HI, I'M MATTHEW GREENE
UX LEADERSHIP​
PRODUCT DESIGNER
USER RESEARCH​
EXPERT PIXEL PUSHER
IMPACTFUL INITIATIVES
I've contributed to some amazing stuff with smart, rad people.
MY TOOLKIT
Always Learning - Ever Evolving
OH LOOK ...
AN ORIGIN STORY!
LET'S GET DEEP
AS A BOY
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Growing up in New York, I watched my dad work as a graphic designer in the music industry. I was fascinated by the way he organized type and imagery to design for his rockstar clients.
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This is my dad's design work from 1980. Rad.
I wanted to follow in his footsteps. In my pre-teens, I used the equipment in his office and paste-up techniques I had learned over-his-shoulder to design an indie zine. It was awful but I didn't care. I was hooked.
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Around the same time, I received my first computer — a Commodore 64 — and was instantly captivated by the nerdy creative potential. I independently learned how to code BASIC and wrote my first legitimate program at 12 years old. It was a simple text adventure game that I gave away to my friends.
Little did I know then, but my youthful passion for the concepts of design & technology would lead me on a lifelong career journey.
CAREER
BEGINNINGS
By the time I was 17, I was designing flyers for local bands & menus for local restaurants in Miami. These efforts were engaging and educational, but they were not the career I was looking for.
As luck would have it, a local newspaper was reviewing a stage play that I had designed posters for. They were impressed with both my creative talent as well as my knowledge of traditional pasteup. They hired me on-the-spot as an assistant to the Art Director.
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My first job with The SunPost provided a crash-course in the newspaper industry. Under wonderful mentors, my position began with me designing advertising layouts and operating a stat-camera. Over time, my role evolved to becoming the Assistant Art Director responsible for the layout of the entire newspaper.
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Of all the skills I am grateful to have learned with The SunPost, working against weekly print deadlines instilled the essential discipline of time management in me, which has stuck with me for the duration of my career.
FROM PRINT
TO PIXELS
While I was hitting my stride as The SunPost's Assistant Art Director, I was spending my off-hours exploring a new technology called the World Wide Web. I was fascinated by this emerging communication mechanism that combined my two passions — technology and design.
In my spare time, I created my first website — a personal blog that showed off my design work. At the time, this sort of thing was rare (even Geocities had yet to be invented). For me, it was an exercise in learning to design and code for the web. Unbeknownst to me, someone was taking notice of my work.
Out of the blue, I received an email from the company that hosted my personal site saying that they had seen my work. My hosting ISP was impressed and asked if I was interested in designing websites for their clients. I jumped at the opportunity and thus began my digital design career.
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I was soon designing websites for restaurants, retailers, and magazines and loving every moment. My digital design career was blossoming just as the Internet was, and I was learning every day.
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I am proud to have been among the pioneers in the practice of web design, and subsequently mobile design, since their inception. Throughout my career, my curiousity and meticulous nature has driven me to stay ahead of ever-evolving design trends, best practices, and UX software.
20 YEAR CAREER
WITH VULCAN
After 2 years of getting my feet wet with digital design, I received a call from Vulcan Inc., the late Paul Allen's management company in Seattle. They, too, had seen my work online and were looking for someone to help realize Mr. Allen's vision on the Web.
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I joined Vulcan in 1997 as the Webmaster. Two years later, I was given the tremendous opportunity to build a team from scratch as the new Director of Web Development & Interface Design.
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In various roles over the next two decades, I spearheaded the conception, production, and delivery of intuitive and impactful digital experiences. The UX projects that I participated in were remarkably varied. These included mobile apps for media watching, responsive websites for philanthropic causes, practical home automation tools, and engaging museum kiosks.
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I am remarkably grateful for the opportunities, growth, relationships, trust, and experiences that Vulcan provided me during my tenure. After nearly 20 years, it was time for a change.
TAKING OFF WITH BOEING
Following a couple of years of independent consulting, I sought out a full-time engagement with The Boeing Company. I joined Boeing's Digital Transformation Environment as a User Experience Specialist, with a focus on training entry-level designers throughout the organization. It has been wonderfully fulfilling opportunity to help guide the next generation of designers and their products to embrace modern, agile, user-centered practices.
