James E. Spann
Award Winning - Brand Guru | CX/UX Design | Educator | User Researcher | Content Strategist at Mecklenburg County Government
- Role
- Brand Coordinator, Design Systems & Governance Lead at Mecklenburg County
- Location
- Charlotte, NC, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About James E. Spann
Design leader with 16 years of experience driving user experience design, design systems, and content strategy across enterprise and SaaS environments. Proven ability to architect scalable systems, mature UX operations, and align cross-functional partners around a unified design vision. Skilled in leading multidisciplinary teams, building structured content and metadata models, and delivering accessible, high-performance digital experiences. Bring a platform-mindset, human-centered approach, and strong strategic leadership that helps to elevate design maturity and lead complex platform engagements- Experience Design Leadership · SaaS & Platform Ecosystems · Cross-Functional Collaboration- Design Systems & Component Governance · Metadata & Structured Content Models- Accessibility (ADA/USWDS) · Design Operations · UX Research & Testing- Content Strategy · Information Architecture · Team Mentorship & Critiques“If you want to make something happen that hasn\'t happened before, you\'ve got to allow yourself to make a lot of mistakes.”-Björk
Experience
Brand Coordinator, Design Systems & Governance Lead
Aug 2022 — Present · Charlotte, NC, US
Lead design and content governance across 20+ departments, developing scalable systems and frameworks aligned with enterprise strategy.• Architected County-wide brand standards and the enterprise content governance framework, creating structured workflows and accessibility-first design practices.• Built metadata, taxonomy, and omnichannel content models, improving searchability, localization, and information delivery.• Facilitated strategy workshops with cross-functional leaders to align content, UX, and service delivery across platforms.• Serve as primary liaison between internal stakeholders, agencies, and production partners; mentor junior designers and lead design critiques.Accomplishments:• First place in the Graphic Design (Print Brochure) category at NC3C Excellence in Communications Awards 2023• Second place in Graphic Design (Annual Report) category at NC3C Excellence in Communications Awards 2023• MeckACT Award 2023• NACIO Awards of Excellence: Printed Publications - Annual Report 2023• SAVVY Awards: Graphic Design Publications - Performance Report 2023• SAVVY Awards - Award of Excellence: Graphic Design - Farmers Market Brochure 2023• Spot Award 2023• Spot Award 2024• Telly Award 2024 (Design Director)- Dear Second Ward• SAVVY Awards - Silver Circle: Publications - Style or Branding Guide 2024
Education
Maryland Institute College of Art
Master of Professional Studies in UX Design, User Experience Design / Content Strategy
2019 — 2020
The Art Institutes
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Graphic Design
2013 — 2016
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