Meredith is an inspirational leader, a motivational whirlwind, who’s knowledge and strength in conviction is rivalled only by her kindness. As a manager you couldn’t ask for better, as a design leader you’re unlikely to find someone with the same creative energy or passion. Meredith is highly technical when needed and can tell a story to translate complex problems into actionable solutions.
About Me
Howdy! My name is Meredith Ragsdale.
I am a seasoned, results-driven leader with 15+ years of professional design experience and a demonstrated record of 8+ years managing and leading design, creative teams, and technology teams. I focus on user-centered design initiatives that deliver exceptional customer experiences through internal product, marketing, and engineering partnerships—leaning on user research, crafting personas, and mapping user journeys to inform product and design decisions. Throughout my career, I developed advanced technical skills, including wireframing, prototyping, front-end code, and usability testing, as well as a thorough knowledge of creative project management best practices, strategically applying this skill set to a series of roles designed to meet business objectives while meeting the needs of end-users. With a strong focus on collaboration and effective stakeholder communication, I have successfully managed large-scale design projects, collaborating with cross- functional teams to deliver high-quality products that exceed user expectations. I'm seeking to leverage my educational background, past experiences at large e-commerce organizations such as Booking.com and eBay, creative & technical expertise, and fiercely entrepreneurial spirit to fulfill an executive leadership role that facilitates the UX design needs for any organization to help measure success.
Aside from all of the work buzzwords and professional things I can do, I love to travel and see live music. I have been known to do a little amateur stand-up comedy and acting as well. I work hard and I laugh harder. Life is too short to not enjoy. Finding my work life balance is very important to me and keeps my head level and skills finely tuned.
Let's Build Something Together...
Tech Skills
- UX Design
- UI Design
- Visual Design
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Figma
- HTML5
- CSS3
- PHP
- Wordpress
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
Core Competencies
- Project Management
- Software Development Life Cycle
- Agile Methodologies
- Multidisciplinary Team Leadership
- Talent Development
- Proactive Listening & Communication
- Research & Development
- International Marketing & Advertising Campaigns
- Social Media Management
Education
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2010 - 2012
University of Texas at Austin
Advertising
Master of Arts -
2006 - 2007
The Johns Hopkins University
Multimedia & Web Design
Technical Certificate -
1999 - 2003
Appalachian State University
Advertising
Bachelor's Degree
Experience
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2019 - 2022
Stinger Studios
Principal UX Designer -
2013 - 2019
Booking.com
UX Design Lead & Software Development Manager -
2012 - 2013
Duda Mobile
Senior UX Designer -
2007 - 2012
PayPal
UX Designer
Recommendations
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David Bullock
Senior Product Designer at Mollie
Reported directly to Meredith at Booking.com -
I have worked with Meredith and Stinger Studios with multiple clients. What you get with Stinger that you can’t get with other places is the advanced knowledge and skills that come from someone who led at top brands like EBay, PayPal, and Booking.com. Stinger is going to give you not just what everyone else is doing but the type of work that puts you in front of your competition. Meredith always exceeds expectations!.
Alonzo Cudd
Strategic Consultant at Uptech
Client -
Meredith is an amazing example of creative talent that gets it. She is proactive, delivers well-crafted creative solutions driven by great ideas, and is always one step ahead of you. Working with Meredith is an incredible experience!!
Patrick Hanlon
Nontraditional, people-first brand evolutionary, author of “Primal Branding”. TEDx, YouTube Creator Academy, PRIMAL.LIVE, founder primalbranding.co & Thinktopia®
Client
Portfolio
To learn a little more about how I work and who I am, check out this Figma presentation https://bit.ly/meredithragsdale
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Marugame Udon USA, Meredith's largest client at Stinger Studios, was transitioning from their Global image to a more Americanized version for their US market. Marugame Udon is one of the largest food chains in the world. As of June 2019, the chain has 786 chains across Japan. The chain also has 217 operations outside Japan, including in Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Russia, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Thailand. The problem was the website was not resonating with American demographics.
Tasks:
- Define user flow to optimize UX based on business priorities and customer feedback
- Integrate Americanized design principals that resonate with American culture, while still keeping the traditional elements of Marugame Udon
- Optimize and code for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Create seamless as possible order flow with Brink POS system
- Build of website with scalability to accommodate the growth that Marugame Udon is planning, which involves someone without technical knowledge having the ability to update site content if needed
- Regional Menu implementation
- Define & implement digital advertising plan using Google Adwords, Google Display Network and FB/Instagram
Using research (analytics and user behavior based on previous site), small change testing (at first), a complete and accessible site rebuild and finally Google Adwords, Google Display & paid social campaigns, the user traffic after launch was increased by over 290% with gross revenue increasing by over 32%.
View Site from May 16, 2020 (before any changes)
View Site from September 16, 2020 (small changes for data input)
New Site Launch October 30, 2020
*A new agency is working with Marugame Udon so the current site has changed a bit.
- Client Marugame Udon
- Category Research, UX, Development, Digital Advertising & Marketing
- Dates 05/2020 - 09/2021
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Working for Booking.com for 6 years was probably the best learning experience I had as a UX Designer and a Leader. I started as a UX Designer who quickly got promoted to team lead of a multidisciplinary team focused on integrating payment user flows into the Booking.com ecosystem.
As a UX Designer and a TL, I ran A/B experiments focused on conversion and retention metrics. A/B experimentation may be the most humbling experience a UX Designer can have. I will never forget the day one of my experiments actually had 100% increase in conversion. Curious as to what I did (there is a picture below)? Let's chat!
