DESIGNING FOR GROWTH
My Journey at Gannett / USA Today
COMPANY
Gannett/USA Today
ROLE
UX/UI Designer
EXPERTISE
UX Design
DURATION
2022-2025
Overview
At Gannett, I helped design a scalable template system for LocaliQ that served both small businesses and large franchise networks. The goal was to support different tiers—Basic, Silver, and Multi-Location—while ensuring brand consistency, flexibility, and WCAG compliance.
We paired the system with a custom “Find a Location” widget, allowing franchises to highlight unique services per store while maintaining a cohesive look. This modular approach reduced production time, simplified onboarding, and gave businesses control over their online presence.
Evolving Into Product Design
In 2024, I joined the Product Design team to focus on internal tools for ad sales, lead management, and campaign workflows. I mapped user journeys, addressed pain points, and designed dashboards to streamline complex tasks and improve team efficiency.
I contributed to the evolving design system and helped shape Dash, an AI-powered lead management tool that automated tasks and surfaced insights. While I can’t share visuals due to NDA, the work strengthened my skills in system design, AI interaction, and cross-functional collaboration.
People, Culture, and Progress
Gannett was my first full-time UX role and laid the groundwork for how I approach design, collaboration, and problem-solving. I worked with talented teams across product, engineering, and design, growing into a more confident, systems-focused designer in a fast-paced, supportive environment.
Even while remote, the culture encouraged open communication and strong cross-team relationships. Though much of the work is under NDA, my contributions to brand systems, internal tools, and AI products played a key role in shaping my design approach and career growth.
