Matt Ahrens

Matt Ahrens

UX Designer in Savannah, GA, He/Him

Contact

LinkedIn

Education

2019 — Now
B.F.A. User Experience Design at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)
Savannah, GA

Minor: Graphic Design

Activities and societies: Co-President & Web Designer for the Future Leaders of User Experience (FLUX) Club.

Work Experience

2024 — Now
UX Designer at Amazon
NYC, NY
2023 — 2024
Brooklyn, NY

Worked on a variety of projects for Fortune 500 companies, ranging from merchandise to packaging design.

2022 — 2022
NYC

• Team: Devices & Emerging Media | Advertising UX
• Focused on a Blue-Sky project on advertising within physical stores

2021 — 2022
Remote

• Worked as a Visual & UX Designer at the Red Hat Marketplace (RHM), IBM Partner Center (IPC), Cloud Partner Center (CPC), and IBM Watson Embeddable AI.
• Main project was migrating RHM's entire design system from Sketch to Figma, while making it more accessible and dynamic than ever before.
• Designed miscellaneous screens, mobile breakpoints, and product patterns.
• Designed high fidelity screens for IPC and CPC.
• Created marketing Motion Design Video for IBM Partner Center.

2022 — 2022
UX Designer: SCADpro — Sponsored Course at Google
Savannah, GA

• Part of cross-functional team for a SCADpro Collaboration course with Google Pay

2022 — 2022
Samsung College Program Influencer at Samsung
Remote

• Created branded social media content promoting Samsung devices across Instagram and TikTok.

2020 — 2021
UX Design Intern at NOIS
Remote

• Worked closely with founders to create a cohesive visual identity, from mobile app to entire company’s branding
• Wireframed, designed, and developed a mobile application, using Figma and Bravo

Speaking

2021
Building the RHM Design System & Migrating to Figma at IBM Design Share 2021
Remote

Detailed presentation to about 70 IBM designers going into depth about my process of moving our team's design system from Sketch to Figma.

Awards

2023
Rookie of The Year - Draft Selection from The Rookies

Won for team project Qu.

2023
Rookie of The Year - Finalist

Won for team project Qu.

2023
Rookie of The Year - Highly Commended from The Rookies

Won for team project Qu.

2023
Indigo Design Awards: 6 Gold, 10 Silver, 4 Bronze from Indigo Design Award Group

For SCAD project, Scanatron:
Gold Winner in Character Design for Social Change
Gold Winner in Illustration for Social Change
Gold Winner in Digital Design for Social Change
Gold Winner in Product or Gadget Design for Social Change
Gold Winner in Integrated Graphic Design for Graphic Design
Gold Winner in Game Design for Social Change
Silver Winner in 3D CAD for Graphic Design
Silver Winner in Interaction Design for Social Change
Silver Winner in UX, Interface & Navigation for Games
Silver Winner in Branding for Electronics
Silver Winner in Branding for Entertainment
Silver Winner in Branding for Kids
Silver Winner in Branding for Technology
Silver Winner in Merchandise Design for Graphic Design
Silver Winner in Product or Gadget Design
Silver Winner in Education for Social Change
Bronze Winner in Sound Design & Use of Music for Games
Bronze Winner in Digital Tools and Utilities
Bronze Winner in Packaging Design for Social Change
Bronze Winner in Interactive Design

2023
International Design Award from IDA

Honorable Mention for student project Cyberus

2022
iF Design Award - User Interface: Interfaces for Digital Media from iF Design

Won with Red Hat Marketplace Team

2022
Webby Awards Honoree: E-Commerce from The Webby Awards

Won with Red Hat Marketplace Team
Category: Apps and Software - Software Services & Platforms - E-Commerce

2022
Indigo Design Awards: 2 Gold, 8 Silver, 8 Bronze from Indigo Design Award Group

Gold in Digital Tools and Utilities 2022, Student
Gold in 3D CAD 2022, Student
Silver in Apps 2022, Student
Silver in UX, Interface & Navigation 2022, Student
Silver in Integrated Graphic Design 2022, Student
Silver in Digital Design 2022, Student
Silver in Interaction Design 2022, Student
Silver in Technology 2022, Student
Silver in Services - Other 2022, Student
Silver in Product or Gadget Design for Social Change 2022, Student
Bronze in Interactive Design 2022, Student
Bronze in Interaction Design for Social Change 2022, Student
Bronze in Electronics 2022, Student
Bronze in Household Appliances 2022, Student
Bronze in Innovative Use of Mobile Technology 2022, Student
Bronze in UX, Interface & Navigation 2022, Student
Bronze in Product or Gadget Design 2022, Student
Bronze in Mobile Responsive Design 2022, Student

2022
Rookie of The Year - Highly Commended from The Rookies

"This badge is awarded to the very best entries for each of the contest categories. This is the highest level of achievement and recognition that you are at the top of your game."

Won for team project Scanatron, with Jess Lam and Jacob Aicher.

2022
Rookie Awards - Finalist from The Rookies

Won for team project Scanatron, with Jess Lam and Jacob Aicher.

2022
Rookie Awards - Draft Selection from The Rookies

"Similar to sports leagues, our judges are constantly picking and trading talented artists. These awards represent the current list of top talent."

Won for team project Scanatron, with Jess Lam and Jacob Aicher.

2022
European Product Design Award from European Product Design Award - Farmani Group

Honorable Mention for student project Cyberus in the Home Interior Products category

2022
European Product Design Award from European Product Design Award - Farmani Group

Honorable Mention for student project Cyberus in the Media and Home Electronics category

2021
iF Design Award - User Experience: Product UX from iF Design

Won with Red Hat Marketplace Team

2021
W3 Award Silver - General Websites-Computer/IT from Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts

Won with Red Hat Marketplace Team

2021
Indigo Design Award Silver - Animation & IllustrationIndigo from Indigo Design Award Group

Won with Red Hat Marketplace Team

2021
Indigo Design Award Gold - UX, Interface, & Navigation Category from Indigo Design Award Group

Won with Red Hat Marketplace Team

2021
European Product Design Award from EDPA

Won with Red Hat Marketplace Team

2021
Stratus Award from Stratus

Won with Red Hat Marketplace Team

2021
Eminence and Excellence Award from IBM

The Eminence and Excellence Award honors and recognizes individuals whose dedication and expertise has made significant contribution to our business. This award is manager-nominated and is determined by impact of work, leadership, and collaboration on key initiatives.

Certifications

2023
Certified Framer Partner from Framer
2021
Enterprise Design Thinking - Team Essentials for AI from IBM
2021
IBM Agile Explorer from IBM
2021
Advancing Accessibility from IBM
2021
Enterprise Design Thinking Practicioner from IBM
2021
iOS Design Essentials from IBM
2021
Design & User Experience (D&UX) Essentials from IBM
2021
Open Source Foundations from IBM
2021
Certification in Design Research and Insight TranslationCertification from Lextant
2019
Adobe Photoshop Certified Associate from Adobe