Shopify site walkthrough

ShopifyHighlight IndustriesE-commerceWebsite DesignUXGitHub

Highlight Industries holiday Shopify banner featuring a wrapped stretch wrapper

Seasonal Shopify banner

Highlight Industries Shopify banner featuring an open branded box

Brand-focused Shopify banner

Highlight Industries Shopify banner featuring replacement parts above a branded box

Parts and service Shopify banner

E-commerce data visual

ShopifyHighlight IndustriesE-commerceData

E-commerce data visual

ShopifyHighlight IndustriesE-commerceData

Case Study / Highlight Industries

E-commerce: Shopify

E-commerce. Website Design. UX. Shopify. GitHub. Highlight Industries.

Highlight Industries is a packaging machinery manufacturer specializing in high-end custom stretch wrapping and packaging solutions. In addition to designing and selling specialized machines, the company supports long-term customer needs through a Shopify parts store, giving customers a faster, easier way to order replacement parts, accessories, and essential components.

Goal

Highlight Industries needed its Shopify store to better support industrial customers while also reducing shipping-related losses caused by inaccurate product weights, unclear box sizing, and incomplete shipping data. Many products lacked consistent visuals, categories, tags, and shipping details, which made the site harder to shop and created costly UPS billing discrepancies when Shopify did not charge enough to cover actual shipping costs.

Creative direction

To improve the store, I photographed products in the warehouse and edited the images for Shopify, creating clearer visuals for customers ordering replacement parts online. I also led a team project to weigh products, identify accurate shipping box sizes, and update product data so Shopify shipping rates more closely reflected actual UPS costs. Alongside the shipping improvements, I cleaned up product categories and tags, clarified shipping and return language, and helped organize the site around how industrial customers search for needed parts. I also redesigned a landing page that felt custom, while still relying on Shopify’s native navigation to keep a smooth connection between the custom landing page and the shop.

Outcome

These updates created a clearer, more reliable Shopify experience for both customers and internal teams. Operationally, the updates helped reduce UPS billing discrepancies by approximately 60% from around 10-15 per billing cycle down to 3-5 while increasing our total sales and overall customer experience.

113% Total Sales 118% Gross Sales 125% Net Sales Plus approximately 60% fewer UPS billing discrepancies.

Highlight Industries quick start guide image 38 tagged technical writing Highlight Industries process improvement

Highlight Industries quick start guide image 39 tagged technical writing Highlight Industries process improvement

Highlight Industries quick start guide image 37 tagged technical writing Highlight Industries process improvement

Highlight Industries quick start guide image 42 tagged technical writing Highlight Industries process improvement

Highlight Industries quick start guide image 43 tagged technical writing Highlight Industries process improvement

Highlight Industries quick start guide image 44 tagged technical writing Highlight Industries process improvement

Highlight Industries quick start guide image 45 tagged technical writing Highlight Industries process improvement

Highlight Industries quick start guide image 46 tagged technical writing Highlight Industries process improvement

Highlight Industries quick start guide image 47 tagged technical writing Highlight Industries process improvement

Case Study / Highlight Industries

Technical Writing: Quick Start Guides

Technical Writing. Highlight Industries. Process Improvement.

Highlight Industries needed a more efficient way to get customers the right startup information without relying on bulky printed manuals for every machine. The work became both a technical writing project and a process improvement project: simplify the information, reduce unnecessary printing, and make manuals easier to access digitally.

Goal

Reduce labor, ink, and paper costs while improving the customer experience. SEO research showed that customers and manufacturing workers were looking for machine manuals and startup information, so the goal was to create a clearer path to quick setup guidance and full digital manuals.

Creative direction

I condensed 100+ page machine manuals into smaller quick start guides that could stay with the machine. The guides used cleaner images, shorter instructions, and more direct language so customers could understand key setup and operation steps right off the pallet.

Outcome

The quick start guides included QR codes that connected customers to digital manuals online. Those manuals were uploaded through GitHub, and the Support Center was designed to help customers find the correct manual by sales order or machine serial number. This created a more practical customer handoff while supporting internal efficiency and reducing unnecessary printed materials.

100+ Page Manuals Condensed QR Access to Digital Manuals GitHub + Support Center Workflow Technical writing used as process improvement for customer support, manufacturing handoff, and manual access.

Highlight Industries Support Center search screen

Highlight Industries Support Center machine record and matched manual results

Case Study / Highlight Industries

Highlight Support Center

Process Improvement. UX. Shopify. GitHub. CSV Data. SEO. Customer Support.

Customers often needed service information, spare parts, warranty resources, or the correct manual for a specific machine—but finding the right document required internal knowledge and manual lookup. SEO research also showed that people were actively searching for Highlight machine service, parts, and manuals.

Goal

Create one self-service pathway where a customer could identify their machine and immediately reach the resources connected to it, while keeping the employee update process simple enough to maintain without rewriting the website.

