DAN MARTIN
SENIOR PRODUCT DESIGNER
CASE STUDIES
Accessible, Branded UX for Complex Smart Contracts
Designing user interfaces for optimized peer-to-peer lending tools with a focus on ease-of-use and branding
Pine Design
Designing experiences for engaging marketing and easing complex NFTfi transactions
Designing Secure Web3 Tools to Maximize ROI
Building a platform for non-custodial asset management use cases in the Play-to-Earn gaming space
stakefish Media Design
Designing content for Proof-of-Stake infrastructure products and DeFi marketing
Building and Gamifying Next-Gen NFTs
Designing engaging NFTs with an accompanying delivery platform
Turning Customers into Brand Advocates with Gamification
Creating a system that produces procedurally generated artwork at scale using real photos of engaged customers
Prototyping an IoT Device for Automated Ordering
Improving the customer experience for a physical consumer product by leveraging software and hardware working in unison
Building An Automated, Low-Latency Accessibility Product
Using the latest IoT technology to provide accessibility services for disabled users
Leveraging Design & Cryptocurrency in Content Monetization
How to smooth pain points in Bitcoin transactions and appeal to a specific market
Developing Internal Tools for Effective Sales Campaigns
Empowering salespeople to deliver on-site previews consistent with the post-purchase experience
A Blockchain Secured Delivery Service MVP in the Sharing Economy
Growing and building trust for an on-demand parcel delivery service platform
Disrupting a Traditional Advertising Model with an App Launch Platform
Converting print advertising to digital while adding value in hyperlocal markets
WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY
Harley Scroggins
Creative Director,
Harlanimation Inc.
"With a vast and sophisticated knowledge of the crypto space and NFT projects, Dan’s mentorship in the field was invaluable to our project’s success. His expertise in building, scaling, and leading a design team with an imaginative approach to problem-solving and ability to produce innovative results is unparalleled."
Ashton Playsted
Senior Communications Coordinator,
MakerDAO
"Dan is talented, hardworking, an expert at what he does, and a genuine pleasure to work with. Most importantly: I have never worked with anyone who cares more about producing the highest quality work possible."
Kris Savoy
Senior DevOps Engineer,
TruePill
"Dan's expertise with product development from ideation to implementation has brought a number of MVPs into being. His desire to understand the root of the challenge and strong work ethic are informed by a data-driven methodology tempered by collaboration and forged under the pressure of business needs and market opportunities."
Joe Siracuse
Owner, Founder,
Shoe Care Supplies
"Dan helped us save a ton of money by building custom software for us. [He] also helped us launch new branded products and reach more customers with campaigns and tools we use internally which improved our productivity. Our numbers increased by margins beyond anything we could have expected."
Cheryl Thorpe
Founder,
Global Pet Grooming
"Dan helped me increase my revenue with marketing and other upgrades that made my business more efficient. He put together a plan after taking the time to learn about the details of my business. The results are clear to us. Nothing comes close to that kind of personal service."
Rev. Michael Dolan
Administrator,
AOHCT
"Dan custom designed and built out an ambitious product for our venue based on our very specific needs. Frankly, it was so high-tech and complex, the plan was to start with something experimental, but the quality of the initial prototype was so robust and user friendly that we put it to use right away. Knocked it out of the park!"
John Mason
Exec. Producer,
Duke Mason Productions
"Dan's creative abilities are unsurpassed. I needed some input on video projects and he has elevated the production value more than expected. His advice, expertise, and guidance brought early ideas to life beyond what I envisioned."
TOOLS
These are some of my favorite digital creation tools. While this list represents my favorites, different projects often involve many more not listed here, and I can – and do – integrate various workflows with other software as the project requires.
Photoshop
Illustrator
Figma
Sketch
Adobe XD
After Effects
Cinema 4D
Premiere
Final Cut Pro
AWS
VS Code
ABOUT ME
I’ve been a creator my whole life. From a very young age, I’ve been designing and building things.
It has always been fun for me to make something that was more than the sum of its parts. From complex Legos to custom contraptions made of household items, I’ve been creating things that "wow" people since preschool. With unlimited access to my engineer grandfather’s workshop and his guidance and encouragement, I began my creative career very early.
It has always been fun for me to make something that was more than the sum of its parts. From complex Legos to custom contraptions made of household items, I’ve been creating things that "wow" people since preschool. With unlimited access to my engineer grandfather’s workshop and his guidance and encouragement, I began my creative career very early.
A pirate ship model I designed and constructed using household items in kindergarten
Through some art school, – Emerson College, 2005 – a lot of freelancing, and stints at startups, that passion has become my work. I still love every part of the creation process, but most of all the feedback and positive reactions from users. That enjoyment has led me to venture in all kinds of different media, learning through exploration, resourcefulness, and sheer will to achieve things that no one has done before.
