They can discern subtle differences in color, symmetry, and movement within a peacock’s tail feathers, helping them to select mates with the most vibrant and symmetrical displays, indicators of genetic fitness and health.
This selective process ensures the production of strong, viable offspring. Research indicates that peahens are sensitive to both visible and ultraviolet (UV) light, which is invisible to humans. The "eyespot" patterns on a peacock’s tail reflect UV light, providing additional information during mate evaluation. More reflective and symmetrical eyespots are more attractive to peahens.
A study found that peahens prefer males that perform vigorous tail-shaking displays, which enhance the perceived brilliance of their eyespots.
These behaviors serve as honest signals of a male’s fitness, as maintaining such displays requires significant energy and good health. The peahen’s visual perception ensures that only the fittest males pass on their genes, contributing to the health and diversity of future generations.
Beyond mating, peahens' sharp eyesight aids in spotting predators and navigating their environment. Their muted plumage helps them blend in, protecting themselves and their young.
The sex of a baby alligator is not determined by genetics but by the temperature of the nest during incubation. If the temperature stays around 90 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit, most of the hatchlings will be male.
Cooler temperatures, around 82 to 86 degrees, produce mostly females. Even a slight change of just a few degrees can alter the ratio, sometimes resulting in mixed groups of males and females.
This temperature-dependent sex determination is common in many reptiles and makes alligator populations sensitive to climate shifts.
Nov 01 2020
NASCAR: New Websites for Mexico, ARCA & Sebring
I developed and improved websites for NASCAR, launching platforms like NASCAR Mexico and ARCA Menards, enhancing NASCAR.com and IMSA.com, and supporting high-traffic race events. My work achieved a 40% ROI through WordPress development and UX/UI design.
Outcomes
Achieved 40% return on investment (ROI)
Launched new websites for NASCAR Mexico, ARCA Menards, and Sebring Raceway
Enhanced UX and performance for NASCAR.com and IMSA.com
Delivered seamless race-day support for live digital operations
Bridged collaboration gaps between designers and developers
Ensured responsiveness, accessibility, and scalability across platforms
Problem
As NASCAR transitioned away from third-party vendors and moved development in-house, the organization faced several skill misalignments. Developers repurposed from other projects were tasked with complex WordPress builds despite limited experience in PHP or WordPress. At the same time, graphic designers without a UX/UI background were expected to produce functional digital experiences.
This mismatch led to collaboration challenges, execution delays, and inconsistent quality. NASCAR also required digital platforms capable of supporting live race updates, real-time interactions, and high traffic during major events. These demands made it essential to tightly integrate design and development while working within the constraints of NASCAR’s custom WordPress framework.
Sebring Raceway New Website
Solution I Applied & Why
Collaborating Across Teams: Aligning Design & Execution
To address the initial disconnect between design and development, I joined creative briefings with product managers and graphic designers to review project goals, research insights, and constraints. I provided feedback early in the design process to ensure that layouts followed UX best practices, adhered to accessibility standards, and were feasible within the limitations of NASCAR’s custom WordPress environment.
This proactive alignment helped eliminate rework and improved the overall quality and consistency of the final product.
ARCA Menards New Drivers Webpage
Custom WordPress Development: New & Existing Sites
I was the lead developer of three new websites: NASCAR Mexico, ARCA Menards, and Sebring Raceway. Each required tailored modifications to NASCAR’s WordPress themes and plugins. I ensured that all builds were responsive, accessible, and scalable, meeting both user needs and long-term maintainability requirements.
To manage development efficiently, I used Atlassian Jira for task tracking, QA feedback, and documenting technical updates.
Beyond new builds, I also delivered performance enhancements and user experience improvements to existing platforms, including NASCAR.com and IMSA.com. These updates addressed technical issues and usability gaps, improving consistency and functionality across key fan-facing channels.
NACAR Mexico's New Website
Live Event Support & High-Stakes Issue Resolution
Working on-site at NASCAR headquarters in Charlotte, NC, I played a key role in live event operations. During race weekends, I monitored digital systems and resolved real-time technical issues, such as lap-time reporting errors, to ensure uninterrupted service. This work required close coordination with the live ops team and a deep understanding of NASCAR’s tech stack and infrastructure.
Bridging Design & Development: Long-Term Success
One of my most impactful contributions was serving as the bridge between the design and development functions. I translated visual design into scalable, maintainable code and provided UX guidance to ensure the final product matched both business goals and user expectations.
By maintaining responsive, accessible standards and solving technical and workflow challenges under pressure, I helped NASCAR achieve digital consistency and high performance across platforms.
My work combined strong technical execution with cross-functional collaboration to deliver digital experiences that met NASCAR’s high standards and supported their shift to in-house delivery. The successful launch of three major websites, enhancements to key platforms, and reliable live event support demonstrated my ability to perform in high-pressure environments while creating scalable systems for future growth.
Feb 01 2020
Wick: Mobile App For Well-being Science Education
I designed and developed Wick, a well-being mobile app with a gamified, science-based approach. With a 100% user approval rating and no direct competition, Wick transformed complex health concepts into an engaging, supportive user journey.
Outcomes
Achieved a 100% user approval rating
Identified and built around a niche with minimal competition
Designed and developed the product from scratch, including research, branding, UX/UI, and prototyping
Created an engaging visual and functional system rooted in well-being science and user motivation
Problem
Improving well-being through science-backed methods is often overwhelming. Users are expected to learn complex psychological concepts while managing multiple personal goals, which can become discouraging and unsustainable. The wellness app space lacked tools that made learning actionable and enjoyable while maintaining empathy and user engagement.