System design

I designed the Support Center around the identifiers customers already have: a machine job number or sales order number. A search returns the matching machine record, then applies model and production-date rules to surface the correct manual. The same result can also connect customers to warranty registration, spare-parts information, add-on setup guides, and contact support.

Behind the experience

The customer-facing interface lives within Shopify, while GitHub-hosted CSV files manage machine records, CSA status, manual date ranges, and add-ons such as scales or extended-height configurations. Employees can replace the updated CSV files as records change, allowing the system to stay current without editing the core code.

Outcome

The Support Center turns a scattered, employee-dependent lookup process into a clearer digital workflow. Customers gain faster access to the right information, while internal teams have a repeatable way to maintain machine and manual data. It also creates a stronger bridge between technical documentation, service, parts, warranty, and the Shopify customer experience.

Search by Job or Sales Order Model + Date-Based Manual Matching CSV Updates Without Code Changes Shopify customer experience supported by GitHub-hosted data and reusable manual rules.

Immigration support handbook

Kenowa Hills immigration support resource image 41

Staff and family resource guidance

Case Study / Kenowa Hills Public Schools

Immigration Support Handbook

A time-sensitive internal resource created to help staff use district-approved language and provide consistent support to immigrant students and families.

Goal

Create one document that housed important information, interaction guidelines, and resources so staff across Kenowa Hills Public Schools could respond consistently and provide families with the same approved information.

Creative direction

Develop an easy-to-navigate handbook that could support front-office staff, administrators, counselors, students, and families. The project was expedited following a school incident and an emergency district-level meeting.

Outcome

I researched resources and handbooks from other school districts, organized the findings in a shared drive for team collaboration, and created standardized guidance for staff. The handbook included procedures for front-office interactions, district contacts, and resources that counselors and administrators could provide to students and families.

Student coping-skills and grounding materials created for Kenowa Hills

PBIS expectation cards and GOLD Card winner design

Kenowa Hills PBIS brochure and GOLD campaign materials

Bus Bucks behavior incentive materials and destination ticket

Kenowa Hills PBIS expectation cards for schoolwide locations

Case Study / Kenowa Hills Public Schools

Process Improvement: PBIS

Kenowa Hills Public Schools. Education. Process Improvement. Research. Graphic Design. Surveys. Community.

Kenowa Hills Middle School needed a Tier 1 PBIS program that felt clearer, more memorable, and more meaningful for both staff and students. The goal was not just to redesign materials, but to build a system students and staff would actually use and recognize as their own.

Goal

Strengthen fidelity around PBIS Tier 1 programming by simplifying the schoolwide expectations into a shorter, more usable framework, while increasing staff and student involvement across the school community.

Creative direction

I approached the project like a process-improvement and communication problem. The work started with PBIS research, interviews with local schools and PBIS coordinators, and input gathered through surveys, small groups, and collaboration with the Tier 1 team. From there, I helped shape a program that connected strategy, language, and visuals, then created educational pieces for students and families and reached out to local businesses to help support participation.

Outcome

The result was the GOLD campaign: Grit, On Task, Leadership, and Dependable. The new framework gave the school a simpler set of expectations and a more cohesive identity to build around. Participation increased from roughly 30% to 90%, staff and student involvement increased by 60% across more than 80 staff members and 600 students, and the work helped strengthen school culture while reconnecting the program to the surrounding community.

30% → 90% Participation +60% Staff + Student Involvement 80+ Staff · 600+ Students Research-driven process improvement supported by communication design, surveys, and community partnership.

Early Highlight Industries digital signature design

Updated Highlight Industries digital signature design

highlightindustries.com/connect

Highlight Industries desktop digital business card interface

Case Study / Highlight Industries

Digital Business Cards

A branded contact-sharing system that evolved from static email signatures into a mobile-first experience for employees, customers, and trade shows.

Goal

Create a more professional and consistent way for employees to share contact information across email, mobile devices, QR codes, and in-person events.

Creative direction

The project started with branded email signature concepts, then expanded into a responsive digital business card. I designed the system to work on desktop and mobile, with clear contact actions, QR sharing, save-to-contacts tools, and employee information managed through a CSV file.

Process improvement

Instead of creating and updating individual cards one at a time, the shared layout could pull employee details from structured data. That made it easier to keep names, titles, phone numbers, photos, and booth information consistent while giving employees one reusable link to share.

Outcome

The final system created a cleaner brand experience and a more practical way to exchange contact information. Employees could share a QR code, send the card to a phone, or let customers save contact details directly without relying on printed cards or outdated signatures.

Digital business card displayed on a desktop computer

Project Archive

Featured case studies

Deeper projects with the problem, process, and outcome.

Brand + visual design

Web concepts, brochures, identity systems, merchandise, and Photoshop work.

Community + campaigns

Light case studies centered on student voice, families, and public-service pride.

Social + written content

Audience-focused content for manufacturing, healthcare, education, and local business.

