Hi! My name is Darren, and I'm a design leader who started in games and worked in commerce, healthcare, education, and finance.

Today, I lead a multidisciplinary team within a 50+ person design org at Citizens Bank, where I direct experience strategy across 5 brand segments.

In my career, I’ve made Nintendo DS titles at 1st Playable Productions, built mobile-first e-commerce for Coach and Warner Music Group, and led rapid experimentation at edX (MIT/Harvard) that drove $37M+ in revenue.

Projects

Leadership & Strategy

Citizens Bank: Commercial Banking

Built a UX practice from zero and delivered a multi-year platform transformation for 75K+ business clients on Citizens' largest revenue line.

  • 5 industry awards

  • 96% screen scraping risk cut

  • Weeks → minutes onboarding

Citizens Bank: HELOC Fastline

Took a struggling initiative to #1 market position by resetting the team, the process, and the design vision.

  • $10.1B in originations (+26.3%)

  • Mid-80s NPS (+20 pts)

  • 50% faster origination

Creative Direction / Branding

Optaros / MRM Commerce: Translating Iconic Brands

Five years building mobile-first DTC commerce for major consumer brands, translating print-focused brand systems into responsive digital storefronts.

  • Coach, Warner Music Group, Stella & Dot, Nestlé

  • Broke Magento platform sales records

  • 125% YoY revenue increase at Stella & Dot

Citizens Bank: 5 Brands, 1 Design System

Pitched and shaped a themeable design system that lets 5 banking sub-brands share infrastructure while each keeps its own identity, palette, and tone of voice.

  • Retail, Business, Commercial, Wealth, and Private Bank

  • Themeable via design tokens

  • Adopted across a 50+ person UX organization

Hands-On Impact

edX (MIT/Harvard): Revenue Optimization

Three-year experimentation arc that helped a mission-driven nonprofit achieve financial sustainability without compromising free, open education.

  • $37M+ in attributable revenue

  • 200+ research studies

  • 35% conversion lift