About

 

For over 15 years, I have been helping companies uniquely address modern challenges by blending human-centered design and UX principles with strategic business thinking, bridging silos, and connecting teams to deliver cohesive product and service experiences that delight millions of customers while clearly defining desirability, viability, feasibility, and business success.

 

 

Clients & Organizations

I have been fortunate to work with a diverse range of clients across the globe, from innovative startups to large enterprises.

This experience has allowed me to collaborate with and support exceptional companies and brands in industries such as healthcare, banking, financial services, insurance, advertising, branding, marketing, entertainment, fleet management, and education

 

 

How I can help you or your company

 

Experience Strategy

Up to 70% of your market share could be missed, or lost, due to a lack of experience strategy. So, take the steps needed to develop a seamless and consistent experience across your company’s ecosystem of products and services.

Research

Don’t depend on luck! Applying research methods and tools that derisk critical decision-making will deliver value to the business and its customers/users. Solve real-world problems, and explore new markets, new capabilities, and innovations that can differentiate.

Product Design

Whether you want to redesign or build a product from scratch, applying best practices to how product experiences are designed can be the difference between products winning or losing in the competitive marketplace.

 
 

 

Don’t take my word for it..

 
What sets Don apart as a leader is his ability to closely connect the dots between identity and experience. By doing so, he ensures strategy, design, and execution result in an end product that is a true reflection of the organization. He remains at equal ease in front of both the senior executive and the analyst and figures out a way to keep them both engaged in the same room. His passion runs deep which naturally builds a culture of true innovation even in the darkest of corners.
— Kapil Kumar (Transformation Leader)
Donald is an expert in how to focus teams on results. He has a passion for guiding teams through new ways of thinking to orient them on measurable results, assessing risk vs. reward, and problem-solving at a systems level.
— Jill Starret (Associate Director of Strategy & Insights)
I’ve hired Don Spangler for a number of different primetime TV shows and pilots for 20th Century Fox TV. He produces consistent results and has various connections to the music world that he can use when needed to help finish any project. Don is one of our favorite guys here at Fox Music. I couldn’t recommend him highly enough.
— Ward Hake (SR VP Music, Disney TV Studios, 20th TV, 20th Animation
 

 

Some Case Studies

How a top 3 US bank explored digital innovation and achieved alignment

Executives at a top 3 US bank wanted to look at the Commercial Card Experience and determine how they might solve any known or unseen cardholder pain points, as well as determine if any new opportunities for digital transformation could be revealed.

Brought in as an Experience Strategist, Researcher, and Designer the approach taken was a combination of Experience Strategy, Technical Innovation, and a Growth mindset. We began with; secondary research, then primary research listening to customers and listening to stakeholders, mapping the current landscape across the cardholder experience, and then taking the insights into a workshop designed specifically to meet the needs of the organization to guide stakeholders and the leadership towards a shared vision and a reimagined roadmap for the future. …read more

How I contributed:

Strategy

Research

UX/Product Design

 
 
 
 

How a major US airline examined backstage and onstage processes that led to meaningful insights.

The CFO of a major US airline wanted to know how the company could save on Special Services. My team and I suggested an approach of contextual research to understand the backstage, front-of-stage experience, and processes at the ecosystem level. The gathered insights along with digital solutions showed outcomes of hundreds of millions saved per year.

How I contributed:

Strategy

Service design Research

UX/Product Design

 
 
 
 
 
 

A redesign for an auto insurance task flow.

AAA wanted to refresh its UI/UX design for users seeking a car insurance quote. The design goal was to decrease UX friction and increase conversion rates by 10%.

How I contributed:

UX / Product Design & Illustration

Usability testing & Uer interviews

 
 


Let’s design something together