Richard Simard
Product Design & Development
I consider myself firm on vision, flexible on strategy. My backgrounds in design, development, and writing allow me to take an approach to my work that truly conveys the vision of a product and engages users in ways that they find meaningful and intuitive. My documentation and communication for both technical and non-technical collaborators keeps everyone clear with the project outcomes, leaving more time for impressionable details that make a difference in the product.
Experience
Founder & Developer
Simard Solutions
Jan 2021 - Present
- Plan and develop extensible parent and child theme infrastructure using PHP/JS/SASS/HTML for providing custom WordPress websites for small businesses and personal brands
- Write object-oriented constructors for streamlining macro- and micro-content components
- Design and write interactive JavaScript handlers for Bulma framework UI/UX components
- System administration of LAMP servers, including custom bash scripting for streamlined admin and maintenance processes
- Setup and configuration of development tools and processes, including project structure, version control, backlog tracking, issue planning, and more
- CRM development, revenue reporting and sales pipeline management
Inbound Product Manager
Dealer Teamwork LLC
Apr 2019 - Aug 2020
- Full-scope product management from project intake to commercialization for a B2B/B2C hybrid product
- Work with executives on product vision and company goals, balanced against user feedback and industry trends to develop a strong and cohesive product roadmap
- Coordinate multiple API systems and product feeds against varying data schemas for an account-based marketing automation product
- Strategize and develop fully-interactive wireframes, prototypes and concepts with markup and script to create frictionless conveyance of ideas for approvals and smooth development hand-off
Business Intelligence
Dealer Inspire
May 2018 - Mar 2019
- Manage inter- and intra-departmental workflows for a 500+ employee organization
- Build revenue reporting for multiple streams of business for account-based marketing
- Designed detail-oriented, record-based CRM workflows with a strong focus on actionable, data-driven record layouts and process automations
Lead Product Success Manager
Dealer Inspire
Nov 2017 - May 2018
- Define success for product functionalities and train staff on how products fit into customer operations
- Work with product owners and managers on design concepts based on user feedback and a deep understanding of widely-varied client business operations
- Establish and maintain retention reporting by building account management processes for team members
Feature Developer
Dealer Inspire
Apr 2015 - Nov 2017
- Scalable design and development of WordPress theme components for hundreds of automotive dealership websites
- Manage ad retargeting scripts, SEO & Schema.org markup, and accessibility best practices in core platform components
- Site design and production for many high-line, high-profile dealership groups, including the largest Mercedes-Benz retail group in the world
Lead Designer
Quirk Auto Dealers
Dec 2012 - Apr 2015
- Manage front-end design for 16 dealership websites in a top-selling dealership group in New England
- Leverage a wide array of analytics events, A/B testing, and heat-mapping tools to measure conversions across designs for making data-driven decisions on iterative improvements and optimizations
- Comply with design and digital advertising guidelines for 13 automobile manufacturing brands while persisting unique branding and messaging for our own dealership group
Portfolio
Bylo Wallet
bylowallet.com
Website design, development, graphics, content, and documents/collateral.Project website for an ERC-20 token used to fund the development of a hot wallet native trading features and fast transactions. Website features the ability to publish release notes correlated to development sprints of the mobile app. Website graphics are all custom originals.
Ascend Token
ascendtokens.io
Website design and development.Project website for an ERC-20 token called Ascend Token, part of the DeFiant Platform. This project highlights single-page capabilities, roadmap micro-content, and media integration.
Embodied Directions
embodieddirections.com
Website design, development, and portions of content.Small business website for a holistic treatment studio in Dover, NH. The owner also runs a blog on the site, which she uses for sharing content and promotions with her clients via social media. Custom object-oriented WordPress theme from scratch using scalable components, editor blocks, and shortcodes that give the owner control of her own dynamic content.
Sidi Tours Mauritania
tourmauritania.com
Website design, development, graphics, and content.Small business website for a tour provider in Mauritania, West Africa. The website showcases individual attractions, which are also grouped into tours. Users can submit booking requests through the website that are delivered directly to the owner as emails so that he can communicate with customers directly about their arrangements. This project uses the Google Maps API to draw an interactive map on each attraction, showing its geolocation in relation to the country and other nearby landmarks. Custom styling was used to match the map to the website styles.
Laura Blacklow
laurablacklow.com
Website design, development, logo design, and portions of content.Portfolio website for Laura Blacklow, a photographic artist based in Cambridge, MA. This project focuses on media interactions, displaying the artists collections of works in a way that allows users to engage with her portfolio. Animated logo was created from scratch using an SVG file and a timed animation with the stroke property on its path. Photo galleries and sliders use the Flickity library.