Friday, June 26, 2026

16:41

DESIGNER. LEADER. BUILDER OF THINGS THAT SCALE

JAMES

JACOBSEN

Fifteen years of shipping products, building teams, and getting design a seat at the table, across blockchain-powered global trade platforms, AI-driven enterprise SaaS, Fortune 1000 consumer apps, and brand systems for some of the most recognized media brands in the world.

I'm James Jacobsen, a design leader based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I came up through brand and editorial design before moving into product, which means I think about systems, visual language, and user experience as one problem, not three separate disciplines.

I've led design at every stage of a company's life, from founding designer on a net-new blockchain platform to Director of UX at a Fortune 1000 retailer. I believe design earns its seat at the table through results, not process decks, and I've spent fifteen years proving that.

Systems Thinking

Designs that scale

60%

AI

Claude, MCPs, Cursor

25%

Instinct

15+ years of pattern recognition

15%

SELECTED WORK

SELECTED WORK

FourKites AI/ML Solution

FourKites AI/ML Solution

SaaS

Data Visualzation

Design Systems

AI/ML

Designed the interaction framework for an ML-powered automation product that reduced manual steps by 30% across Fortune 500 supply chains, including human-in-the-loop oversight models that built operator trust in AI-generated outputs.

TradeLens Executive Dashboard

TradeLens Insights
Dashboard

SaaS

Blockchain

Data Visualization

Design Systems

Reporting

Designed a real-time shipment intelligence dashboard for a Maersk and IBM blockchain platform, translating complex global trade data into actionable insights for compliance teams across 15+ international markets.

GO E2E UX Redesign

GO E2E UX Redesign

Retail

Backend UI/UX

Design Systems

Data Visualization

Designed the internal enterprise platform powering operations across 500+ Grocery Outlet stores, streamlining workflows for store operators and improving speed-to-market by 25% through scalable design systems and DesignOps improvements.

FourKites Facilities Dashboard

FourKites Facilities
Dashboard

SaaS

Data Visualzation

Design Systems

Branding

Designed a data-dense facilities monitoring dashboard for enterprise logistics teams, surfacing real-time shipment and operational signals across complex multi-location supply chain environments.

GO App Redesign + AI Rec

GO App Redesign + AI Rec

Commerce

Mobile UI/UX

Design Systems

AI

Led the end-to-end redesign of Grocery Outlet's consumer mobile app, building an AI-powered recommendations engine that drove 700K+ downloads, 8% sales penetration, and a 4.5 App Store rating.

Branding

Branding

Logo Design

Typography

Brand Guides

Print

Animation

Built brand identities, visual systems, and design languages from the ground up across enterprise platforms, consumer apps, and media brands, including the full PCMag rebrand and TradeLens visual identity.

I Went There: Beyond the Brief

Beyond the Brief

Illustration

Animation

I know, I know. Personal work on a portfolio is practically taboo. But if you've made it this far, you deserve the full picture. Three years of Halloween-themed work that exists outside any brief or client request. No deliverables. No stakeholders. Just the other side of the designer.

Grocery Outlet

Director of User Experience

2024-2026

Led product design for a Fortune 1000 retailer's mobile app and digital ecosystem, serving 2M+ monthly active users. Designed an AI-powered recommendations engine and oversaw the product design system across all platforms.

FourKites

Senior Product Design Manager

2023-2024

Led design for AI-driven supply chain platforms tracking 3.2M+ daily shipments across Fortune 500 logistics teams. Designed human-in-the-loop ML automation products and shaped 0-to-1 vision across 3 emerging product lines.

Ziff Davis

Senior UI/UX Designer 2014-2018

Designer 2012-2014

Led design across high-traffic digital media brands including PCMag, IGN, Mashable, and Geek. Art directed and designed across multiple platforms, as well as the monthly PCMag digital magazine.

FourKites

Senior Product Design Manager

Designer 2012-2014

Led design across high-traffic digital media brands including PCMag, IGN, Mashable, and Geek. Art directed and designed across multiple platforms, as well as the monthly PCMag digital magazine.

AP Moller Maersk

Director of Product Design 2022-2023

Design Manager 2020-2022

Senior UX Designer 2018-2020

Owned end-to-end product design for a Maersk and IBM blockchain-powered global trade platform supporting documentation, shipment visibility, and regulatory compliance.

iPullRank

Senior Visual Designer

2018

Partnered with clients on SEO-driven UX enhancements, feature requests, and conversion improvements.. Conducted user testing and usability research along with design analysis in a fast-paced, SEO-focused agency.

15+

Years Experience

6

Design Teams Built and/or Managed

10+

Languages Designed For

General Assembly

General Assembly

Immersive UX Design

Immersive UX Design

New York University

New York University

Masters of Science

State University of NY at New Paltz

Bachelors of Science

ADDITIONAL

The One Love Podcast

Co-Host

2020-2025

Bi-Weekly Art Podcast where creativity meets chaos, culture meets parenthood & art/tech get filtered through real life. Life and art seen through the lens of the hosts, as well as their guests- high profile and notable names from the world of art, music, cooking and acting.

The Blotshop Collective

Curator/Founder

2014-2018

The Blotshop Collective was a New york City-based artist group. It curates pop-up art exhibitions and events across the NYC area to support emerging creators, often partnering with local organizations and non-profits. 

The Blotshop Collective was a New york City-based artist group. It curated pop-up art exhibitions and events across the NYC area to support emerging creators, often partnering with local organizations and non-profits. 

CONTACT

Want to chat more about a project or a role? Feel free to contact me.

San Francisco Bay Area, CA

ME@jamesljacobsen.com