WILL  AUSTIN

UX/UI designer • Graphic artist • project design leader

SummAry

I am an experienced designer who has delivered 30+ released projects focused on engagement, accessibility and innovation. These product s were designed across web, desktop, mobile, XR, and interactive platforms. My work has been recognized for excellence in UX strategy, visual storytelling, and accessibility with 19 industry awards. These include Fast Company’s – “Most Innovative Companies in the World (VR/AR)”, the Edward R. Murrow Award – “Excellence in Innovation”, and INMA’s – “Best Use of Visual Journalism and Storytelling Tools”.
I am an experienced designer who has delivered 30+ released projects focused on engagement, accessibility and innovation. These products were designed across web, desktop, mobile, XR, and interactive platforms. My work has been recognized for excellence in UX strategy, visual storytelling, and accessibility with 19 industry awards. These include Fast Company’s – “Most Innovative Companies in the World (VR/AR)”, the Edward R. Murrow Award – “Excellence in Innovation”, and INMA’s – “Best Use of Visual Journalism and Storytelling Tools”.

Expertise

Skills

UX/UI Design | Interaction Design | Graphic Design | Graphics Animation | Illustration | Video Editing | Audio Editing | 3D Modeling & Texturing | Photogrammetry | AR/VR/XR | UMG | UI Materials | Wireframing | Prototyping | User research & usability testing | UX documentation | Feature specification | UI Component design | Design systems & libraries | Design leadership | Team management | Cross-functional collaboration | Sprint planning | Production pipelines | Outsource Management

Tools

Figma | Sketch | Photoshop | Illustrator | After Effects | Audition | Premiere Pro | 3D Studio MAX | UserTesting | Unreal Engine | Unity Engine | Microsoft Word | Microsoft PowerPoint

Work Experience

Lead UI/UX Artist , Jackalyptic games | Austin, TX

January 2023 - November 2025

Reported to the Creative Director and CEO to lead the planning, design and implementation of UX/UI features for an unannounced desktop and console multiplayer RPG Unreal project under the Games Workshop IP.

  • Created wireframes and mockups for design prototypes and rapid iteration of design feature needs
  • Spearheaded sprint planning and multi-department collaboration, increasing on-time delivery by 30%
  • Led cross-functional UX/UI team, delivering 30+ feature docs and UX flows, reducing review cycles from weeks to days
  • Created 2D UI graphics assets and built reusable UI components in UMG, cutting engineering workload by 3 days per sprint
  • Integrated UI materials and streamlined UI/UX solutions, boosting development speed and simplicity by 50%

Senior Designer ,  Gannett, USA TODAY NETWORK | Tysons Corner, VA

January 2018 – November 2022

Reported to the Senior Director of Emerging Tech to lead the design and content generation of a Unity engine based Mobile and desktop AR/VR/XR news and entertainment platform.

  • Designed the product UI/UX suite used to create 30+ experiences, reaching 200 newsrooms and earning 19 awards
  • Interviewed experts and researched subject materials to construct story outlines and chapter beats for interactive media
  • Led 0–1 onboarding UX, and conducted user testing to remove platform friction points, tripling user engagement
  • Created interactive audio assets and 2D/3D visuals, enhancing engagement and accessibility
  • Delivered marketing collateral that increased brand recognition

eLearning/Online Game Developer  ,  Gannett, USA TODAY NETWORK | Tysons Corner, VA

December 2016 – September 2017

Reported to Instructional designers to produce visuals and interactive training media for educational coursework.

  • Developed learner personas through focus groups, informing instructional design
  • Collaborated with instructional designers to plan visual aids and animation needs to reinforce educational presentations
  • Designed 3 interactive learning modules, as well as visual assets for accompanying coursework
  • Created training exercises leveraging flash and ActionScript to gamify coursework to increase participant engagement and knowledge retention

Artist , Broadsword Online Games | Herndon, VA

August 2014 – December 2016

Reported to the Studio Producer to manage the studio’s live mobile title, design promotional material, and modernize their product’s website.

  • Created 2D/3D assets and design systems supporting live mobile game features and expansions, and managed UI/UX and mobile design consistency
  • Created UI and environment art assets for desktop game expansions
  • Revamped product websites, increased UX and brand modernization, and provided designs for live game community marketing

Artist , Mythic Entertainment (An EA Company) | Fairfax, VA

August 2007 – August 2014

Reported to the Art Director to produce 3D/2D assets, UX/UI designs, and pipeline documentation for outsource management for mobile and desktop titles.

  • Designed scalable pipelines, maintained design systems, and oversaw outsource asset quality for mobile games, improving production efficiency and studio IP style
  • Led UX/UI improvements enhancing user experience and freemium gameplay flow of our desktop and mobile titles
  • Created 3D assets, level design layouts, environment lighting, and 2D UI assets for the studio’s desktop and mobile titles
  • Prototyped potential Mobile titles to green-light for development. Providing environment, UX design, UI Art, and research documentation

Education

Bachelor of Fine Arts , The Art Institute of Washington | Rosslyn, VA

August 2003 – June 2007

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