Top Talent like Sam are on Pangea

Pangea, a YC company, connects companies with fractional talent. Fractional hiring allows companies to move faster and work with more specilaized talent, while giving talent more flexibilty and independence. If you are talent open to fractional work, apply here. If you’re a company looking for high-quality fractional talent, learn more here.

Sam Hankins

Product Designer •
Available for hire fromNegotiable
Contracts
Principal Product Designer, Coral at Vox Media, LLC.
As a product designer at Vox Media, I leveraged my Figma expertise and user research skills to create safer and more inclusive community products for journalism and media with Coral, a leading platform for engaging audiences and driving loyalty. With over six years of experience in product design, I have launched three new engagement formats: Q&A, Ratings & Reviews, and Live Chat, as well as established a pattern library and a flexible design system for Coral's moderation, admin, and audience-facing experiences. My passion for design is driven by my mission to empower and inspire positive change, drawing from my background in law, education, and social justice. I have advised LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC focused non-profits on the use of digital tools to increase their reach and impact, and I also mentor and coach aspiring designers from underrepresented communities and non-tech backgrounds. Additionally, I am always eager to learn and explore new technologies and trends, such as web3.js, that can enhance the value and innovation of the products I design.

Work History

V

Principal Product Designer, Coral and Editorial Tools

Vox Media, LLC.May 2021 - Dec 2023 • 2 yrs 8 mos- Collaborated with Head of Community Products to develop and execute community-driven research experiments alongside editorial, data, and analytics stakeholders from Vox.com, New York Magazine, The Dodo, and Polygon. Insights generated from the community opportunity discovery process informed editorial and product strategies. - Transitioned into design lead role for 'Quick Posts Editor' MVP on Editorial Tools team, collaborating closely with engineers and PM to scope and design despite knowledge gaps, ultimately launching in alignment with The Verge's site relaunch and platform re-architecture. - Partnered with engineers in a hackathon to develop a proof-of-concept leveraging generative AI for curating mental health and trigger-sensitive news 'playlists'. - Pioneered a comprehensive review and redesign of Coral's product development workflow in collaboration with the Product and Engineering Managers, resulting in the delivery of Digital Services Act compliance features for EU SaaS clients ahead of legal compliance deadline.
V

Senior Product Designer, Coral

Vox Media, LLC.Jan 2019 - May 2021 • 2 yrs 5 mos- Owned end-to-end research and design for launch of 3 new engagement formats: Q&A, Ratings & Reviews, and Live Chat. - Partnered with full-stack developer to create Coral's design system, jointly establishing naming conventions and ensuring adherence to accessibility and internationalization standards. Collaborated to maintain both an internal system for Coral's tools and a client-facing, token-based solution enabling brand customization. - Collaborated with Tech Lead and Engineering Manager to define, scope, and plan enterprise multi-tenancy features, including multi-site management, site-specific moderation settings, and roles and permissions, to support the growth of our SaaS business and enterprise-scale news organizations. - Conducted in-depth user research with power users and community ambassadors across SB Nation's 32 NFL fan sites, uncovering critical gaps between product and community vernacular. Insights informed reframing of product language and launch strategy, impacting 250+ fan communities network-wide.
B

Product Design Educator/Mentor

BlocApr 2017 - Mar 2020 • 3 yrs- Mentored students through 30-minute 1-on-1 sessions, providing guidance in user-centered design, visual design, and front-end coding to shape their skills and help them become industry-ready designers - Gave in-depth, actionable feedback during twice-weekly design critiques to help students significantly elevate the quality and craft of their portfolio projects Past students now employed at companies like Microsoft, Apple, CarMax, Tailwind, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Energy Services, and Flickr.
B

Squad Lead, Design Programs

BlocJan 2019 - Jan 2020 • 1 yr 1 mo- Onboarded and managed a team of 20+ of mentors responsible for the programs highest job placement rate. - Developed hard and soft skills rubrics for evaluating prospective mentors and completed portfolio reviews as part of mentor talent hiring and recruiting team. - Shifted mentorship focus to coach recent graduates on career goals, interviewing, personal branding, and portfolio refinement, resulting in successful placements at top companies including Microsoft, Apple, and Fidelity.
M

