Role
Lead UX/UI designer
Key contributions
Led and coordinated product team
Ensured quality assurance through launch
Context
Lerma is an independent advertising agency
They work with a diverse range of clients from faith-based organizations like The Chosen and The Salvation Army to consumer brands like Avocados From Mexico and Rebel Chef.
Project Background
The company needs multi-talented teams to service clients
Lerma’s expanding client portfolio brought more complex and specialized project demands. However, visibility into internal expertise did not scale at the same pace.
User Problem
Leadership lacked visibility into internal employee expertise
Although Lerma employed a wide range of specialists, there was no structured way to find that expertise across the organization. The primary way of discovering this internal talent would be word of mouth, which is ultimately unscalable.
Business Problem
Underutilized talent limited organizational leverage and project performance
Without clear visibility into internal expertise, the agency was not fully leveraging its existing talent. Staffing inefficiencies introduced risk that projects would be staffed suboptimally, ultimately limiting the quality and effectiveness of client work.
Solution
I created a scalable product for talent discovery
About the user
Senior leadership were responsible for finding the right staff for clients
Principals and department heads were responsible for assembling cross-functional teams that aligned with client needs. As projects became more specialized, they needed fast, reliable visibility into internal expertise across disciplines.
Project Opportunity
Make internal expertise discoverable at scale
If internal expertise could be made searchable, structured, and visible across disciplines, leadership could assemble stronger teams faster which would unlock latent organizational value.
Iterations snapshot
Opportunity identified through feedback
Below is an example of feedback that was given by the CEO. Following this feedback birthed grid view in the final design.
Final Design
I designed a filterable skill-based staff directory
The goal was straightforward but impactful: allow senior leadership and the rest of the staff find others with relevant expertise in a streamlined way.
Results
Reduced friction to discover expertise and optimally staff client projects
We launched with over 150 employee profiles and over 300 searchable skill attributes. We transformed previously soft knowledge into structured, discovered data.
LIMITATIONS
UI, backlogged features, and quality assurance
As an internal tool built within the existing intranet, the product was constrained by legacy UI patterns and limited developer capacity. We prioritized functional delivery over visual refinement, accepting trade-offs in customization and QA scope to meet launch timelines.
Recognition
Recognized by the Principal of Agency Growth
After launch, the Principal of Agency Growth specifically recognized our team, stating the directory was a key enabler in assembling stronger pitch teams and showcasing internal expertise to prospective clients.
Great work! The directory has been immensely helpful in assembling teams for new business pitches.
— Taylor Smiley,
Principal of Agency Growth
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