Award-Winning Creative Director & UX Leader | Building Inclusive Digital Experiences at Scale
Mary Fran is an award-winning Creative Director and UX leader with over 15 years of designing inclusive digital experiences across web, mobile, and AI-powered platforms. She specializes in building accessible, user-centered design systems at enterprise scale while leading cross-functional teams through human-centered design processes that deliver measurable business impact.
Professional Experience
Inclusive Design Manager
Captech | April 2024 – August 2025
Clients: Grammarly, Confidential International Sport League
- Multi-Platform Design Strategy: Provided expert design consultation for e-commerce platforms, marketing sites, user-facing databases, and native iOS & Android applications
- Accessibility Auditing Excellence: Provided expert audits and remediation solutions using automated tools & manual evaluation techniques for complex digital ecosystems spanning web, software, and native iOS & Android applications with WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA, Section 508, and EU accessibility compliance
- Process Optimization: Built streamlined evaluation frameworks that reduced design review time by 40% while maintaining quality standards
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partnered with design, engineering, and product teams to co-create user-centered features for leading AI writing tools
- Training & Culture Building: Curated and delivered design best practices & accessibility training to product design teams, fostering organization-wide design excellence
Creative Director, Experience Design
Freelance | July 2023 – April 2024
Clients: Grammarly, Confidential International Sport League
- Digital Design Leadership: Led 3-member design team through a rapid experience strategy for personalizing account management tools in mobile apps and website with generative AI
- Inclusive Design Workshop Facilitation: Facilitated product design workshops to improve digital product experiences and uncover key opportunities for product innovation
- Accessible Design Consulting: Developed streamlined “quick hits” accessibility audit process to provide affordable consulting to small businesses, prioritizing high-impact issues for optimal ROI on remediation efforts
- Creative Technologist: Explore new applications for emerging technologies such as AI, AR/VR/XR, and voice.
- Connected Brand Experiences: Connect marketing objectives to experience principles to drive mutually beneficial engagement between brands and customers through my campaign mapping process
Associate Director, Experience Design (UX/CX)
VMLY&R | August 2021-June 2023
Clients: Grammarly, Confidential International Sport League
- Product Design Leadership: Led cross-functional teams of 3-25 through human-centered design processes from identifying needs to national product launches, achieving up to 225% increases in user satisfaction
- Streamlined Repeatable Process: Developed a comprehensive documentation framework integrating common mapping artifacts such as service blueprints, user flows, and data flows from all stakeholder groups into a unified experience map, creating a single source of truth for cross-functional teams and scaled this new methodology across Ford’s entire CX organization
- Accessibility Integration: Introduced comprehensive accessibility practices extending beyond digital touchpoints to ensure complete service accessibility, including keyboard navigation and screen reader optimization
- Stakeholder Facilitation: Planned and facilitated successful in-person, remote, and hybrid design workshops with senior client stakeholders, building comprehensive CX strategies
- Co-founded the umbrella ERG IncredABLE for neurodiversity, disability, and accessibility as a result of founding VMLY&R’s disability ERG
- Won $1.5M in incremental scope over 18 months
Associate Director, User Experience / Experience Architecture
FCB Chicago | April 2019 – August 2021
Clients: Cox Communications, HP, Glad, Discover
- End-to-End UX Strategy: Led UX strategy & design for enterprise telecom client, building a comprehensive website and digital design system with matching components for wireframes, UI design, and code components
- Compliance Policy Leadership: Made WCAG compliance the default in project templates, requiring client discussion to remove standards and ensuring a larger percentage of deliverables met accessibility requirements
- Creative Team Development: Led bi-weekly “Design Gym” sessions combining feedback sessions and interactive learning to explore design thinking & creativity exercises in a low-pressure environment, building design expertise for the team
- Visual Design Excellence: Ensured high-quality design standards throughout all creative stages, building design expertise across design and engineering teams
Lead user experience architect (UX/Interactive Art Director)
Ogilvy USA | October 2016 – March 2019
Clients: Modelo, CDW, Grainger, SC Johnson (Glade, Pledge, Mrs. Meyers, Caldrea, Duck, Mr Muscle, Lysoform, Scrubbing Bubbles), Kimberly-Clarke (Huggies, Pull-Ups, GoodNites), Chicago Sun-Times
- Component Library Development: Partnered with engineers to translate a website into a reusable code component library & design system template that could be deployed to an ecosystem of 30+ CPG brands
- Global Accessibility Compliance: Designed websites for CPG & B2B brands that met strict international accessibility requirements, facilitated switching between left-to-right and right-to-left languages, and aligned to brand design standards
- Award-Winning Creative: Produced award-winning work at The One Show, Lions, and Clios, demonstrating excellence in digital design and creative problem-solving
CORE COMPETENCIES & SPECIALIZED EXPERTISE
Creative Leadership & Strategy
- Creative Direction
- Visual Problem Solving
- Design Team Management
- Creative Culture Development
- Client Presentation & Relationship Management
- Project Management & Prioritization
- Team Management (3-25 people)
- Cross-Functional Partnership
- Stakeholder Education
- Workshop Facilitation
Digital Design & User Experience
- Design Systems & Component Libraries
- Typography & Visual Hierarchy
- Responsive Layout Design
- UI/UX Design
- Information Architecture
- Prototyping & Wireframing
- E-commerce Design
- User Experience Strategy
- Product Design
- User Research & Testing
- Design Thinking
Accessibility & Compliance
- WCAG 2.1/2.2 Conformance
- Section 508/EU Laws
- Manual & Automated Testing
- Assistive Technology (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack)
- ACR Development
- ARIA Implementation
- Automated Testing Tools (axe, Lighthouse, WAVE)
- Accessibility Training & Culture Building
Technical Skills & Tools
- HTML/CSS
- JavaScript
- Figma (Advanced)
- Sketch
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Cross-Platform Design (Web, iOS, Android)
- Design-to-Development Handoff
Education & Certifications
Mastering Customer Experience
May 2022 | Forrester
Facebook Certified Creative
Strategy Professional
December 2020 | Facebook
Certificate in Advanced Design
May 2010 | College of DuPage
Diplôme Français des Affaires, 1ière degrée (avec Mention Très Bien)
January 2007 | Chambre de Commerce et de l’Industrie de Paris
Bachelor of Arts in French Commercial Studies & International Marketing
May 2007 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
2018 | Cannes Lions
Shortlist: Brand Experience & Activation Lions | Media Lions | Direct Lions
2018 | The One Show
Merit: Health, Wellness & Pharma: Digital/Web | Interactive: Innovation in Interactive/Online
Side Quests
Chicago Tap Theatre
Internationally renowned dance company with educational programs to make tap dance available to deaf & hard-of-hearing children, as well as children in underserved communities.
Board Member, 2014-2016
Secretary, 2016-2020
Board Member, 2020-2024
Secretary, 2024-Current
Fable Dance
New dance non-profit providing adaptive dance classes to adults with degenerative neurological conditions.
Founder, 2024-Current