Chris Rowe Design

I've really enjoyed getting to know the design team this year and Chris seems to hit it off with all the key Rocket Loans stakeholders he's had to work with. He is extremely organized with the work that is assigned to his team. He owns the goals of the project and, in every meeting, clearly communicates the plan of attack, the status of open/pending items, and the deadlines his team are working towards. He also goes the extra mile to gain a deep understanding of the business that sits behind the design. In other words, he will meet with as many different stakeholders as possible to examine everything that can influence a design decision (i.e business rules, bi metrics, legal concerns, etc.) -- he makes sure to cover all bases. His team is literally obsessed with finding a better way to do something. They ask very deep questions on everything we discuss and they test their theories with actual user groups (something new for RL). He definitely challenges the business owners on questions and comments and I think he does a nice job of navigating issues that come up with competing opinions from different business areas. I look forward to working on more projects in the future with Chris and this team. They are very pleasant to work with, they have fun on the calls, and they keep things light, but they are also very serious about the work they produce. I have no doubt our re-design will be best in class when we are are live with everything this team has produced.

Chris has led the design team's efforts to support Rocket Loans. This is a very difficult job and Chris has done a tremendous job at it. Chris came up to speed on the Rocket Loans experience and making an impact very quickly.  Chris excels at organizing the large amount info and many moving parts of the projects he and his team are working on for Rocket Loans. He excels at clearing roadblocks and enabling his team to keep moving forward. He is also great at driving meetings and presenting complex material in easy to understand ways. I think Chris' contributions have been key to the progress we have made on the big PL relaunch redesign project and  will also be key to seeing it through to completion. Very glad to have you on the team Chris!

Chris has taught me so many coping techniques to command executive presence during a meeting, to concisely deliver answers while moderating, and when need be to stand up for the path less taken. (The most efficient path) All these themes and more have been imperative towards my growth as a mid-level designer to becoming a Sr. Designer. Due to his leadership, experience with management, and creative problem solving, design efforts such as the “The Proposal”, “The Pitch”, and even the MVP direction for the Dashboard have been able to progress. A Chris Rowe with 1 year of Rocket knowledge under his belt is a dangerous Chris Rowe waiting to destroy industry standards. And certainly, a design partner I need on the team to continue our product expansion. Whenever I have projects and am early on or late in the process, I can always rely on Chris to give me the most critical feedback no one else can provide. Because a certain level of context and timing that can only exist on trust and transparency exists with Chris. Not only with me but with product and business leaders and pretty much anyone who associates with him. Chris’ charisma to foster this work environment is necessary to Rocket Solar’s success.

Chris leads by example. He attends to his work and to collaboration with peers thoughtfully and empathetically. He anticipates his needs and ours when managing and evolving our project-tracking methods in Jira. He seeks ways to streamline our processes to make them more efficient, and he pays careful attention to our stated work loads, ever seeking opportunities to jump in and share the load as needed. Chris demonstrates care and passion for leadership as well as design in everything he does. Since joining the team, I have and will continue to look to him for mentorship in visual design, stake holder communication, and servant leadership best practices. I always feel safe to share my opinion when collaborating with Chris, and safe design spaces always equate to better design solutions. As a design partner, he listens deeply and then responds with the clear intent to produce solutions that best meets the needs of our client, business, and tech; rather than responding to feed his own ego or  to present that he is an expert. Compromise is easy with Chris because he puts the work first and encourages others to do the same.Additionally, Chris embodies the Grow ante because he regularly makes time to help members of his team,  particularly me, grow in our discipline. He provides timely coaching with a sense of urgency. He has patience when explaining his design approach or solution, which allows others to follow and learn from him. During our weekly team critiques, Chris provides honest feedback and always asks “why?” This habit (inevitably) leads to growth because his insights and questions lead to nuanced, thoughtful discussion.