At my core I’ve always been a problem solver. As far back as elementary school, recognition of my academic aptitude and artistic abilities gained me an invitation to the gifted and talented program which granted me a membership to the prestigious Future Problem Solvers International Program where students are tasked with devising unique solutions to problems that the world might face 20 to 30 years in the future.
This early experience further fueled my drive to create. As a creative problem solver, I can adapt to any situation and apply my creativity to solve the problem at hand.
And I love solving problems for people with my creativity.
That’s taken a lot of forms. From Apps, to marketing campaigns, manufacturing of tangible physical products, video productions and more, I have expertise in many areas, gained though my own curiosity, love of learning, and refusal to accept the idea that anything is impossible.
At my core I’ve always been a problem solver. As far back as elementary school, recognition of my academic aptitude and artistic abilities gained me an invitation to the gifted and talented program which granted me a membership to the prestigious Future Problem Solvers International Program where students are tasked with devising unique solutions to problems that the world might face 20 to 30 years in the future.
This early experience further fueled my drive to create. As a creative problem solver, I can adapt to any situation and apply my creativity to solve the problem at hand.
And I love solving problems for people with my creativity.
That’s taken a lot of forms. From Apps, to marketing campaigns, manufacturing of tangible physical products, video productions and more, I have expertise in many areas, gained though my own curiosity, love of learning, and refusal to accept the idea that anything is impossible.
Some intricate skeuomorphic UI that I created for an Apple project in 2012
Through some art school, – Emerson College, 2005 – a lot of freelancing, and stints at startups, that passion has become my work. I still love every part of the creation process, but most of all the feedback and positive reactions from users. That enjoyment has led me to venture in all kinds of different media, learning through exploration, resourcefulness, and sheer will to achieve things that no one has done before.
At my core I’ve always been a problem solver. As far back as elementary school, recognition of my academic aptitude and artistic abilities gained me an invitation to the gifted and talented program which granted me a membership to the prestigious Future Problem Solvers International Program where students are tasked with devising unique solutions to problems that the world might face 20 to 30 years in the future.
This early experience further fueled my drive to create. As a creative problem solver today, I can adapt to any situation and apply my creativity to solve the problem at hand.
And I love solving problems for people with my creativity.
That’s taken a lot of forms. From Apps, to marketing campaigns, manufacturing of tangible physical products, video productions and more, I have deep experience in many domains, gained though my own curiosity, love of learning, and refusal to accept the idea that anything is impossible.
At my core I’ve always been a problem solver. As far back as elementary school, recognition of my academic aptitude and artistic abilities gained me an invitation to the gifted and talented program which granted me a membership to the prestigious Future Problem Solvers International Program where students are tasked with devising unique solutions to problems that the world might face 20 to 30 years in the future.
This early experience further fueled my drive to create. As a creative problem solver today, I can adapt to any situation and apply my creativity to solve the problem at hand.
And I love solving problems for people with my creativity.
That’s taken a lot of forms. From Apps, to marketing campaigns, manufacturing of tangible physical products, video productions and more, I have deep experience in many domains, gained though my own curiosity, love of learning, and refusal to accept the idea that anything is impossible.
Some intricate skeuomorphic UI that I created for an Apple project in 2012
In my experience few designers can truly execute artistic design while also building the way an engineer can.
And while this is my talent, it's not just about me. Some of my greatest successes came as a result of great teamwork in highly collaborative environments where I either led teams, or were part of them. Although I consider myself an excellent leader, all of my projects involve deep collaboration and the best products are executed by crossfunctional teams.
And while this is my talent, it's not just about me. Some of my greatest successes came as a result of great teamwork in highly collaborative environments where I either led teams, or were part of them. Although I consider myself an excellent leader, all of my projects involve deep collaboration and the best products are executed by crossfunctional teams.
MY PROCESS
Great design solves problems.
Early on, when my physical artistry was transitioning to digital, it was all about making things look pretty, creating flashy visuals. But good design in any context adds value.
My view is that if something isn’t valuable, resources should not be spent on it. Value can be measured in any number of ways and certainly can be subjective - many things have value in different ways to different people - but I truly believe in the importance of cost benefit assessments. In order to achieve successful designs, I first gain a deep understanding of the goals of each individual project through collaboration with the stakeholders in a discovery process, so I can formulate a valid strategy.
Early on, when my physical artistry was transitioning to digital, it was all about making things look pretty, creating flashy visuals. But good design in any context adds value.
