Outcomes

• 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.

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.

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.

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.

Outcomes

• Increased task efficiency by 400%
• Reduced accessibility, compliance, and coding issues by 90%
• 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

View an example of a Phalanx Generated Email Campaign