HI, HELLO THERE.
HI, HELLO THERE.
My name is Roxy Taghavian and I’d like to welcome you to my About page where I’ll regale you with tales of my Goldilocks career and what I bring to the table (besides cake).
I’ve worked on a winding road that started with teaching, forked into seven years of traveling around the U.S. gamifying marketing activations and designing experiences, then took a hard right into visual design where I spent my days in a photo studio art directing and hand modeling (it’s true, this entire book is my hands) but eventually found my place in the world of product design where I am happily parked and have been for the last 6+ years.
AWARDS
I still giggle at myself for making a DIY tutorial at Brit+Co entitled “How To Make Pool Float Ornaments for Your Christmas Tree.”
EXPERIENCE
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First design hire, responsible for enhancing design processes and deliverables to minimize friction within the product. Collaborated closely with the founders to strategize and drive business growth. Design responsibilities encompassed two products, as well as occasional marketing collateral.
Key Achievements
Engaged as creative director to achieve an award-winning brand with agency Josephmark
Designed and delivered features that converted prospects into new customers
Carried out strategy and execution of all quantitative and qualitative user research, leading to the development of a new product in the company suite
Facilitated all-staff workshops to prioritize the roadmap
Worked in collaboration with the founders to design and launch The Employee Journey Designer, which had a waitlist of 2,500+ companies
Established cross-functional collaboration for better business alignment ensuring holistic understanding of customer and business needs
Conducted design audits and mentored other designers
Initiated a new way of working within the small team that resulted in better communication, goal creation, role clarity and design practices
Built two design systems; one for each product
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Performed 0-to-1 initiatives, responsible for discovery, UX and UI design, spec writing, collaboration with developers, art direction, managing freelance illustrators, user testing, design sprints, and client relationships. Products spanned mobile apps, web apps, POS, and responsive websites.
Key Achievements
Helped facilitate design sprints with entrepreneurs to clarify product vision and test early ideas before building
Managed up to 6 products simultaneously, ensuring high-quality execution
Designed 18+ products, spanning mobile apps, web apps, and POS systems
Awards: WEBBY Award for Best Visual Design (2022), WEBBY Honorees (2021 & 2022)
Improved client retention through effective communication and collaboration, and maintaining high standards of work
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Joined the team to develop a sister company in the insurtech market, building a complex SaaS product with a dual audience. Concepts generated $2.5M in investments.
Key Achievements
Developed strategy and created a brand identity for the company
Executed creative direction, copywriting, UX and UI design for the website, as well as managing and art directing freelance illustrators
Carried out all user research, UX and UI design and acted as PM to build and launch the web app
Created marketing assets, including hiring and working with an animator to create an explainer video
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Associate Creative Director (2016 - 2017)
Art Director (2015 - 2016)
Creative Producer (2013 - 2015)Across a four-year tenure, built a creative team of 20+ designers alongside the Executive Creative Director. Managed and executed brand creative from concept to completion working with clients such as Coca Cola, Cotton, IKEA and Sephora.
Key achievements
Led a team of 10 content creators, photo stylists and designers, developing strategy and overseeing execution of 111 native advertising campaigns
Art directed branded content including videos, DIY tutorials, guides, and articles
Acted as interim Design Director over a 3-month period
Guided the team through a brand refresh presenting directions to the CEO
Collaborated regularly with other team leads across the company to align goals
Managed creative team resources and budget
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Head of Production (2010 - 2012)
Senior Experiential Designer (2008 - 2010)
Game Producer (2007 - 2008)Conceptualized custom interactive games and experiences, and produced up to 12 per month, domestically and internationally, for groups of 20 to 3,000 participants. Clients included Google, Meta, Nike and many more.
Key achievements
Led game design, logistics, and event facilitation.
Hired, trained and mentored new game producers on the team, and managed the team schedule
Managed actors who participated in the events
Designed new game concepts, expanding company offerings including The Movie Game, The Gourmet Game, The Giving Back Game, and the Zombie Apocalypse Game
Experience from 2003-2007 available upon request.
My Process
Yes, we’d all like to say our process is a clean version of user-centered design that goes a little something like:
Discovery
Synthesis
Design
Test
Iterate & Refine
..until we find the perfect solution. But the reality is, this isn’t always possible in the context of both business needs and user needs.
Unless we are starting from scratch (in which case, process! 👏), my real process kicks off with questions:
What is the customer pull?
What is the lift?
Is there an “MVP” version of this feature that we can do with low lift and high impact?
What parts of our process are reasonable to forgo for this particular feature?
If we skip part of process here, can we add it to this other feature here?
What sets me______apart
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I learned from the best 🤗 and harnessed what I soaked up as a child to hone my storytelling chops throughout my career. From maintaining student attention as a teacher, to entertaining employees at marketing activations, to weaving a compelling narrative about a product strategy to stakeholders, this skill has seen me through every chapter of my career.
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Having worked at agencies and in-house means I’ve been able to build products from the ground up and also work on features that seem like an easy addition but have implications that go well beyond what meets the eye. This has taught me to look at the bigger picture, to assess features for unintended consequences, and to notice if a small change can have a big impact.
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(Gross, I can’t believe I left that title in.) Because I’ve sat on content teams, marketing teams, and been in leadership roles, I can easily understand other points of view that might contrast with those on the product team. This enables me to listen and communicate with an extra level of empathy that often builds strong cross-functional relationships and helps the team take a more holistic approach. Plus, I’m fun.
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While many of us empaths are sensitive beings (🙋♀️), I have a block when it comes to sensitivity around my designs—in that I’m not. I rarely believe the first pass is the best option, and I want everyone to poke holes. My goal is always to get to the best design. It excites me to hear “this won’t work because of this, but how about we try this instead.” Oh and I think developers’ opinions are gold so I cherish my partnerships with engineers who want to collaborate.
"A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions."
—Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
(Yes, I asked ChatGPT for that quote, and yes I had to ask who that dude is—he was a Supreme Court Justice in the early 1900s—but he really nailed my sentiment!)
Some nice things people have said that make me blush
“I have worked with many designers and design teams before, Danny and Roxy are the best design folks I’ve worked with - and I mean it. It’s rare to find people who have such thorough thought and care for a product.”
— YinHow, Mellow App
“This is where Blue Label earned our business tenfold. Roxy blew us away with her design for FanFare. On numerous occasions, she presented ideas to make FanFare more than we dreamed it could be, features that I think will set the app to the main stage. Her dedication and adoration of our project is motivation for first time founders.”
— Lawrence, FanFare App
“Beyond her design thinking skills, what stands out most is that she is a woman with many talents. It’s why she always winds up wearing many hats everywhere she goes.”