My view is that if something isn’t valuable, resources should not be spent on it. Value can be measured in any number of ways and certainly can be subjective - many things have value in different ways to different people - but I truly believe in the importance of cost benefit assessments. In order to achieve successful designs, I first gain a deep understanding of the goals of each individual project through collaboration with the stakeholders in a discovery process, so I can formulate a valid strategy.
In my design world, there has to be some reason for the “why?” beyond just looking great. To find out what that “why” is, I always ask a lot of questions during a discovery round so I learn about the underlying problems that need to be solved. I just like to talk business and that helps to get to the root of needs. Those "problems" can be expressed as:
“we need to increase revenue,”
“we need to decrease cost of customer acquisition,”
“we need to improve the customer experience,”
“we need our employees to be more efficient,”
for example.
Because even when a client has come to me asking to help create a new website, or video production for example, those needs can be distilled down to something larger. Why do you need a new website? What made you decide you wanted a new video to promote your company? What are you ultimately trying to accomplish?
“we need to increase revenue,”
“we need to decrease cost of customer acquisition,”
“we need to improve the customer experience,”
“we need our employees to be more efficient,”
for example.
Because even when a client has come to me asking to help create a new website, or video production for example, those needs can be distilled down to something larger. Why do you need a new website? What made you decide you wanted a new video to promote your company? What are you ultimately trying to accomplish?
A strategy is critical to successful design.
Once I understand that underlying goal, I formulate a plan to achieve it. I’m highly creative but I also rely on my business acumen to develop these plans and it's always an element to formulating the “how” that the design depends on.
I’ve saved many clients a lot of money - and made them more money - by helping them figure out the very best ways to solve their problems using design.
This why my design work heavily involves problem solving. Every prototype I design solves a well defined problem. Every marketing campaign I’ve created serves a specific goal. And the success of these creations can be measured with precise metrics. They look amazing, work amazing, are designed to serve specific needs, and the numbers demonstrate their success.
Great design looks great and works great all while serving a greater purpose.
And this holistic approach of mine continues to serve me well.
Once I understand that underlying goal, I formulate a plan to achieve it. I’m highly creative but I also rely on my business acumen to develop these plans and it's always an element to formulating the “how” that the design depends on.
I’ve saved many clients a lot of money - and made them more money - by helping them figure out the very best ways to solve their problems using design.
This why my design work heavily involves problem solving. Every prototype I design solves a well defined problem. Every marketing campaign I’ve created serves a specific goal. And the success of these creations can be measured with precise metrics. They look amazing, work amazing, are designed to serve specific needs, and the numbers demonstrate their success.
Great design looks great and works great all while serving a greater purpose.
And this holistic approach of mine continues to serve me well.
ABOUT ME
I’ve been a creator my whole life. From a very young age, I’ve been designing and building things.
It has always been fun for me to make something that was more than the sum of its parts. From complex Legos to custom contraptions made of household items, I’ve been creating things that wow people since preschool. With unlimited access to my engineer grandfather’s workshop and his guidance and encouragement, I began my creative career very early.
It has always been fun for me to make something that was more than the sum of its parts. From complex Legos to custom contraptions made of household items, I’ve been creating things that wow people since preschool. With unlimited access to my engineer grandfather’s workshop and his guidance and encouragement, I began my creative career very early.
A pirate ship model I designed and constructed using household items in kindergarten
Through some art school, – Emerson College, 2005 – a lot of freelancing, and stints at startups, that passion has become my work. I still love every part of the creation process, but most of all the feedback and positive reactions from users. That enjoyment has led me to venture in all kinds of different media, learning through exploration, resourcefulness, and sheer will to achieve things that no one has done before.
At my core I’ve always been a problem solver. As far back as elementary school, recognition of my academic aptitude and artistic abilities gained me an invitation to the gifted and talented program which granted me a membership to the prestigious Future Problem Solvers International Program where students are tasked with devising unique solutions to problems that the world might face 20 to 30 years in the future.
This early experience further fueled my drive to create. As a creative problem solver, I can adapt to any situation and apply my creativity to solve the problem at hand.
And I love solving problems for people with my creativity.
That’s taken a lot of forms. From Apps, to marketing campaigns, manufacturing of tangible physical products, video productions and more, I have expertise in many areas, gained though my own curiosity, love of learning, and refusal to accept the idea that anything is impossible.
At my core I’ve always been a problem solver. As far back as elementary school, recognition of my academic aptitude and artistic abilities gained me an invitation to the gifted and talented program which granted me a membership to the prestigious Future Problem Solvers International Program where students are tasked with devising unique solutions to problems that the world might face 20 to 30 years in the future.
