Bret Schwalb

I’m a UX Design Manager who specializes in transforming complex requirements into human-centered solutions. Over two decades of experience delivering measurable results in highly regulated industries.

Resume
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Career Camp: Agentic AI Career Coach App and Website

Mobile agentic AI career coach app.

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Modernizing a Consumer Benefits & HR Platform

Consumer and employee benefits solutions.

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International Avatar Design

One design for a global audience.

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Reducing Operational Costs by Putting the Customer First

Native mobile app for retiree benefits.

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Modernizing the Discover Network Partner Portal

Payment solutions and technical documentation

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Transformation of a Legacy B2B Customer Experience Portal

A full suite of marketing solutions.

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Video Library and Player

Custom video library for a Fortune 500.

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Custom Furniture

Custom furniture to the consumer and the trade.

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↓ 20%

Reduced Call Center Volume

Achieved through key application design at Alight Solutions

↑ 50%

Increase in Operational Throughput

Redesigned and optimised customer service solution at Omeda

↓ 1

Unified 6 Legacy Design Systems

Moved to a mobile-first, WCAG compliant system.

↑ 20%

Product Launch Cycle Speed

Transformed product design framework at Discover

Scalable People Centered Process

My approach to product design balances rapid discovery with an accelerated path to market. I champion an adaptable process that honors existing business workflows, collaborating deeply with cross-functional peers to optimize and mature institutional design practices where needed.

Hypothesis
  • Define Project Intent: Collaborate with product managers and key stakeholders to align on project intent, establishing a shared understanding of success metrics, expected outcomes, and user and business benefits.
Discovery
  • Heuristic Design Review: Conduct an initial heuristic evaluation of existing and proposed products, assessing the user experience, identifying market opportunities, navigating technical constraints, and shaping the high-level concept.
  • User Research: Conduct end-user interviews to deeply understand user workflows, core objectives, mental models, and critical pain points.
Definition
  • Evidence-Driven Alignment: Refine and realign the project intent, with cross-functional partners, based on data and insights gathered during discovery.
  • Collaborative Requirements: Define core product requirements in continuous collaboration with key stakeholders, engineering, and product management.
  • End-to-End User Journeys: Map comprehensive user flows of the entire lifecycle from upstream experiences to entry points, core interactions, exit states and downstream experiences.
Design, 
  • Rapid Iteration: Translate requirements into low-fidelity concepts, driving rapid iteration through sketching and wireframing.
  • Cross-Functional Feasibility Reviews: Validate the design direction through technical feasibility syncs with engineering and strategic alignment checks with product leads
  • Detailed Design & Prototyping: Promote selected concept into high-fidelity designs and interactive prototypes optimized for evaluative testing.
Validation
  • Usability Testing & Refinement: Conduct usability testing sessions, translating user feedback into design refinements.
  • Stakeholder Evacuation: Present final designs to cross-functional leadership, clearly articulating design rationale, testing methodologies, and validated results.
  • Handover & Engineering Support: Deliver developer-ready specs and assets, maintaining close partnership with engineering throughout implementation to ensure design fidelity.
Continuous Improvement
  • Post-Launch Optimization: Partner with data analysts, product managers, and engineering to continuously optimize the live experience using quantitative usage data, A/B testing, post-launch user interviews, and direct feedback loops.
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Discovery conversations, with all stakeholders, are the foundation to great results. 

User Flow Example - DCI Onboarding 800c

The user journey allows us to verify that our solution meets all requirements.

Wireframes and design in progress - Cropped

Wireframes rapidly become a prototype for both testing and presentation.

Bret 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.

Shawn
Shawn Garner, CSM, CSPO Senior Product Owner

Bret is a dedicated and versatile team member who would help his teammates solve various problems ranging from UX design to product marketing. In addition, he balances various projects simultaneously and meet various teams' needs and deadlines.

yvonne
Yvonne Yuen VP of Platform

I worked with Bret for about 4 years at Alight. During that time, he demonstrated a strong, analytical approach to product 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 Product UX Design Lead