Alan Ruthazer

Product Design Leader | Creative Director

I’m a multidisciplinary design leader with practical experience creating strategy, concepts and design for some of the most respected brands in the world. I have helped improve user engagement for dozens of Fortune 500 companies as well as startups while mentoring and providing leadership for numerous teams. My career began by helping to build one of Adweek’s Top 100 Interactive agencies. I later went on to found and build Lightning Jar, a digital creative agency. I'm currently designing user experiences at Google.

I believe in bold, mission driven design and the value of blending the occasional smoothie.

Case Studies

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Clients

logos for Spotify, MIT, Burton, HP, Thomson Reuters, American Express, HBO, Hendricks Gin, GELogos for Jim Beam, Toyota, Victoria's Secret, Hearst, Avaya, W Hotels, United Rentals, MetLife, Time Magazine
  • Interview

    The Early Days of Digital Design

    In this episode Lightning Jar founder Alan Ruthazer takes a walk down memory lane. We hear the story of how Alan got started in digital design. We also discuss what has changed and what has stayed the same in his over 17+ years leading the company.

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  • Blog Post

    A Walk Down Memory Lane

    After sitting down as a guest on a recent podcast where I discussed how technology has evolved over my lifetime, I realized, in reflecting back, that much of my personal and professional career is marked with notable computer hardware milestones....

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Reel

Testimonials

Design Transformation

Reframe how design lives in a business ecosystem

In order to truly tap into the value that design can bring to an organization we need to think of it as greater than just aesthetics. We need to educate our clients so that they welcome design into their core process. We must help them to understand that the designer’s job is to create a competitive advantage by helping to support innovation.

Innovation or operational change occurs when it is:
viable - good for business
feasible - can be executed
desirable - adopted by customers


This education requires that we reframe how we speak about design within organizations. Designers must use the language of business in order to help our clients to better understand how design impacts an organization. This impact can be measurable and can touch finances, operations, customers and effect growth. Once design is welcomed at the table, and part of an ROI discussion, the opportunity to bring ideas for business growth and innovation is unlimited.