Digital Evolution:
Architecture, Design & Development
A 26-Year Journey in UX/UI & Front-End Innovation
A 26-Year Journey in UX/UI & Front-End Innovation
Donald Heyd is a seasoned designer and UX/UI architect whose expertise seamlessly bridges visual design, user experience, and technical implementation. His approach to digital design is guided by the philosophy of "build once, deliver everywhere," informing solutions that are both elegant and scalable. Over 26 years, he has cultivated a comprehensive design practice that encompasses visual aesthetics, interaction design, and user-centered methodologies, while maintaining the technical acumen to bring these visions to life.
As a designer who believes in evidence-driven solutions, he excels in early conceptual visioning and strategic planning, conducting focus groups and usability testing to validate design decisions. His design process flows naturally from wireframing and prototyping through the development of comprehensive design systems. This systematic approach ensures consistent, responsive experiences across all platforms while maintaining design integrity and user focus. With deep expertise in accessibility strategies and implementation, he creates inclusive designs that serve all users effectively.
His work across multiple industries showcases the power of unifying strong design principles with technical expertise. By combining aesthetic sensitivity, user-centered design practices, and front-end implementation skills, he delivers superior digital experiences that scale effortlessly across platforms and devices.
During this period, I've specialized in developing modern, responsive web and mobile applications across both retail and healthcare sectors. A cornerstone of my work has been contributing to a sophisticated Electronic Health Record (EHR) system designed specifically for home care and hospice agencies, emphasizing intuitive user interfaces while maintaining strict HIPAA compliance and complex clinical workflows. In addition, I've developed Point of Sale (POS) solutions for the restaurant industry, creating seamless interfaces that optimize order processing and integrate with content management systems for streamlined business operations. Throughout both domains, I've focused on delivering robust, user-centric solutions that adapt smoothly across devices while meeting industry-specific compliance requirements.
2022-Present | Hearst Health
Healthcare
Lead UX/UI Architect & Designer
Leading UX/Design efforts for major retail operations, focusing on operations innovations and QSR Restaurants initiatives. Working with modern tools like Figma and Sketch to drive retail innovation.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Figma
2020-2022 | 7-11
Retail | POS systems
Lead UX Architect
Leading UX/Design efforts for major retail operations, focusing on operations innovations and QSR Restaurants initiatives. Working with modern tools like Figma and Sketch to drive retail innovation.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Figma
From 2009 to 2020, I played a key role in modernizing the General Services Administration's (GSA) digital infrastructure, transforming legacy systems into modern, efficient platforms that serve millions of users across federal, state, and local governments. My work centered on enhancing GSA's flagship e-commerce platform, GSA Advantage, while also developing and maintaining critical vendor support systems including eBuy and eLibrary. A significant achievement was the development and management of GSA's enterprise-wide design system, establishing consistent user interface patterns, accessibility standards, and reusable components that accelerated development and ensured cohesive user experiences across the agency's digital portfolio. These platforms streamlined government procurement processes, enabling efficient contract management and product catalog maintenance for thousands of vendors. Additionally, I contributed to numerous business operations tools that improved internal workflows and reporting capabilities across GSA's ecosystem. Throughout this tenure, I focused on implementing scalable solutions that met strict federal security requirements while delivering intuitive user experiences for both government employees and contractors.
2018-2020 | IBM
Federal Government
Lead UX/UI Architect & Designer
Led major projects including GSA Advantage eCommerce Platform and GSA Digital Suite. Implemented complete UX/UI architecture using HTML5, CSS3, SASS, Bootstrap, JavaScript, and Angular.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Accessability design, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe XD, Figma
2013-2018 | Leidos
Federal Government
Lead UX/UI Architect & Designer
Leading UX/Design efforts for major retail operations, focusing on operations innovations and QSR Restaurants initiatives. Working with modern tools like Figma and Sketch to drive retail innovation.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Accessability design, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe XD, Figma
2009-2013 | Lockheed Martin
Federal Government
Lead UX/UI Architect & Designer
Leading UX/Design efforts for major retail operations, focusing on operations innovations and QSR Restaurants initiatives. Working with modern tools like Figma and Sketch to drive retail innovation.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Accessability design, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Managed DoD Computer-Based Training Programs, led branding and UI development for WBT/CBT courseware, and established organizational processes for production efficiency.
2008-2009 | Independant Creative
Federal Government
UX/UI Architect | Web Designer | Media Designer
Leading UX/Design efforts for major retail operations, focusing on operations innovations and QSR Restaurants initiatives. Working with modern tools like Figma and Sketch to drive retail innovation.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Video, Audio, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier, Flash
2007-2008 | Northrop Grumman
Federal Government | Military
Technical Director
Leading UX/Design efforts for major retail operations, focusing on operations innovations and QSR Restaurants initiatives. Working with modern tools like Figma and Sketch to drive retail innovation.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Figma
2002-2007 | Independant Creative
Federal Government
UX/UI Architect | Web Designer | Media Designer
Leading UX/Design efforts for major retail operations, focusing on operations innovations and QSR Restaurants initiatives. Working with modern tools like Figma and Sketch to drive retail innovation.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Video, Audio, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier, Flash
2000-2002 | C2 Technologies
Federal Government | B2B
Sr. Media Designer | Web Designer
Leading UX/Design efforts for major retail operations, focusing on operations innovations and QSR Restaurants initiatives. Working with modern tools like Figma and Sketch to drive retail innovation.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Video, Audio, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premier, Flash
1997-2000 | Independant Creative
Federal Government
Web Designer | Graphic Designer
Led major projects including GSA Advantage eCommerce Platform and GSA Digital Suite. Implemented complete UX/UI architecture using HTML5, CSS3, SASS, Bootstrap, JavaScript, and Angular.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Audio, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Pioneered early UI design principles, established data organization methodologies, and developed rapid prototyping techniques using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
1997-2000 | Independant Creative
Self Employed
Web Designer | Graphic Designer
Leading UX/Design efforts for major retail operations, focusing on operations innovations and QSR Restaurants initiatives. Working with modern tools like Figma and Sketch to drive retail innovation.
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Audio, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
1996-1998 | Old Dominion University
Education
Student
Computer Science & Visual Communication
Some course work completeed.
1992-1996 | Transcend Studio
Entertainment
Owner | Recording Engineer | Producer | Studio Musician
Leading UX/Design efforts for major retail operations, focusing on operations innovations and QSR Restaurants initiatives. Working with modern tools like Figma and Sketch to drive retail innovation.
1991-1992 | U.S. Army
Military
31V Communications
U.S. Army, Airborne
Donald Heyd
UX/UI Architect & Design Leader
Hearst Health 2022-PresentLead UX/UI Architect
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HTML 5, CSS3, JavaScript, Figma, Miro
Hearst Health's reimagined electronic health record application.
Mobile appliction, and responsive web app, used by field clinicians to complete in-home or hospice patient encounter documentation, patient record management, and schedule management.
Hearst Health's reimagined electronic health record application.
Mobile appliction used by field clinicians to complete in-home or hospice patient encounter documentation, patient record management, and schedule management.
