Hi I’m Clarke McAlarney! My present title is mid-level designer but coworkers have told me I have the chops to be a lead level designer. At this time, my ideal would be to learn from other lead designers to refine my leadership style for the future.
I have worked as a UX Designer for four years and before UX I worked as a designer in Film and Television. I’m currently a Product Designer for U.S. Bank on the Money Movement, Transfers and Wires team. My scope of work is Small Business ACH and External Transfers where I am the subject matter expert of the products and the sole UX designer. I often flex to help out my peers and in doing so have worked on Internal Transfers, Wire Transfers, and Real Time Payments.
I understand and appreciate the value of critique and avoiding working in a silo. Because I am the sole designer for ACH and External Transfers I make sure to bring my initial designs from product requirements back to my wider UX team for critique and revisions. As well as bringing the designs to the larger Money Movement team for alignment across products.
Since working at U.S. Bank I have been recognized as “exceeds expectations”
each year. Managers pick one to two people from their team to mark as “exceeds”, my team being around 7 people. In short, I punch above my weight. When I am done with my sprint work I ask “what can I help with” and if there isn’t anything to do I find something that will help my team or company. My case study about the
Figma Structure I set up is just one example of what I’ve done outside of my sprint work. In addition, I have worked with Product Managers and Agilists to set up a process to get UX enhancements off of our backlog, some of which were sitting on there for 2 years before I joined the team, and into production.
In my work life I am a quiet contributor. I prefer to give space to others to speak so that I can listen and understand. I choose when to voice my opinion and I’m not afraid to stand up for what is best for our users.I try my best to think of designs holistically and how my decisions affect the product now and in the future.
I am a systems level thinker and a problem solver at my core. If I notice something that is getting in the way of my team or job I can’t help but think of how I could make it more efficient, and if I have down time I often work at those inefficiencies.
In my personal life I can not shut up. I enjoy crafting and making. Miniatures, block printing, furniture, food, and music to name a few. I do not like roller coasters, see photo on right.
What I am looking for from a new position is to be treated equitably to my peers, given opportunities to learn and grow as a designer, and acknowledged if my efforts go beyond my scope of work.
