Alison Powers

Summary of Qualifications

  • Principal Product Designer with 15+ years of experience, specializing in design systems and user-centric design in fintech and healthcare sectors.

  • Led a team’s design strategy transforming a product’s enrollment process, resulting in an 82% increase in single-session completion.

  • Expert in design thinking, high-fidelity prototyping, accessibility standards, and user feedback implementation.

Download résumé: PDF | DOC

Professional Experience

Principal Product Designer, Design Systems

TIAA • Jan. 2023 – March 2025

  • Led a cross-functional team of designers, content writers and developers to establish, maintain and evolve component documentation and usage guidelines for TIAA’s design system, Ethos

  • Strategized and implemented the adoption of inclusive design and accessibility standards into the team’s component creation process in Figma, achieving WCAG 2.1 level AA compliance for 30+ core components and design patterns

  • Championed the Ethos design system by driving adaptation during collaboration with feature teams and providing support via the Ethos Teams Channel

Senior product designer

TIAA • Nov. 2018 – Dec. 2022

  • Led end-to-end responsive redesign of Digital IRA Opening using Agile Design Thinking to simplify and streamline the enrollment process, resulting in an 82% improvement in single session completion rates; 33% increase overall application completion

  • Spearheaded implementation of the Straight-Through Funding process, enabling users to open an IRA and roll over into that IRA within the same session while streamlining the design process across enrollment and funding product teams

  • Conducted multiple user research sessions using A/B testing and usability testing, identifying confusing interfaces and unclear instructions. Created iterative high-fidelity prototypes based on user feedback while leveraging my skills in Figma, Sketch, and InVision

User Experience Designer

TIAA • Nov. 2018 – Dec. 2022

  • Joined EverBank’s digital UX team adopting to TIAA’s current branding to establish TIAA Bank’s brand identity

  • Collaborated with product and development teams to create a robust brand strategy, resulting in a unified experience for Bank users within the TIAA system

Visual Designer

Nemours • April 2011 – Jan. 2017

  • Designed visual prototypes for websites with over 270,400 monthly visitors using Adobe XD, Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign

  • Collaborated with developers to implement responsive design projects across various platforms using Adobe XD and Balsamiq

News layout Designer

The Florida Times-Union • 2007 – 2011

  • Collaborated with content editors, photographers and press runners to create design solutions with complex visual storytelling for news, sports, and entertainment sections

Other Experience

The Roar of the Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars • 2015 – 2020

  • The ROAR of the Jaguars dancer/cheerleader and community ambassador for the local NFL team

  • Created memorable experiences through football, dance and fun for local businesses, students and military as well as U.K. fans as part of the NFL International Series/London Games

  • Enhanced the Jaguars game day experience, performing on the field at EverBank Stadium

Community Nutcracker

Performer • 2009 – present

  • Perform in six shows of The Nutcracker Ballet each year in a variety of ballet roles including: Snow, Spanish, Spanish lead, Merliton, and Waltz of the Flowers

Graphic Designer • 2009 – 2015

  • Created branded designs for posters, apparel, advertisements as well as internal and external communication for the nonprofit, volunteer-run organization donating $50,000 annually to Dreams Come True of Jacksonville

Skills

  • Figma, Sketch, InVision, Adobe XD

  • Design Systems, Component Creation, Pattern Libraries, Design Guidelines, Material Design, Storybook

  • Inclusive Design, Accessibility (A11y) Standards & Testing, WCAG

  • HTML, CSS knowledge

  • Wireframing, High-Fidelity Prototyping

  • Responsive Web Design, Mobile-First Design Principles, Modular Design

  • User Research, Usability Testing, A/B Testing

  • Visual Communication, Visual Design & Branding, Design Thinking

  • User-Centered Design, User Journey Mapping

  • Cross-Functional Team Collaboration

  • Agile Methodologies, Design Sprint Facilitation, Jira

Training & Education

Web Accessibility for Designers

Deque University • 2025

  • IAAP Credits Earned: 10.25 

  • Completed all the courses in Deque University’s UX Design Curriculum

Bachelor of Journalism, Newspaper (Design)

University of Missouri • 2007

  • Graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism with a minor in art history in May 2007. Influenced visual design and copy editing principles as a layout designer, design editor, paginator and teaching assistant for the Columbia Missourian sports, features and news desks

  • Activities and societies: The Maneater, Tiger's Lair, Zou Crew

Updated March 2025