Highlights as a UX Designer and TL:
- Supported all deliverables and KPI performance across the conversion funnel, customer account areas, and booking processes to facilitate the obtainment of all conversion-led goals
- Performed A/B testing and small steps to create engaging branding and products that maximized organizational impact and promoted a seamless end-user experience
- Directed the creation and implementation of a “Design for Frontend” class, serving more than 200 designers and communicating relevant information and content to increase individual’s professional performance
- Led a variety of diverse cross-functional teams encompassing 6-8 employees, perpetuating a collaborative environment that executed necessary strategic planning and solutions efficiently
Highlights as a Software Development Manager:
- Performed workflow and operation management across 36 direct reports and 8 teams, facilitating consistent communication and project management to increase organizational reach and profits
- Collaborated with directors of technology and directors of product stakeholders as well as C-Suite stakeholders, liaising between individuals, organizations, and team members supporting product development, distributing essential information continuously to maximize informed decision-making
- Preemptively addressed and resolved a myriad of potential issues with clients through expectation management, comprehensive strategic planning, and the minimization of low velocity
- Interviewed and hired over 250 personnel, evaluating individual qualifications and cross-referencing institutional needs to maximize revenue generation and organizational reach in the short- and long-term
- Built internal and external tooling for customers to better connect with customer service agents. This is crucial when you have over 2 million bookings a day
Highlights as a AdTech Development Manager:
- Led the design and build, together with tech and business teams, of an automated dynamic display advertising design system working across 180 countries, utilizing Google, DoubleClick and Facebook to create essential advertising technology and related processes
- Led a Facebook Live Deals campaign, through dynamic video production, creating several videos to book hotels based on geolocation and time zones for summer holiday
- Facilitated consistent communication with technology, research and business teams to create engaging branding and marketing plans that maximized organizational reach and effective engaged with both target and ideal audiences
- Created comprehensive Agile Practices, objectives and key results (OKRs), and strategic planning to enhance the effectiveness of marketing and advertising initiatives
- Ensured that all strategic planning and business development initiatives aligned with organizational branding and all budgetary stipulations to enhance return on investment (ROI) and promote effective revenue generation opportunities
- Employer Booking.com
- Category Research, UX, Development, eCommerce, Digital Advertising & Marketing
- Dates 04/2013 - 04/2019
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This client has 2 eCommerce websites, Highline Tack and Fineline Tack, and a a very loyal customer base. When working with clients such as this, you do not want to make too many changes that could confuse loyal users that are familiar with the web experience.
Tasks:
- Move websites from Squarespace into Wordpress to allow for payment option flexibilities and better UX
- Test current user flow and optimize based on conversions and overall user experience
- Implement new payment options through Square and Affirm
- Set up analytics and tracking to show value
- Increase site traffic and conversions through advertising and optimized SEO
- Define & implement digital advertising plan using Google Adwords, Google Display Network and FB/Instagram
Top UX Research learning was that before the move the filters for the saddles were hidden in dropdown menus. User testing verified that the user found it easier to find the saddle they were looking for with every filter option listed at the top, opposed to hidden under drop down menus. This was verified by the drop in pages per session through Google Analytics.
Since the launch of Highline Tack, sales have also increased by 111% resulting in almost $4 million in sales in 2021. Fineline Tack sales have increased by 101% resulting in over $600k sales in 2021. The main difference between the 2 sites are the quality of saddles sold, which is why the sales are much higher on Highline Tack.
- Client Highline Tack family
- Category Research, UX, Development, eCommerce, Digital Advertising & Marketing
- Dates 04/2020 - Present
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This client needed a fully functional eCommerce site. The retail funnel was first focused on educating their customers and potential customers about CBD then leading them to make the appropriate decision on which product to buy.
Tasks:
- Research and content writing concerning CBD and its properties
- Custom design based off WooCommerce Storefront child theme
- Create user flow based on education leading to conversions
- Mobile optimized eCommerce experience
- Set up analytics and tracking to show value
- Increase site traffic optimized SEO
- Client Corvus CBD
- Category Research, Visual Design, Development & eCommerce
- Dates 06/2019 - Present
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This client needed 32 landing pages to showcase work for new client pitches, in a creative eye catching way.
Tasks:
- Create easy to personalize landing experience for potential clients
- Creative and eye catching way to showcase prior work
- Quick design and development time (under a week)
- Client Patrick Hanlon (now of Primal Branding)
- Category Design & Development
- Dates 06/2011
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Wireframes designed while working at a San Francisco agency for Kaiser Permanente. Main goal of the site was to educate government employees on health options through Kaiser Permanente.
Healthcare plans vary through government agencies and positions. The competition in healthcare for government employees is quite high as well in the state of California. With this site we researched the several use cases and the largest percentage of targeted users have agreed that choosing their healthcare through the governement portal was confusing and hard to understand. Because of the confusion the option to make the education process more like an interactive movie. KP sign-ups went up 25% from previous years.
- Client Kaiser Permanente
- Category UX Design
- Dates 10/2012
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Wireframes designed while working at a San Francisco agency for VM Ware's Cloud Foundry Project. VM Ware was launching a new public project, however the user interface had been designed by developers. Main goal of the project was to make the product easier to understand from a user perspective by adding more explanation to the flow.
- Client VM Ware
- Category UX Design
- Dates 12/2012
