Thursday, June 25, 2026

15:49

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.

Director of UX

Grocery Outlet

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.

Director of Product

Maersk - TradeLens

2022-2023

Owned end-to-end product design for a Maersk and IBM blockchain-powered global trade platform supporting documentation, shipment visibility, and regulatory compliance via API and EDI integrations across international shipping partners

Senior Product Design Manager

FourKites

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.

Design Manager

Maersk - TradeLens

2020-2022

Defined and governed the TradeLens design system, established shared component standards adopted across all product teams, and drove user research that improved clarity across core compliance and shipment workflows.

15+

Years Experience

6

Design Teams Built and/or Managed

15+

Languages Designed For

Immersive UX Design

General Assembly

Masters of Science

New York University

Bachelors of Science

State University of New York at New Paltz

ADDITIONAL

Co-Host

The One Love Podcast

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.

Curator

Curator/Founder

The Blotshop Collective

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