Lead Designer, The Coral Project

MozillaJul 2017 - Jan 2019 • 1 yr 7 mos- Led end-to-end design process for launch of Coral's safety-first admin, moderator, and commenter (B2B2C) experiences, delivering an accessible and internationalized product, across 23 languages - Conducted user research and usability testing to deeply understand moderator needs and define product and design direction - Designed experience for Corals Perspective filter, the first to leverage Googles Perspective AI API to provide commenters feedback before submitting their comment to make adjustments for toxicity, tone or language - Collaborated with the Product Owner, Lead Engineer and Tech Lead to define, prioritize and scope roadmap and sprints.

Education

G

Gonzaga University School of Law

JD2008 - 2011
B

Bloc

User Experience Design Apprenticeship2015 - 2016
C

Chicago Portfolio School

Art Direction2005 - 2006
C

Creighton University

BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, Advertising & Visual Communications sequences2001 - 2005

How Pangea Works

Effortlessly discover top talent

We’ve distilled the candidate search from endless hours down to just a few minutes. Using Pangea’s AI-powered search tools, you can find top fractional talent able to take on your next project. Our system looks at your company’s niche and your needs to find the perfect match faster than any traditional hiring platform.

Start working with talent today

The top talent on Pangea is ready to get started with you right now. You can message or hire a candidate right from their profile page and start assigning work as soon as they respond. And the best part? Pangea’s fractional contract structure lets you start small and ramp up as your needs change, keeping your costs manageable and your team’s capabliities flexible.

Track work and invoices in one place

Assign tasks, track progress, and complete invoices all on Pangea. We’ve combined every part of the hiring process into one platform to eliminate the miscommunication that’s unavoidable on other freelance platforms. We even send out 1099s to your contractors at the end of the year!

Talk with a Talent Expert

Members of our team are available to help you speed through the hiring process.
Available Now
Book a Call
Principal Product Designer, Coral at Vox Media, LLC.
As a product designer at Vox Media, I leveraged my Figma expertise and user research skills to create safer and more inclusive community products for journalism and media with Coral, a leading platform for engaging audiences and driving loyalty. With over six years of experience in product design, I have launched three new engagement formats: Q&A, Ratings & Reviews, and Live Chat, as well as established a pattern library and a flexible design system for Coral's moderation, admin, and audience-facing experiences. My passion for design is driven by my mission to empower and inspire positive change, drawing from my background in law, education, and social justice. I have advised LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC focused non-profits on the use of digital tools to increase their reach and impact, and I also mentor and coach aspiring designers from underrepresented communities and non-tech backgrounds. Additionally, I am always eager to learn and explore new technologies and trends, such as web3.js, that can enhance the value and innovation of the products I design.

Talk with a Talent Expert

Members of our team are available to help you speed through the hiring process.
Available Now
Book a Call

Top Talent like Sam are on Pangea

Pangea, a YC company, connects companies with fractional talent. Fractional hiring allows companies to move faster and work with more specilaized talent, while giving talent more flexibilty and independence. If you are talent open to fractional work, apply here. If you’re a company looking for high-quality fractional talent, learn more here.

Sam Hankins

Product Designer •
Available for hire fromNegotiable
Contracts

Work History

V

Principal Product Designer, Coral and Editorial Tools

Vox Media, LLC.May 2021 - Dec 2023 • 2 yrs 8 mos- Collaborated with Head of Community Products to develop and execute community-driven research experiments alongside editorial, data, and analytics stakeholders from Vox.com, New York Magazine, The Dodo, and Polygon. Insights generated from the community opportunity discovery process informed editorial and product strategies. - Transitioned into design lead role for 'Quick Posts Editor' MVP on Editorial Tools team, collaborating closely with engineers and PM to scope and design despite knowledge gaps, ultimately launching in alignment with The Verge's site relaunch and platform re-architecture. - Partnered with engineers in a hackathon to develop a proof-of-concept leveraging generative AI for curating mental health and trigger-sensitive news 'playlists'. - Pioneered a comprehensive review and redesign of Coral's product development workflow in collaboration with the Product and Engineering Managers, resulting in the delivery of Digital Services Act compliance features for EU SaaS clients ahead of legal compliance deadline.
V

