James Martin

Design. Lead.

← About

With 20 years of experience in guiding teams across various industries such as Healthcare, Insurance, and Fitness, I excel in fostering innovation and achieving impactful results.

Experience

Lead Experience Designer

Northwestern Mutual

June 2022 – Present

Remote

Lead Experience Designer

American Family Insurance

November 2020 - June 2022

Remote

Lead Experience Designer

Singlewire Software

October 2019 - November 2020

Madison, WI

UX Manager & Lead Designer

American Family Insurance

July 2015 - October 2019

Madison, WI

see more on LinkedIn ↗

Education

WCTCAAS Graphic DesignUW-Milwaukee (Continuing Education)

Web Design/Development

 

UW School of Business

Web Marketing

Certifications

Human-Centered Service Design

IDEO U (2021)

 

Advanced Design Thinking

IDEO U (2020)

 

UX Certified

Nielsen Norman Group (2016)

Skills

Executive Functions

 

  • Strategic Planning & Visioning
  • Leadership & Stakeholder Management
  • Coaching & Mentorship

Communication & Collaboration

 

  • Cross-Functional Team Leadership
  • Workshops Facilitation
  • Executive & Stakeholder Communication

Strategic & Creative Oversight

 

  • Product Design Leadership
  • Team Evaluation & Development
  • Strategy for Innovation
  • Brand Development
  • Workshops Facilitation
  • Organizational Transformation

Recommendations:

“He recognizes where there is little or no strategy or alignment, and delicately guides his business partner to take a few steps back, get a solid strategy in place…” - Daniel J Sarbacker

Contact me

James Martin

Design. Lead.

About

With 20 years of experience in guiding teams across various industries such as Healthcare, Insurance, and Fitness, I excel in fostering innovation and achieving impactful results.

Experience

Lead Experience Designer

Northwestern Mutual

June 2022 – Present

Remote

Strategic design lead responsible for driving product vision across enterprise features. Partnered with business, product, and engineering leaders to align digital experiences with customer needs and long-term goals. Championed user-centered design practices through rigorous research and experimentation, improving usability and adoption across complex systems.

Lead Experience Designer

American Family Insurance

November 2020 - June 2022

Remote

Led transformation initiatives that embedded human-centered design across enterprise portfolios. Guided multidisciplinary teams in applying research and design to solve complex challenges spanning policyholder and agent experiences. Advocated for strategic UX thinking to shape both near-term deliverables and long-term business vision.

Lead Experience Designer

Singlewire Software

October 2019 - November 2020

Madison, WI

Revamped critical emergency notification experiences by leading design modernization initiatives. Integrated product design strategy with voice-of-customer insights to simplify notification creation, improve response time, and increase clarity in high-stakes environments.

UX Manager & Lead Designer

American Family Insurance

July 2015 - October 2019

Madison, WI

Built and led a high-performing design team focused on enterprise transformation. Introduced agile UX methods and mentoring frameworks to strengthen team delivery while supporting a company-wide design culture shift.

see more on LinkedIn ↗

Education

WCTCAAS Graphic DesignUW-Milwaukee (Continuing Education)

Web Design/Development

 

UW School of Business

Web Marketing

Certifications

Human-Centered Service Design

IDEO U (2021)

 

Advanced Design Thinking

IDEO U (2020)

 

UX Certified

Nielsen Norman Group (2016)

Skills

Executive Functions

 

  • Strategic Planning & Visioning
  • Leadership & Stakeholder Management
  • Coaching & Mentorship

Strategic & Creative Oversight

 

  • Product Design Leadership
  • Team Evaluation & Development
  • Strategy for Innovation
  • Brand Development
  • Workshops Facilitation
  • Organizational Transformation

Communication & Collaboration

 

  • Cross-Functional Team Leadership
  • Workshops Facilitation
  • Executive & Stakeholder Communication

Recommendations:

“He recognizes where there is little or no strategy or alignment, and delicately guides his business partner to take a few steps back, get a solid strategy in place…” - Daniel J Sarbacker

Contact me

James Martin

Design. Lead.

About

With 20 years of experience in guiding teams across various industries such as Healthcare, Insurance, and Fitness, I excel in fostering innovation and achieving impactful results.

Experience

Lead Experience Designer

Northwestern Mutual

June 2022 – Present

Remote

Strategic design lead responsible for driving product vision across enterprise features. Partnered with business, product, and engineering leaders to align digital experiences with customer needs and long-term goals. Championed user-centered design practices through rigorous research and experimentation, improving usability and adoption across complex systems.

Lead Experience Designer

American Family Insurance

November 2020 - June 2022

Remote

Led transformation initiatives that embedded human-centered design across enterprise portfolios. Guided multidisciplinary teams in applying research and design to solve complex challenges spanning policyholder and agent experiences. Advocated for strategic UX thinking to shape both near-term deliverables and long-term business vision.

Lead Experience Designer

Singlewire Software

October 2019 - November 2020

Madison, WI

Revamped critical emergency notification experiences by leading design modernization initiatives. Integrated product design strategy with voice-of-customer insights to simplify notification creation, improve response time, and increase clarity in high-stakes environments.

UX Manager & Lead Designer

American Family Insurance

July 2015 - October 2019

Madison, WI

Built and led a high-performing design team focused on enterprise transformation. Introduced agile UX methods and mentoring frameworks to strengthen team delivery while supporting a company-wide design culture shift.

see more on LinkedIn ↗

Education

WCTCAAS Graphic DesignUW-Milwaukee (Continuing Education)

Web Design/Development

 

UW School of Business

Web Marketing

Certifications

Human-Centered Service Design

IDEO U (2021)

 

Advanced Design Thinking

IDEO U (2020)

 

UX Certified

Nielsen Norman Group (2016)

Skills

Executive Functions

 

  • Strategic Planning & Visioning
  • Leadership & Stakeholder Management
  • Coaching & Mentorship

Strategic & Creative Oversight

 

  • Product Design Leadership
  • Team Evaluation & Development
  • Strategy for Innovation
  • Brand Development
  • Workshops Facilitation
  • Organizational Transformation

Communication & Collaboration

 

  • Cross-Functional Team Leadership
  • Workshops Facilitation
  • Executive & Stakeholder Communication

Recommendations:

“He recognizes where there is little or no strategy or alignment, and delicately guides his business partner to take a few steps back, get a solid strategy in place…” - Daniel J Sarbacker