This early experience further fueled my drive to create. As a creative problem solver, I can adapt to any situation and apply my creativity to solve the problem at hand.
And I love solving problems for people with my creativity.
That’s taken a lot of forms. From Apps, to marketing campaigns, manufacturing of tangible physical products, video productions and more, I have expertise in many areas, gained though my own curiosity, love of learning, and refusal to accept the idea that anything is impossible.
Some intricate skeuomorphic UI that I created for an Apple project in 2012
In my experience few designers can truly execute artistic design while also building the way an engineer can.
And while this is my talent, it's not just about me. Some of my greatest successes came as a result of great teamwork in highly collaborative environments where I either led teams, or were part of them. Although I consider myself an excellent leader, all of my projects involve deep collaboration and I recognize when a role requires more team work.
And while this is my talent, it's not just about me. Some of my greatest successes came as a result of great teamwork in highly collaborative environments where I either led teams, or were part of them. Although I consider myself an excellent leader, all of my projects involve deep collaboration and I recognize when a role requires more team work.
MY PROCESS
Good design solves problems.
Early on, when my physical artistry was transitioning to digital, it was all about making things look pretty, creating flashy visuals. But good design in any context adds value.
My view is that if something isn’t valuable, resources should not be spent on it. Value can be measured in any number of ways and certainly can be subjective - many things have value in different ways to different people - but I truly believe in the importance of cost benefit assessments. In order to achieve successful designs, I first gain a deep understanding of the goals of each individual project through collaboration with the stakeholders in a discovery process, so I can formulate a valid strategy.
Early on, when my physical artistry was transitioning to digital, it was all about making things look pretty, creating flashy visuals. But good design in any context adds value.
My view is that if something isn’t valuable, resources should not be spent on it. Value can be measured in any number of ways and certainly can be subjective - many things have value in different ways to different people - but I truly believe in the importance of cost benefit assessments. In order to achieve successful designs, I first gain a deep understanding of the goals of each individual project through collaboration with the stakeholders in a discovery process, so I can formulate a valid strategy.
In my design world, there has to be some reason for the “why?” beyond just looking great. To find out what that “why” is, I always ask a lot of questions during a discovery round so I learn about the underlying problems that need to be solved. I just like to talk business and that helps to get to the root of needs. Those "problems" can be expressed as:
“we need to increase revenue,”
“we need to decrease cost of customer acquisition,”
“we need to improve the customer experience,”
“we need our employees to be more efficient,”
for example.
Because even when a client has come to me asking to help create a new website, or video production for example, those needs can be distilled down to something larger. Why do you need a new website? What made you decide you wanted a new video to promote your company? What are you ultimately trying to accomplish?
“we need to increase revenue,”
“we need to decrease cost of customer acquisition,”
“we need to improve the customer experience,”
“we need our employees to be more efficient,”
for example.
Because even when a client has come to me asking to help create a new website, or video production for example, those needs can be distilled down to something larger. Why do you need a new website? What made you decide you wanted a new video to promote your company? What are you ultimately trying to accomplish?
A strategy is critical to successful design.
Once I understand that underlying goal, I formulate a plan to achieve it. I’m highly creative but I also rely on my business acumen to develop these plans and it's always an element to formulating the “how” that the design depends on.
I’ve saved many client’s a lot of money - and made them more money - by helping them figure out the very best ways to solve their problems using design.
This why my design work heavily involves problem solving. Every prototype I design solves a well defined problem. Every marketing campaign I’ve created serves a specific goal. And the success of these creations can be measured with precise metrics. They look amazing, work amazing, are designed to serve specific needs, and the numbers demonstrate their success.
Great design looks great and works great all while serving a greater purpose.
And this holistic approach of mine has served me well.
You can see what some people I have worked with have had to say about what I’ve done for them:
Once I understand that underlying goal, I formulate a plan to achieve it. I’m highly creative but I also rely on my business acumen to develop these plans and it's always an element to formulating the “how” that the design depends on.
I’ve saved many client’s a lot of money - and made them more money - by helping them figure out the very best ways to solve their problems using design.
This why my design work heavily involves problem solving. Every prototype I design solves a well defined problem. Every marketing campaign I’ve created serves a specific goal. And the success of these creations can be measured with precise metrics. They look amazing, work amazing, are designed to serve specific needs, and the numbers demonstrate their success.
Great design looks great and works great all while serving a greater purpose.
And this holistic approach of mine has served me well.
You can see what some people I have worked with have had to say about what I’ve done for them:
CONTACT
I help visionary companies grow by using my creativity, design, and problem solving skills. I would love to learn about your vision so I can see how I can add value for you.
Let's work together.
Let's work together.
Call me at
Email me at
