking their comments at face value. In addition, he balances various projects simultaneously and meet various teams' needs and deadlines.

yvonne
- Yvonne Yuen