Alex Jolley
Hi, I'm Alex Jolley.
Design leader, product builder, and software enthusiast.
15+ years of experience putting care and purpose into everything I build.
I beileve that good design is a competitive advantage, and having a strong design org is a catalyst that drives business success.
I can help you build and scale that catalyst.
Here are some of the solo projects I've been building.
blipJar (beta)
Clipfield
QuickTick
MacZones
airmark
ResTest
Signals
Flock
Patch
Here's where I've spent my time and earned my stripes.
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Head of Design
Arivo2023 — Present
Building and scaling the design org and shaping product direction across the software organization.
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Lead Product Designer
BOOM Interactive2022 — 2023
Led design on core products and mentored a growing team of designers.
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Sr. Product Designer
Keller Williams2021 — 2022
Designed and shipped features end to end, from sketch to release, while growing the team.
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Lead Designer
FNX Fit2019 — 2021
Lead on product, brand, and visual design for the multi-brand umbrella.
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UX Designer
Day One Logistics2017 — 2019
UX design for freight logistics tools — research, flows, and interfaces.
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UI / Web Designer
AdvancedMD2015 — 2016
Designed web and software UI for medical practice management software.
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Web Designer
FATFISH2013 — 2015
Designed and built websites for a wide range of clients.
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Graphic Designer
Sizzling Platter2011 — 2013
Print and brand design across a portfolio of restaurant brands.
Here are some things I've accomplished in my latest position.
The Problem
Design-to-developer handoff at Arivo was a persistent source of friction. Specs changed mid-development, versioning was informal, and developers had lost trust in what they received — reasonably so. About ten handoff changes were happening per month, and engineering time was getting absorbed by rework that shouldn't have been necessary.
My Approach
I saw the problem as infrastructure, not process. I built an internal tool connecting our Figma files and design system to Git, giving every handoff a maintained version history and a reference point developers could actually rely on.
The harder part was the culture shift. I trained the design team on Git fundamentals — not just the mechanics, but why version control matters and how it's useful outside of work too. I wanted it to feel like professional growth, not a new rule to follow.
The Outcome
Handoff changes mid-development went from about ten per month to zero, and stayed there all year. Designers also came away with a real fluency in versioning and systems thinking — skills that make someone a stronger product builder over time. It started as a process problem and ended up being a meaningful piece of the team's development.
The Problem
The team was fragmented. Designers were juggling multiple PMs and developers across projects that had nothing to do with each other, and the constant context switching was killing momentum. Projects dragged on for months not because the work was hard, but because the structure around the work wasn't set up for focus.
My Approach
I restructured how the team was organized so projects aligned with each other rather than pulling in different directions. Sprints got reshaped around related work, and I started planning further ahead so designers weren't constantly reacting. I also set clearer expectations with business and user stakeholders around what could realistically interrupt a sprint — which meant fewer emergency requests, less back and forth, and more predictable output.
The Outcome
Projects started landing on time. PMs and stakeholders now know what to expect from the team each week, which has changed the dynamic from reactive to collaborative. The bigger win is what opened up as a result — the team now has dedicated time for research and user interaction that simply didn't exist before.
The Problem
Designers at Arivo weren't allowed to talk to users. Even though our users were internal employees within the company, there was a standing rule keeping them out of the design process entirely. The intent was probably to protect people's time, but the effect was software being built without the people it was built for.
My Approach
I challenged it directly. I brought together the heads of each department and made the case with data, sharing research showing that user involvement improves both software quality and the satisfaction of the people using it. I also framed it around expectations: users want to be heard, and excluding them was working against that.
Once the right people were in the room, it wasn't a hard sell. The data helped, but so did the fact that this clearly benefited everyone, not just the design team.
The Outcome
The ban was lifted. Research and interviews started, and user satisfaction with the software went up 86%. The more lasting change is cultural though. There's now a shared expectation that users belong in the process, not outside of it.
The Problem
When I joined Arivo, the design team was two UX designers. That was it. Graphic and marketing design lived in other departments, brand had no real owner, and there was no infrastructure for things like design systems or internal tooling. The team was capable, but it was set up to execute tasks rather than drive outcomes.
My Approach
I treated it as an org design problem. The first move was redefining the existing UX designers as Product Designers, which wasn't just a title change. It came with broader ownership and higher expectations around product thinking. From there I built out the branches the team was missing.
I hired senior graphic design talent to bring marketing and operational design in-house, creating a team that could own the full visual output of the company. I stood up a Brand Design function to take on the foundational work that had never had a home: logo, voice, color, typography. And I built a Design Engineering team to maintain our design systems, handle one-off technical projects, and support internal tooling.
The Outcome
The team went from two UX designers executing tasks to a full design department with distinct practices and senior leadership across each one. Design became something the company could actually rely on at scale, across marketing, product, brand, and engineering.
Here are some things I've written.