Senior Product Designer, Coral

Vox Media, LLC.Jan 2019 - May 2021 • 2 yrs 5 mos- Owned end-to-end research and design for launch of 3 new engagement formats: Q&A, Ratings & Reviews, and Live Chat. - Partnered with full-stack developer to create Coral's design system, jointly establishing naming conventions and ensuring adherence to accessibility and internationalization standards. Collaborated to maintain both an internal system for Coral's tools and a client-facing, token-based solution enabling brand customization. - Collaborated with Tech Lead and Engineering Manager to define, scope, and plan enterprise multi-tenancy features, including multi-site management, site-specific moderation settings, and roles and permissions, to support the growth of our SaaS business and enterprise-scale news organizations. - Conducted in-depth user research with power users and community ambassadors across SB Nation's 32 NFL fan sites, uncovering critical gaps between product and community vernacular. Insights informed reframing of product language and launch strategy, impacting 250+ fan communities network-wide.
B

Product Design Educator/Mentor

BlocApr 2017 - Mar 2020 • 3 yrs- Mentored students through 30-minute 1-on-1 sessions, providing guidance in user-centered design, visual design, and front-end coding to shape their skills and help them become industry-ready designers - Gave in-depth, actionable feedback during twice-weekly design critiques to help students significantly elevate the quality and craft of their portfolio projects Past students now employed at companies like Microsoft, Apple, CarMax, Tailwind, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Energy Services, and Flickr.
B

Squad Lead, Design Programs

BlocJan 2019 - Jan 2020 • 1 yr 1 mo- Onboarded and managed a team of 20+ of mentors responsible for the programs highest job placement rate. - Developed hard and soft skills rubrics for evaluating prospective mentors and completed portfolio reviews as part of mentor talent hiring and recruiting team. - Shifted mentorship focus to coach recent graduates on career goals, interviewing, personal branding, and portfolio refinement, resulting in successful placements at top companies including Microsoft, Apple, and Fidelity.
M

Lead Designer, The Coral Project

MozillaJul 2017 - Jan 2019 • 1 yr 7 mos- Led end-to-end design process for launch of Coral's safety-first admin, moderator, and commenter (B2B2C) experiences, delivering an accessible and internationalized product, across 23 languages - Conducted user research and usability testing to deeply understand moderator needs and define product and design direction - Designed experience for Corals Perspective filter, the first to leverage Googles Perspective AI API to provide commenters feedback before submitting their comment to make adjustments for toxicity, tone or language - Collaborated with the Product Owner, Lead Engineer and Tech Lead to define, prioritize and scope roadmap and sprints.

Education

G

Gonzaga University School of Law

JD2008 - 2011
B

Bloc

User Experience Design Apprenticeship2015 - 2016
C

Chicago Portfolio School

Art Direction2005 - 2006
C

Creighton University

BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, Advertising & Visual Communications sequences2001 - 2005

How Pangea Works

Effortlessly discover top talent

We’ve distilled the candidate search from endless hours down to just a few minutes. Using Pangea’s AI-powered search tools, you can find top fractional talent able to take on your next project. Our system looks at your company’s niche and your needs to find the perfect match faster than any traditional hiring platform.

Start working with talent today

The top talent on Pangea is ready to get started with you right now. You can message or hire a candidate right from their profile page and start assigning work as soon as they respond. And the best part? Pangea’s fractional contract structure lets you start small and ramp up as your needs change, keeping your costs manageable and your team’s capabliities flexible.

Track work and invoices in one place

Assign tasks, track progress, and complete invoices all on Pangea. We’ve combined every part of the hiring process into one platform to eliminate the miscommunication that’s unavoidable on other freelance platforms. We even send out 1099s to your contractors at the end of the year!

Talk with a Talent Expert

Members of our team are available to help you speed through the hiring process.
Available Now
Book a Call
Pangea empowers fractional work across the world for marketing and design roles.