Fusing cinematic storytelling and high conversion commerce through the power of design.
Design is the bridge between what we feel and how we act. My leadership is rooted in the belief that cinematic storytelling and high-conversion commerce are not opposing forces, but two sides of the same discipline. By fusing the heart of narrative with the logic of technology, I create experiences that resonate emotionally to make messaging memorable.
Client Work
Recognition & Accolades
I'm really thankful for the awards my teams, clients, and friends have won together. They show the great work we've done as a group. Each award represents our teamwork, creativity, and commitment. It's amazing to see our efforts recognized, and I'm proud to have been a part of it. It shows how well we work together and what we can achieve when we collaborate.
Me.
I am obsessed with building things that people find interesting. From my very humble beginnings as a designer, to this day I get excited about solving problems. My career has taken me from places where I've led television shoots, content productions, communication planning, and building numerous .com experiences for startups to Fortune 500 brands. Recently, I had the pleasure of leading digital strategy, user experience, digital production, and development at Bader Rutter. Through my leadership and applying some practices that I learned to be effective and fun to bolster creativity and strategic planning, the group and agency won numerous awards, including the AWWWARDS Site of the Year.
Services
Delivering solutions tailored
to your needs and objectives.
To find the "Why" that sparks attention, we dig beneath the surface of behavior to uncover the specific emotional triggers that compel a user to stop scrolling. I coach teams to triangulate quantitative trends with qualitative insights to identify the "tension point" in a persona’s journey. By using the "5 Whys" to interrogate data, we move past functional needs to reach the visceral motivations that make cinematic storytelling feel personal. This process ensures that our creative isn't just visually striking, but strategically anchored—transforming passive viewers into active participants by aligning the "Why" of the brand with the "Why" of the consumer.
To bridge the gap between cinematic storytelling and high-conversion commerce, I coach design as a discipline of "disciplined empathy." In an era where macro-trends like sensory-rich AI personalization and the "experience economy" dominate, I teach teams that narrative is not a flourish—it is the architecture of the user journey. We begin by anchoring every frame in a deeply human persona, using qualitative research to uncover the emotional "why" behind their behavior. However, to ensure the story actually converts, we validate those narrative beats through rigorous quantitative research, treating the interface as a living lab. By balancing the intuition of a filmmaker with the precision of A/B testing and iterative data, I empower designers to create high-fidelity experiences that don't just capture attention but drive measurable action.
My federated approach eliminates the 'central bottleneck' by empowering your product teams to contribute directly to a living design language. This distributed ownership accelerates delivery and ensures the system evolves at the speed of your users.
Bridging the gap for companies that have "too much data but no insights." I translate complex, cold datasets into actionable CX Maps and Personas that product teams can actually use to build empathy and drive adoption.
A deep-dive evaluation of your core product to identify where users are dropping off. Applying relentless removal of friction" philosophy to prune unnecessary steps and ensure the path to conversion is effortless.
In high-volume retail, every millisecond matters. I optimize your user journey. Obsessing over the small, meaningful details in your checkout flow to increase sales and decrease cart abandonment.
Making Complex feel Simple: I use rigorous, evidence-based testing to ensure your product’s navigation feels like second nature. By organizing information the way your users actually think, I make the technology fade into the background so even first-time users can find exactly what they need in seconds.
Guiding traditional corporations through the shift to digital-first models. I serve as the bridge between business strategy and execution, ensuring that the technology stack serves the human goal rather than complicating it.
Analyzing the competitive landscape not just on features, but on "effort." I provide a report on where competitors are creating friction and how you can win by providing a more disciplined, effortless user experience.
Case Studies
Pioneer
A revolution for the next generation.
Ariens
Making the king of snow. King of summer.
Tiki
Big box retail to E-Commerce.
Vet Hope Foundation
A platform designed with heart.
Zoetis
Architecting data for the underserved producer.
CaseIH
A community celebration of 100 years.
Komatsu
Predictive Commerce & AI Dashboard (Coming Soon)
Thirty-Nine
Developed by dog people (Coming Soon)
A portfolio of high impact design and strategy.
Father.
Husband.
Marathoner.
Ironman.
Designer.
Thinker.
ABOUT TONY MAURER
A multidisciplinary leader with 20+ years of experience driving global digital transformations at the intersection of UX design, AI, and industrial scale. Expert at translating complex business requirements into high-usability ecosystems. Proven track record of scaling departments, architecting federated design systems, and leveraging predictive data to drive measurable conversion. 2x Ironman triathlon finisher bringing high-performance discipline to
enterprise-level product strategy.
AWWWARDS - Site of the year
FWA - Site of the day
Webby’s
Effies
CommArts Interactive Annual
Adweek
Adage
The Drum
ANA
Global Ace Awards
Gold 2024
NAMA 2x Best in Show Winner - Digital
Milwaukee 99 - Best in Show Winner
Integrated Gold - Milwaukee 99
Best in show Digital - Milwaukee 99
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
Tony is one of those rare multi-talents who can manage to completely surround a problem single-handedly. He's a creative technologist, a strategist, a brand shaper, a team builder, and a care-about-the-tiniest-detail designer all at once. I've watched him wrestle a CMS into submission, and then make the front-end design blow you away. I've seen him completely re-engineer the way a department works. There is no opportunity he'll shy from. He practically shimmers with positive energy.
Marshall Ross - Author, Vice Chairman Chief Creative Officer at Cramer Krasselt
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
I've partnered with Tony on many business-critical digital assignments, including enterprise-level websites. His strategic leadership is unmatched, in part because of his exceptional knowledge of every facet of the process, down to the back-end and implementation. He's a true partner to his internal team and to his client alike and ensures expert stewardship to meet the project needs. My work with Tony is some of my most prideful and progressive of my career.
Kelly Vogt - SVP Group Account Director at Cramer Krasselt
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
Tony is a rare one. I’d use the word gifted, not just talented. His unique blend of technical expertise, business acumen, and creative thinking sets him apart. He has the ability to bridge various disciplines and connect with diverse personalities. In an industry where "collaboration" often becomes B.S jargon, Tony exemplifies it in the most genuine and impactful way.
Chris Jacobs - CO-Founder, Creative Director at Strange Animal