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tended: 2026-09-08
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Kyle Johnston  
Staff Product Designer  
Email: kyle@flow14.com  
Phone: 913-707-7442  
[kylewjohnston.com](https://www.kylewjohnston.com)
[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylejohnston/)

# EXPERIENCE   

## ETSY — STAFF PRODUCT DESIGNER
JULY 2021 – AUGUST 2026  
- Leading design for Etsy’s web homepage, collaborating with PMs, Engineering, Research, and Analytics to define and execute product strategy
- Increased homepage CTR 10% by redesigning layout, hierarchy, and interaction patterns to showcase personalized content powered by ML-scaled recommendations
- Formal mentorship of senior product designers, influencing career development, promotion readiness, and design quality across the product design org 

## FLOW14 — OWNER, PRINCIPAL DESIGNER
JULY 2017 – JULY 2021  
- Provided product, UX, and brand strategy for startups and growing businesses, spanning discovery, design systems, and execution
- Partnered with founders and company leaders to define positioning, prioritize roadmaps, and deliver user-centered outcomes

## STAY ALFRED — SENIOR DESIGNER
APRIL 2019 – OCTOBER 2019  
- Designed user-facing product experiences across digital and print
- Design and frontend development for StayAlfred.com using React and TypeScript

## VISTA OUTDOOR — CREATIVE DIRECTOR
OCTOBER 2016 – JUNE 2017  
- Designed impactful communications for Vista Outdoor’s 50 brands by directing and
inspiring teams of designers, copywriters, photographers, and videographers
- Drove the visual evolution of nine brands, including defining the strategy and project
goals, hands-on design of concepts, research and reporting on implementation costs,
leading presentations to executive leadership, and designing brand guidelines 

## DEG — CREATIVE DIRECTOR
APRIL 2015 – OCTOBER 2016  
- Directed a team of on-site, remote, and freelance interactive designers, art directors, UX designers, copywriters, and videographers
- Secured new business—including two of the largest accounts in the history of the agency—by leading creative and creative strategy for new business pitches

## GARMIN — CREATIVE DIRECTOR
MAY 2008 – APRIL 2015  
- Directed cross-functional teams responsible for Garmin’s integrated communications, including Garmin.com, e-commerce, product launches, and campaigns
- Improved the quality, timeliness, and impact of 60 – 80 annual product launch campaigns by working with stakeholders in marketing, sales, and engineering to convert complex product development plans into strategically-focused creative briefs with clear project timelines, deliverables, and budgets

## GARMIN — WEB MARKETING MANAGER & DESIGNER
APRIL 2004 – JANUARY 2008  
- Founded and recruited Garmin’s Web UX team—growing it from zero to a team of more than 10 highly skilled UX designers, copywriters, researchers, and developers
- Hands-on design, frontend development, and performance reporting for marketing landing pages, B2C and B2B web content, and e-commerce pages and user flows

## ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
SEPTEMBER 1996 – APRIL 2004  
DESIGNER & ART DIRECTOR  

# KEY SKILLS & TOOLS  
DESIGN: Product design, UX, prototyping, design systems, experimentation, strategy  
DEVELOPMENT: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React  
TOOLS: Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, GitHub, Claude Code  

# EDUCATION  
Johnson County Community College — Undergraduate degree in Communication Design  
University of Missouri-Kansas City — Senior Leadership Development Program  
University of Utah — Finance for the Non-Financial Leader