tomdonehower – Blog and portfolio of Tom Donehower, UX and Product Guy

Recent projects I have designed & developed. Would love to add yours too…

This is me. I apply my knowledge of user-centered design and agile methodologies to help companies launch successful digital products.

I have provided strategy, UX, and product management for hundreds of digital engagements ranging from marketing-driven websites, next-gen Ad-tech/BI, ecommerce, B2C, and B2B web and mobile apps for desktop, mobile and smart TV. My clients have included Silicon Beach startups to the Fortune 100.

I have founded two companies, Blue Lava Group and Xperience Interactive. Blue Lava Group was sold to Right Start, Inc. in 2007 and Xperience Interactive was a successful full-service digital agency with clients in Gaming and Digital Entertainment including Activision, THQ, and Sony Entertainment.

Adept at combining strategy, user-centered design, and agile methodologies in creating extraordinary products. Experienced in leading product teams including engineers and designers to execute product strategy and roadmap. Ability to create all manner of UX deliverables including wireframes, user flows, personas, user scenarios, user research, usability testing, and analytics analysis. Expert at creating interactive prototypes and requirement specifications for both Web and mobile devices.

Speaker, author, and business book junky.

What my clients say about me and my work

Tom quickly came together with a reasonable proposal that made sense both in its scope and goals compared with other groups we talked to. It was clear that Tom was an expert at user interface and interaction. He made a huge impact in a short amount of time by consistently delivering impactful mockups and wireframes that our team could quickly implement.

Scott ShapiroAd Tech Eco System at Facebook

Tom is one of the best people at user experience on the web and how to make a website easier to use not just from his extensive background building consumer-friendly websites, but with analytics and testing, which guarantees a nice large increment in traffic and user experience in general.

Thomas MooreDirector of Software Development at Roundbrix, Inc.

Tom is a fabulous IA/User Experience Architect. Furthermore Tom is a online business strategist, he balances the duality of defending the user and meeting your business objectives better than anyone I have worked with.

Tim PantelloManaging Director at PwC

As a founder of Blue Lava Group, he was able to build the company to the point of readiness for Series-A, venture capital funding. Tom was able to keep his eye on the big picture while attending to the details required to keep our websites current and competitive.

Greg FreezeOregon Coast Attorney

Tom is a thoughtful, high integrity person who is passionate about the web. He is understated and easy to work with. He is particularly good at understand end-consumer behavior and designing web experiences that drive prospects toward key business goals.

Andy WilsonCEO/Co-Founder at Rexter: the leading professional relationship management platform

If I’ve worked with Tom at 4 different companies since 1998 it’s not by accident: I just keep hiring him or partnering with him whenever projects call for an online user experience guru. Tom is not only a pleasure to work with but he is the only person I know who can 1) empathize with a the online user regardless of the activity or the demographic and 2) envision a winning user interface even when for cutting edge projects where such an interface had never created before. Any online company who cares about user experience is lucky to hire him!

Dotan SaguyGourmet App Chef

Here is a list of things I can do for you

Digital Strategy

Ideation, competitive and market analysis, primary, and secondary research and synthesis.

Product Management

Apply agile methodologies, define requirements, and lead product teams to deliver successful digital products.

User Experience Design

Employ UCD to define UX by creating core deliverables including: journey maps, interaction flows, personas, mental models, site maps, wireframes, and digital prototypes.

UI Design

Define the user interface for an application across multiple devices at varying degrees of fidelity including quick sketch through wireframe through Photoshop composition of final look and feel.

Rapid Prototyping

Create digital prototypes using Axure RP and other protoyping tools to validate strategy and provide engineers with the necessary requirements for development.