Enterprise UX strategy
One brand for a health system and its health plan
Bringing a newly unified health system to life across a complex digital ecosystem, creating consistency across products without losing sight of the people using them.
Got an enterpriseproblem? I'll figure it out.
Principal UX designer. Enterprise healthcare and complex systems.
About me
The short version.
I spent eleven years at AOL and finished as design director for AOL Search. For about twelve years I also worked for myself, taking on product and brand work across a lot of industries. Since 2020 I've been doing enterprise healthcare. It's complicated work, and I like that.
I've managed designers, but I'd rather be the one doing the work. I like taking something complicated and working it through until everyone involved sees the same thing. That's the part I want to keep doing.
Complex enterprise work has a lot of moving parts. I'm good at seeing how they connect. Keeping decisions and dependencies from getting lost, and helping teams move from an ambiguous problem to a coherent experience that can actually be built.
Nothing gets lost between the idea and the build.
I see the big picture, but I'm also the person who keeps track of the details. I connect the decisions, dependencies and implementation so the work keeps moving and the original thinking carries through to the finished experience.
Make complexity understandable
I'm drawn to complicated, interconnected problems. I like finding the structure underneath them and turning that complexity into experiences that feel clear and intuitive.
Stay curious
I ask questions, challenge assumptions, and want to understand why something works the way it does before deciding what it should become.
Take ownership
Give me the problem and enough context to understand the landscape, and I'll run with it. I'm independent, resourceful, and comfortable figuring out what needs to happen next.
Be someone people can rely on
I care about doing what I say I'll do, being straightforward with people and taking responsibility for the work.
Recent work.
Mostly enterprise healthcare. Most of it is under NDA, so I can't show the screens here, but I'm happy to walk through any of it on a call.
Search experimentation & optimization
Continuous experimentation
I collaborated on AOL Search's multivariate testing platform, which let us test, learn and continuously improve the search experience, turning behavioral data into better design decisions.
Provider search redesign
Provider search
When provider search moved to a new platform, I designed the experience around the features it made available: type-ahead, suggestions by category, fuller listings.
“Cara was and is the expression of ‘creative’ and ‘technical creative’, mastering all of the qualities necessary to tackle and lead teams in brand management, website design, user experience and online application development.”Jennifer ShawPrincipal Project Manager, ExxonMobil
“She always cared about the work we produced and nothing ever got pushed out the door.”Shawn MartinInteractive Designer, AOL
“She focused not only on the project at hand but also wanted to learn about the long-term product vision. I knew I could share ideas with her and get honest feedback.”Andrew McMahonProduct Management, AOL
“It was a challenging job with a lot of overtime hours, and she always excelled. She not only knows user interface and visual design, but also project and client management.”Heather VargishDesign Systems & Branding, formerly Proxicom
Showcase
Virginia Beach logo design
City brand identity. Logo, brand system, print and campaign collateral.
My role: logo and collateral design.
Some of the people I've done this for.
Fifteen years across healthcare, government, aerospace, search, and retail. This is a snapshot, not the whole list. Different problems, same job.
Contact
Got a problem worth solving?
Got a problem worth solving?
I'd like to hear about it.
And if we've worked together, say hi. It's been too long.
Resume available on request.