ABOUT

KOSTA KATEHIS
Boston, MA

MY STORY

I'm currently running my own business as a design consultant focused on helping startups and SMBs realize their potential. I work as an embedded team member, so that I can collaborate with stakeholders and iterate rapidly to validate ideas in the real world.

I thrive in ambiguity, being in the driver's seat to solve challenging problems with a strong focus on craft, user needs, vision-setting, systems building and high exploration output.

CAREER BACKGROUND
Over the course of my career, I’ve cut my teeth and climbed the ranks of design within in-house and agency settings. I have extensive experience in a variety of design disciplines with a focus on product design for mobile apps and software platforms. Additionally, I can drive large-scale initiatives for e-commerce sites, marketing, brand and advertising experiences.

I have a versatile and deep skillset, because I started my career in advertising as a graphic designer working on a number of cross-channel experiences from campaigns, content, branding, marketing to digital. I fell in love with the digital space as soon as I worked on my first website back in 2008, so my career path evolved into an art director role, where I could translate business strategy into compelling digital, brand, marketing and advertising campaigns for global brands like GM, Panera, Jetblue and MassMutual.

A few years later, I was determined to partner with SMBs and non-profits, where I could define their web, brand and marketing experiences through my own design studio, Create + Conquer, that I bootstrapped from the ground up. I led design for projects for Northeastern University, MSPCA, New England Coffee and a number of other consumer brands.

In the last decade, I transitioned to player-coach roles at DraftKings, CVS Health, Foresight and a number of startups. In 2022, I started my own design consultancy, where I've combined everything that I've learned in the startup tech world with my agency experience to bring products and brands to market in a variety of industries from consumer to gaming and AI.

CAPABILITIES
Product Design (iOS, Android, Web)
User Interface Design (UI)
User Experience Design (UX)
Game Design: Sports, Sportsbook & Casino
Design Systems Strategy & Implementation
0 to 1 MVP Product Design
WCAG Accessibility Design
Responsive Web Design
Brand & Identity Design
Art Direction
Graphic Design
Agile Project Management
Usability Testing
Prototyping
Copywriting

SELECT BRANDS
General Motors
DraftKings
CVS Health
JP Morgan ChaseJP
Northeastern University
New England Coffee
Learning Express Toys
Foresight Mental Health
SolidWorks
MassMutual
Bob's Stores
JetBlue
Panera
MIT

CAREER EXPERIENCE

Product Design (UX/UI) Consultant
Aug 2022 - Present

Featured Client: General Motors

In-vehicle app design lead for OnStar and digital Owner’s Manual redesign projects, which included  AI-powered features for multi-modal vehicle displays and touch surfaces.

Featured Client: Covariant AI
Design lead across AI product experiences for warehouse robotics and internal software platform workstreams.

Featured Client: JPMorgan Chase
Design lead for enterprise account products and tools that serve over 12,000 front-office and back-office users.

Various SMBs & Stealth Startups (e-commerce, consumer, gaming)
UX/UI lead for mobile apps, e-commerce sites and SaaS platforms
Visual design for marketing, advertising, content and branding

Director of Product Design
Foresight Mental Health
Jun 2021 - May 2022

Product Design
Led product design launches of the member product in 8 new states in a 10-month span, expanding access to affordable mental healthcare to 12,000 new patients.

Partnered with product and engineering to redesign the member app which led to increases in NPS, completion rate of member assessments and reduced cost-to-serve for ops teams.

Led design system from leadership pitch to strategy and implementation for omni-channel experiences across product, brand, content, marketing and clinics that served over 340 Foresighters.

Brand & Marketing
Led the redesign of Foresight’s marketing site, establishing the scope, design strategy and key functions. Collaborated with marketing and engineering teams to create site maps, mobile- first responsive wireframes and web designs.

Co-led the Foresight rebrand implementation for external and internal audiences across omni-channel experiences.

Provided creative direction for marketing and brand initiatives across social, email and landing pages ensuring a high level of quality and consistency with product experiences.

Team Leadership
Managed a team of 4 product designers across 3 work streams for member (patient), provider (therapist) and clinical operations product experiences.

Partnered with product and engineering to lead our teams through ambiguity and complexity by establishing two-week sprints, quarterly planning and empowering teams to own their roadmaps.

Established a growth culture for product design, created the first IC career paths, annual development action plan and 360 mid-year/annual review process.

Design Director, Enterprise
CVS Health
May 2020 - Jun 2021

Partnered with design teams to successfully launch COVID-19 vaccination and testing experiences across iOS, Android and web products to administer 86MM vaccines and 59MM tests in the U.S.

