Apple Marcom Interactive
2015 - 2022
At Apple Marcom Interactive, I served as the Lead Application Designer for the internally developed Content Management System (CMS) that managed and published Apple product content globally on apple.com. My role involved overseeing all aspects of the design process, from gathering requirements and creating wireframes to producing high-fidelity mockups and detailed design specifications.
I worked closely with internal Content Managers and Producers to ensure that the CMS was user-friendly and efficient, allowing for the seamless publishing of product information across multiple platforms. This system played a critical role in ensuring that Apple’s global marketing efforts were executed smoothly and consistently. Throughout the project, I collaborated with development teams and stakeholders to ideate, implement, and refine the user experience, ultimately delivering a powerful tool that supported Apple’s high standards for content presentation and brand consistency.
Denali
The Denali project was a long-term initiative at Apple, where I served as the lead UX designer for approximately five years. The primary objective was to enhance and create new features for Denali, an internally developed Content Management System (CMS) used to manage content for www.apple.com. My role involved collaborating closely with business stakeholders to define requirements and design solutions to meet the needs of diverse users. The system was essential for content managers, who used it to create the structural layout of product pages, segmenting them for navigation, hero content, and multimedia elements. Given Apple's global reach, a major focus was ensuring the tool allowed for easy localization, enabling content managers to tailor pages for different geographic regions and languages, while also accommodating local image and content restrictions.
Throughout the project, I worked with Business Analysts from the Marcom Interactive team, as well as Apple's internal IS&T team to implement the designs. The tool's impact was significant, as it played a crucial role in managing content for Apple’s global online product offerings, including new product launches. Denali allowed for seamless collaboration between content managers and translation specialists, ensuring that product pages were not only visually aligned with Apple’s design standards but also optimized for each region’s language and cultural preferences.
Satellite
At Apple Marcom, I contributed to the Satellite project, an internal initiative aimed at streamlining and automating the process of publishing global marketing content for Apple’s products. The project was designed to manage the complex workflows involved in the creation, approval, and deployment of marketing assets across multiple regions and languages.
My role focused on the user experience design of the platform, ensuring that it was intuitive and accessible for internal teams such as content producers, localization teams, and project managers. I worked closely with these teams to gather insights, define user requirements, and develop a system that simplified collaboration and allowed for more efficient content management.
The Satellite project significantly improved the speed and accuracy of publishing Apple’s marketing materials by automating workflows and reducing the potential for human error. It allowed teams to seamlessly manage content across different markets while maintaining the high standards for consistency and quality that Apple is known for.
This platform played a key role in ensuring that Apple’s global marketing efforts could scale efficiently as the company continued to grow.
Retail CMS
Led the UX design for Apple's 2020 retail information management system, an internal tool empowering store managers to efficiently update their store's digital presence. This critical project streamlined the process of communicating store information, services, and safety protocols across Apple's web and mobile platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key contributions included designing an intuitive interface for inputting store details, hours, and available services, as well as developing a dynamic "Services Modal" feature for easy updates to both in-store and online offerings.
Throughout the project, accessibility and ease of use were prioritized to ensure usability for store managers of all technical skill levels. The work involved creating clear labeling, developing error handling processes, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to integrate seamlessly with customer-facing platforms. This internal tool significantly improved the accuracy and timeliness of store information updates, enhancing Apple's ability to communicate effectively with customers during rapidly changing retail conditions. The project played a vital role in supporting Apple's adaptive retail strategy, indirectly impacting millions of customers globally by ensuring access to up-to-date, accurate information about their local Apple stores.
iCMS
Led the development of iCMS, a cutting-edge content management application designed to replace Apple's legacy Denali system. This innovative tool revolutionized how Apple manages and distributes product content across its global digital platforms. At the heart of iCMS was a pioneering use of Git as a real-time distributed database management system, enabling a truly global and flexible workflow.
The system allowed content editors worldwide to work offline, making updates and changes to product information, marketing materials, and localized content. Upon reconnecting to the internet, iCMS seamlessly integrated these changes with updates made by other users, resolving conflicts and maintaining data integrity. This git-based approach significantly enhanced collaboration, reduced downtime, and ensured that Apple's vast content library remained up-to-date and consistent across all markets. The project not only streamlined Apple's content management processes but also set a new standard for distributed content management systems in large-scale enterprise environments.