Wear Your Voice T-shirt featuring a student-response word cloud

Kenowa Hills Middle School

Wear Your Voice

Student Voice. Survey Design. Mental Health. T-Shirt Design. Community Campaign.

The student mental-health club wanted a campaign that made middle schoolers feel heard while creating something they could proudly wear and sell to the community.

Goal

Showcase students’ language, feelings, and ownership around mental health through a tangible campaign item, while also supporting continued interest in the club.

Creative direction

Students responded to a prompt through a schoolwide survey. The most common responses became the largest words in a speech-bubble word cloud, while space for unique answers helped preserve individual perspectives. The final design turned the survey data into a green T-shirt students could recognize as their own voice.

Outcome

The shirts were sold to students and families. Students felt proud of what they helped create, and the mental-health club’s membership increased by 5% the following year.

White MASB school board member shirt concept

Black MASB school board member shirt concept

Kenowa Hills

MASB School Board Member T-Shirts

Apparel Design. School Board. Member Pride. Merchandise.

Kenowa Hills' Director of Diversity, Equity and Mental Health wanted shirts that reflected what it means to serve as a school board member, created a sense of pride, and could become something members would actually want to purchase.

Goal

Translate the identity and responsibility of school board service into a wearable design that felt confident, recognizable, and appropriate for a professional membership organization.

Creative direction

I developed two directions: a personal statement design centered on “I am a school board member,” and a bolder high-contrast concept that placed the role front and center. Both approaches focused on readable typography and a design that could move naturally from concept to purchasable apparel.

Deliverable

Two complementary shirt concepts gave the project options for different personalities while keeping the shared message of member service and pride consistent.

Community Engagement

Parent University

Community Outreach. Family Engagement. Form Design. Education.

Kenowa Hills' Director of Diversity, Equity and Mental Health created Parent University as a way to reach further into the community, get to know families, and offer educational sessions around the topics families actually wanted to learn about.

Program idea

The program treated families as partners rather than guessing what information they needed. On the registration form, participants could indicate the subjects they were interested in so future sessions could be shaped by community feedback.

Reducing barriers

Dinner and childcare were built into the experience, making it more practical for parents and caregivers to attend. The form and program materials were designed to feel clear, welcoming, and easy to complete.

Why it mattered

The concept combined outreach with listening: families could receive useful information while the school gained a better understanding of what the community wanted support with.

Candle fundraiser label designed with student voice

Project Note / Mental Health Fundraiser

Student Voice Candle Fundraiser

Label Design. Student Voice. Local Partnership. Fundraising.

I designed the candle label using words gathered from student voice, turning their language into the visual identity of the fundraiser. The candles were produced and sold through local company Lima Candles, with the fundraiser supporting the school’s mental-health department.

Writing Sample / Local Business

Bead Quest Press Release

Press Release. Event Promotion. Copywriting. Local Business.

This press-release sample promoted Bead Quest’s custom jewelry classes and expert design services to a Grand Rapids audience.

Writing approach

The release led with the creative value of the classes, explained the range of techniques and personalized support available, and positioned the store as both a retail destination and an educational resource for people at different skill levels.

Call to action

The closing directed readers to learn more and register for classes, keeping the release focused on a clear next step.

Open press release PDF

Shopify Sales Growth

Leadership Across Industries

Sales Across Channels

Data-Backed Process Improvements

Selected projects

Shopify

PBIS Systems Redesign

Digital Business Cards

Experience

E-commerce

Process Improvement

Brand + Marketing

Technical Writing

Campaign Strategy

Social Media

Built through practice.

Working toolkit

Social Media Certified

Marketing with Canva

Human-Centered Design

The part where nice things were said.

Connecting people with information.

It’s just better, together.

E-commerce: Shopify

Goal

Creative direction

Outcome

Technical Writing: Quick Start Guides

Goal

Creative direction

Outcome

Highlight Support Center

Goal

System design

Behind the experience

Outcome

Immigration Support Handbook

Goal

Creative direction

Outcome

Process Improvement: PBIS

Goal

Creative direction

Outcome

Digital Business Cards

Goal

Creative direction

Process improvement

Outcome

Project Archive

Featured case studies

Highlight Shopify E-Commerce

Kenowa Hills PBIS

Digital Business Cards

Quick Start Guides

Highlight Support Center

Immigration Support Handbook

Brand + visual design

JSS / MTC Website + Brochure Design

With Purpose Counseling Brand Identity

Highlight Industries Brand Identity

Merchandise Design

Adobe Photoshop Work

Community + campaigns

Wear Your Voice Campaign

MASB School Board Member T-Shirts

Parent University

Student Voice Candle Fundraiser

Social + written content

Highlight Industries Social Media

PCT Tables Social Media

With Purpose Counseling Social Media

Kenowa Hills Social Media

Bead Quest Press Release

Wear Your Voice

Goal

Creative direction

Outcome

MASB School Board Member T-Shirts

Goal