Hired, managed and scaled a design org of 16 ICs to 35 individuals across 11 work streams in a year, including 7 senior managers that were my direct reports.

Initiated, planned and launched iOS, Android and web UI component libraries as a phase 1 launch of the design system to define UX paradigms, evolve UI components and establish guidelines. This design system launch served over 300 designers, PMs and engineers.

Provided holistic interaction and UI design strategy for CVS enterprise initiatives across health services, pharmacy and retail product features for iOS, Android and web.

Established a collaborative enterprise design culture that fostered communication, transparency and visibility through weekly design showcases, design retros and monthly dept meetings.

Senior Product Design Manager
DraftKings
Apr 17, 2017 - Apr 24, 2020

Led product design for DK Live iOS, Android and web products that served over 210,000 active users. Contributing to the roadmap, strategy and features from MVP to releases over a 2-year span.

Created user flows, site maps, wireframes, prototypes and UI designs to redesign the app and launch new features to increase ad revenue, partnerships and cross-sell new users into core gaming products.

Established product design function in the Media department, managed a team of 3 and executed work across content, free-to-play gaming and internal platform/tools business units.

Managed Sportsbook and iGaming product design teams through product launches in Iowa, Indiana and Philadelphia.

Established cross-functional thought partnership with creative/brand teams providing UX strategy and direction for marketing initiatives across iOS, Android and web products.

Collaborated with leadership to ideate and craft concept designs on new business initiatives for sports league and corporate partnerships.

Initiated and executed the multi-state design launch playbook to enable design, product & engineering teams to rapidly execute and deploy features for product launches in new states.

Founder & Design Director
Create + Conquer
Feb 11, 2013 - Apr 14, 2017

Led UX strategy and creative direction to successfully launch marketing sites and product experiences for b2c, b2b, higher education, non-profit and startup clients. Select client partners included MSPCA, Northeastern University, New England Coffee, Historic New England, Thrive Hive and Matter Communications.

Conducted UX workshops with clients to define user needs, goals, requirements, personas and scope to create a shared vision and strategy for their projects.

Owned the design strategy and executed design work ranging from branding, websites, web apps and marketing campaigns for all client projects.

Created a mobile, responsive UI pattern framework in WordPress for all site and app projects.

Recruited and managed a team of designers and subcontractors.

Senior Art Director
BlueLuna
Jul 25, 2011 - Jan 17, 2013

Led design strategy and execution for responsive websites, web apps, branding and marketing projects. Executed user flows, site maps, wireframes, prototypes, UI designs and specifications.

Partnered with client stakeholders to translate business goals and users needs into experiences that accelerated growth and sales.

Successfully launched marketing sites and product experiences for b2c, b2b, higher education, non-profit and startup clients. Select client partners included MIT, NorthEastern University, Learning Express, Howard Gardner and Creative Playthings.

Hired & managed a small team of designers and established design internship program.

Art Director
Mullen
Jan 25, 2010 - Jul 22, 2011

Co-led concept ideation, design strategy, vision-setting and execution of art direction and visual design for cross-channel projects across websites, branding, print, video, tv, social and advertising campaigns for General Motors, MassMutual, Bob Stores, Panera and JetBlue.

Provided direction and creative oversight of designers, contractors, production artists and interns across art direction and UI design production work.

Created concepts, digital campaigns and designs for new business pitchs, which helped the agency win the JetBlue client in 2010.

Graphic Designer
Small Army
Mar 13, 2007 - Jan 22, 2010

Art direction and design for concepts and campaigns for cross-channel projects: websites, animations, branding, print, social and advertising for SolidWorks, Raytheon, Boston Globe and Bugaboo Creek.

Provided direction and oversight of contractors, production artists and interns.

Designed new business concepts, campaigns and pitch decks.

Graphic Design Manager
Mishra Group
Sept 5, 2005 - Mar 9, 2007

Executed concepts and designs for advertising across print and digital channels.

Art direction and illustration for visuals across print, newspaper covers and editorial content.

Communications Internship
Compton Consulting Group
May 2005

Public relationships firm associate that ran office operations and assisted leads with PR campaign needs.

Design Internship
Multimedia Pros
May 2004

Art direction and design for brand projects, websites and TV advertising campaigns. Also, wrote copy for radio adverting campaigns.

Design Internship
Hill Holliday
Sept 2004

Creative and design intership for the life sciences group within the agency focused on healthcare and pharmaceutical client campaigns.