Design is the space between what people say they want and what they actually do.
Design is the space between what
people say they want and what
they actually do.
Craft-driven Product Innovation and Digital Transformation leader. Twenty years of hands-on craft that grew into systems, teams, and enterprise transformation across B2C. Most recently led the redesign that contributed to a $2B increase in student loan originations at Sallie Mae. I’ve never stopped making things. I’ve just learned how far the work can reach.
Twenty years. Pixels to systems. Systems to teams. Teams to transformation. At every stage the question was the same. How do we make the work better? The answer was always design, applied closer, scaled wider, connected more directly to what users actually need and what businesses actually measure.
Robbie Tseng — Vice President, Head of Growth Mktg Design @ HBO Max
In the time I had the pleasure of working with Levi, he managed to crank out critical project after critical project and was always willing to go that…
Zavida Magaru — Vice President, Enterprise Digital Platforms @ Sallie Mae
I had the unique opportunity to manage Levi at two separate firms, giving me a front-row seat to his consistent growth. Levi is a stand out talent capable…
Shanon Fraser — Senior Manager, Digital Product Development @ Sallie Mae
I had the pleasure of working closely with Levi at Sallie Mae, and what consistently stood out was his rare ability to scale leadership without losing proximity to…
Craft as the floor.
Typography, hierarchy, contrast, and pacing are not optional. They are how the rest of the work earns its right to exist.
Behavior before pattern.
Every flow is a sequence of decisions. The framework is cognitive, not just visual.
Outcomes, not deliverables.
Conversion. Trust. Confidence. The numbers that matter to the business follow the decisions that matter to the user.
I stay close to the work. Vision, craft, and the standard the team will hold itself to. I hire for depth, then mentor for ownership: designers who know their customer better than anyone else in the room. The team comes before the deadline. Built the AT&T CX Design function from 4 to 17 practitioners that way. Same approach at Sallie Mae.
Twenty years of making things that reached people. Sony, AT&T, Sallie Mae, and the work in between. If you’re building something that needs both craft and consequence, I’d like to hear about it.