About Shannon Kelly
Demographics
Pronouns: (She/Her)
Location: Cleveland, OH
Current Job Title: UX Strategist II at OverDrive, Inc.
Martial Status/Family: Married, two dependents.
Education: BS Multimedia and Web Design; MS UX Design (pending)
Shannon Kelly
UX & CRO Strategist and Designer
Background
Old school web designer turned UX-er. Having worked in many industries, Shannon has gained tremendous experience since 2002. With roles ranging from web, email & graphic/visual designer, social media strategist, SEO & CRO specialist, content creator, and UX designer/researcher. Some industries include wholesale distribution e-commerce (animal health), email & digital marketing agencies (with a diverse clientele and fortune 500s), entrepreneurial startups (design services, e-commerce, hosting, accounting) & digital distribution (libraries and schools). Alternatively, freelance has allowed Shannon to work with organizations in IT, medical equipment, non-profit, retail, artists/musicians, and more.
Goals
Create exceptional user experiences on the web for all. It doesn’t matter how you access the web or the journey you take to get to your destination; Shannon’s goal is to optimize the user experience and achieve business goals.
Passions
The importance of using research to create better products and services. Shannon loves to geek out on usability data, analytics, strategy, a/b testing, and conversion rate optimization. Shannon has also expanded her knowledge of SEO, information architecture, content hierarchy, and how those pair with user experience design principles.
Painpoints/Frustrations
When people don’t understand the difference between UI & UX design. UX isn’t about creating pretty things. It’s about talking and testing users and finding out if your product is complete junk or not; Is it practical and usable to all it’s intended?
UI focuses on visual aesthetics and design systems/elements.
Activities/Interests
- Professional development is critical – always learning.
- Massive fan of loves sci-fi, fantasy & thriller books, and movies.
- Former board member of UXPA Cleveland.
- A Maker for Close To My Heart.
- Master’s student studying UXD.
- Enjoys mentoring.
Hard Skills
Technical & professional- User Experience Design (UX); quantiative and qualitivative analysis; journeys/personas
- User Interface Design (UI) & Visual Design
- Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Digital Marketing Strategy & Social Media Marketing
- A/B & Split-Testing/Iteration Design
- Wireframing & Prototyping
- Information Architecture & Content Strategy/Hierarchy
- Adobe XD, Figma, Axure & UX Pin
- Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop
- Figjam, Miro and Mural
Crazy Egg, Hotjar, Lucky Orange, & Smartlook
Google Analytics, Tag manager, Pagespeed Insights/Lighthouse, Keyword Planner & Search console
Google Optimize360, VWO
Also: Moz, SEM Rush, Digioh, Unbounce & Pardot
Soft Skills
Social/interpersonal skills & character traits- Critical thinking
- Self-motivated
- Communication
- Teamwork
- High Work-Ethic
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Analysis
- Observation
- Brainstorming
- Time management
- Organizational
- Adaptability & Flexibility
- Creativity
- Resourcefulness
- Sympathy/Empathy