Most existing solutions failed to combine evidence-based practices with engaging, accessible design. The challenge was to create a product that helped users understand and apply well-being science while staying motivated and feeling supported through the process.
Solution I Applied & Why
Research & Opportunity Discovery
To uncover gaps in the market and guide development, we performed a SWOT analysis on 25 leading wellness and self-improvement apps. This analysis revealed clear opportunities to improve user engagement through better gamification and emotional connection. Many apps offered repetitive, clinical interfaces that failed to inspire continued use.
We then conducted user interviews, collecting both quantitative and qualitative insights from adults aged 19 to 40. These included data on app usage habits, frustrations, and levels of interest in a nature-inspired, supportive solution. The findings informed the development of user personas that reflected a range of well-being goals and life contexts.
Card sorting and ideation sessions followed, helping prioritize features and structure user flows.
Card Sorting Session
Moodboarding and branding exercises were used to establish Wick’s tone and visual language, emphasizing warmth, nature, and comfort. The name and motif of a fire served as a metaphor for the user’s inner well-being journey, shaping both the branding and interface design.
Mood Board Portion
Design and Iteration
We began the design process by translating whiteboard sketches into wireframes and developing a low-fidelity prototype focused on testing core features.
Interactive Map WhiteboardUser Journey Whiteboard
User feedback gathered from initial testing highlighted several pain points and feature gaps, which were then addressed in a fully developed high-fidelity prototype.
Lo-fi Screenshot
The high-fidelity design integrated all tested user states, with a consistent visual language rooted in the nature-based moodboard and branding decisions. The result was an experience that felt supportive, warm, and clear at every step.
Hi-fi Prototype
Gamification & Visual Engagement
To transform well-being science into manageable, motivating actions, we designed a gamified system that awarded users with points, badges, and progress indicators. Rewards were tiered based on task complexity, encouraging progression and celebrating small wins. This approach resonated strongly with users in testing, creating a sense of progress without pressure.
The app’s empathetic tone and visual consistency played a central role in engagement. By pairing adventure-inspired UI patterns with psychologically grounded content, Wick maintained motivation without relying on gimmicks. Its interactive format and warm, supportive voice set it apart in a crowded market.
Wick successfully transformed complex well-being science into a digestible, gamified mobile experience. The product stood out in a crowded wellness space by blending evidence-based content with empathetic, user-centered design.
With a 100% user approval rating, the final product proved to be both engaging and emotionally resonant, setting a strong example of how thoughtful UX and meaningful communication can turn abstract goals into real, motivating outcomes.
I designed and led development of Phalanx, a custom system that streamlined AMSI’s digital production, increased task efficiency by 400%, reduced errors by 90%, and delivered a 50% ROI while ensuring compliance across ads, emails, and websites.
Outcomes
Increased task efficiency by 400%
Reduced accessibility, compliance, and coding issues by 90%
Achieved 50% return on investment (ROI)
Standardized the production of websites, email campaigns, and ads, ensuring consistency and quality
Helped prevent OEM compliance penalties for automotive clients across brands like Aston Martin and Volvo
Problem
AMSI, an agency handling digital advertising for automotive clients, was operating without a centralized project management or production system. The workflow was fragmented and manual, leading to frequent issues in responsiveness, accessibility, coding, and OEM compliance. These problems not only slowed production but also put clients at risk of non-compliance penalties.
Without a system to streamline asset creation or monitor performance, internal teams were siloed and overwhelmed. Projects often required duplicative work, QA suffered, and there was no scalable way to ensure consistency across responsive, accessible websites, emails, and ads. AMSI needed a full-stack solution to fix these bottlenecks and unify its design and development workflows.
Porsche Naples Homepage
Solution I Applied & Why
Recognizing the Problem Firsthand
When I started working at AMSI, I was designing and developing display ads, emails, and websites. It quickly became clear that recurring inefficiencies, poor collaboration, and inconsistent quality were major issues. These problems were visible in everything from code quality to missed accessibility and compliance standards.
Designing the Prototype & Securing Ownership
After identifying the operational gaps, I designed and developed a prototype for what would become Phalanx, a centralized production and project management system. I presented the concept, gained approval, and took full ownership of its development and evolution. I also led a team of designers and developers to support ongoing maintenance and feature expansion.
Lexus Dealer Special
Building the Platform from the Ground Up
I built Phalanx using HTML, CSS, Sass, JavaScript, and PHP, integrating it with a custom WordPress environment. The platform featured tailor-made drag-and-drop modules, a reusable UI component library, and built-in compliance checks. Every element I designed and developed was fully responsive and met accessibility standards. I also built in systems for budget tracking, project management, staff assignments, and performance monitoring to address broader operational needs.
Designing for Every User
To ensure the platform aligned with real-world workflows, I created detailed personas for every user type, including media buyers, ad specialists, email marketers, project managers, designers, developers, and A/V staff. I ran targeted user tests to validate features and interaction flows. I used Adobe XD to design and test wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes before development, which saved significant time and eliminated costly rework.
White-boarding Phalanx's Architecture
Optimizing Performance & Accessibility
Phalanx included job queueing, staff performance dashboards, and client relationship management tools to support the full lifecycle of digital production. I implemented testing and optimization workflows using Litmus for email QA, WAVE for accessibility auditing, and Google PageSpeed Insights to improve the performance of both the system and the responsive, accessible digital assets it produced.
Analytics Tools Clips
Scaling the Solution
Phalanx went on to produce over 90% of AMSI’s digital assets. For highly customized projects, I provided manual builds that still adhered to the system’s design and compliance standards. The platform became central to AMSI’s operations, delivering consistent quality at scale and directly contributing to major gains in efficiency, output, and return on investment.