I've had the pleasure of working closely with Chris over the past few months and during this time he has embodied a "*We'll Figure It Out"* mentality. Chris is extremely organized and truly excels at keeping everyone focused on the task at hand. When he began supporting Rocket Loans and Rocket Solar months ago he really took the initiative to dive in and learn our business and technology processes which I truly believe has enabled his continued success on the Design Team supporting Rocket Loans. Furthermore, when I joined Rocket Loans, Chris spent countless hours with me teaching me everything from how to navigate Figma files, to how designs are created, helped me better understand the research process, to the design lifecycle, and much much more. He is a true partner and I view him as a mentor to many of the team members on the loans design team. Not to mention, he has done a wonderful job of organizing the backlog of work for the team as well. I am extremely happy to see him jumping back in to support many of the relaunch flows as I view him as critical to the success of the revamp of our personal loans experience. I look forward to our continued partnership in the months to come!

Chris has been a solid and reliable partner and I've really appreciated his expertise on the servicing side. Here are a few specifics: - Chris is relentlessly focused on 'solving the client's problem' in the work he brings. This is represented by routinely taking a step back to affirm the problem we are seeking to solve, and ensuring that the experiences and designs are in the clients language and meeting the true client need. - 'Embrace technology' - I have seen Chris take a leadership role with getting the design team organizing their work and using Jira and other tools. And while something like this may not impact me or other partners directly, it is a great sign to see and a demonstration of always finding a better way. Chris has also been a strong advocate for embracing working cross functionally with the technology team. This is welcomed to help break down any communication gaps and encouraging collaboration across specializations.

Chris has demonstrated continued leadership for our design team. He’s been a key player in standing up important ceremonies like our grooming and planning sessions while nurturing a culture of accountability with his maintenance of Wrike. Chris also leads many of our discussions around process improvement and meaningful collaboration, helping us streamline syncs, prioritization sessions, handoffs, and retros. Chris is also an assiduous design partner, one who regularly takes the conn to uncover important limitations while keeping everyone updated about a project’s progress – demonstrating great awareness. He’s been instrumental in bringing me up to speed in our product, helping me gain context quickly by directing me to the right resources. (advisor calls/data stories/forwarded tech syncs) He is a team lead, shepherding our design process as we navigate a challenging startup environment, challenging all of us with his passion for streamlining process, improving collaboration, and meeting aggressive but realistic project timelines.

Chris is someone who constantly exemplifies finding a better way. He always challenges assumptions and fosters an environment that encourages others to do the same. He helped the team organize projects in a way that was simple, provided resources and easy to understand instructions and helped us prioritize where to start first. His solutions reached from his ability to communicate expectations, distill requirements from the product/business stakeholders, and into the tools we utilized to get our work organized and completed. He also greatly improved the way the team used Wrike (project management software) to share prioritization, requirements, and updates through a project that was easy for our team and stakeholders to reference and understand. Quite honestly, his workflow and solution created in Wrike was the best solution I've seen across Rocket. It would absolutely be a scalable solution that SO MANY others can use to make sense of the noise. Chris is able to deliver results in his own projects and help the team deliver from his guidance and leadership. He responds with urgency in his own efforts, for example, by setting up multiple tests for the redesign. He was able to take the feedback from the participants and distill the information in a way that was easy for our team to understand and move forward with. By his example, I felt more confident to follow through on my own research testing. By and far, Chris is not just a fantastic client-focused designer, but a concise and supportive leader. I'd love to be in a position to work with him again!

As a designer, Chris constantly pushed the boundaries of design in our industry. His ability to take mundane content or data and come up with a visual solution that is eye catching and engaging really took our materials to the next level. Chris is exceptionally great at communication whether that be presenting an idea, giving creative direction, or meeting with internal clients. He has a passion for leadership. He is genuinely invested in each person on his team and their professional development + growth as a designer, and he created a great collaborative environment to work in. He always encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and learn something new. I personally grew tremendously as a designer and as a leader through Chris’ mentorship.