Experience
Experience
I’m a passion and impact-driven principal product designer with 10+ years experience working on in-house product teams and at design agencies leading clients and teams through a user-centred design process and actively engaging in design work, prototyping, product strategy and UX research. I believe deeply in taking a values-first approach to new technologies like AI and XR, focusing on how we can solve real, meaningful problems, in an ethical and delightful way. I’ve collaborated to design many new products from the ground up, exploring and validating concept directions, defining the user experience and refining based on feedback and data. Fast-paced, research-driven, complex, ambiguous, early stage product design is where I thrive. I pair a uniquely analytical approach to design (an obsession with efficiency, design systems and bias towards consistency) with a deeply intuitive, empathetic understanding of people, their emotions, their needs and their motivations. I believe this is the secret sauce that allows me to create exceptional experiences that people love.
Skills & superpowers
Superpowers
Leading teams and clients through a collaborative user-centered design process
Listening deeply to customers to understand the why’s behind needs and behaviors
Transforming research insights into innovative designs
Moving between macro and micro design thinking - from high-level conceptual thinking, strategy and systems to delightful details
Designing cohesive cross-system experiences
Getting high quality design work done quickly, and sharing my passion for design to help others do the same
Core skills
0-1 strategy, concept creation, validation + MVP prioritization
Pairing data analysis with qualitative UX research insights to guide product strategy + design decisions
Product design (including UX, UI and interaction design)
Information architecture, workflows, mockups, prototyping, low-to-high fidelity designs
Design systems
Designing for native mobile, web + spatial computing
Expressing brand throughout the user experience
Experimenting with new tools, technologies + processes
Education
Bachelor Degree : Industrial Design
Carleton University
Ottawa, Canada. 2005
Masters Degree : Interaction Design
Umea Institute of Design
Umea University, Sweden. 2011
Experience
Principal Product Designer at Heron / Warbler Labs
October 2023 - present
Heron is a decentralized finance (deFi) platform that democratizes institutional-quality private credit investments. In this hybrid principal designer / head of design role, I work closely with the executive team to align business objectives with user needs, identify opportunities for innovation, and define the design roadmap. I’ve guided the company through a user-centered design process, established a customer research practice, and pair qualitative research findings with data to guide product decisions. I’m responsible for end-to-end design of the digital platform, I lead the establishment of the Heron brand identity, and built the design system from the ground up.
Principal-level Product Designer at Meta Reality Labs
December 2021- June 2023
At Reality Labs, I was focused on the future of human connection from afar and sharing 3d experiences in augmented and mixed reality (AR/MR). This new spatial paradigm lead to some very interesting challenges and opportunities, and I worked closely with my cross-functional partners to turn research insights into hypotheses that we prototyped, tested, prioritized, refined, and turned into the core experience that will ship on the first Meta AR glasses.
Principal Product Designer at Pioneer Square Labs
July - Oct 2023
Pioneer Square Labs is a startup incubator that pairs founders, big ideas, investment capital, and teams that bring vision into reality. My role was working with founding teams to conceptualize, validate and incubate new products with AI at the core. I bought a user-centered design approach to the process which included talking to and deeply understanding ideal customers, co-creating, ideating and refining the product vision, and validating the product direction. As the only UX practitioner on our nimble teams, I collaborated closely with the team engineer and business lead, and cover product strategy, UX and UI design, brand direction, prototyping, research and storytelling. (contract position)
Principal Designer and Project Lead at Blink
January 2018 - October 2021 | blinkux.com
Blink is a design & research studio focused on deeply understanding user needs and motivations and using this to drive innovation. I lead clients and project teams through a user-centered design process, facilitating epic stakeholder workshops, mentoring others, as well as actively designing and conducting research. I worked on a wide range of inspiring projects, primarily focused on 0-1 strategy, design, validation, storytelling, and pitch decks for fundraising.
Senior UX Designer at Tectonic
March 2017 - January 2018 | gotectonic.com
Tectonic was a strategic experience design studio that merged with Blink UX in January 2018. Until the merger, I was the resident UX designer at this 10-person company. At Tectonic I worked on diverse projects from startup MVP experiences to product redesigns and envisioning. Tectonic specialized in embodying the brand in the experience through a holistic, expressive and strategic approach. It’s at Tectonic that I honed my skills in creating modular, scalable design systems and establishing design languages that expressed the essence of the brand.
Product Designer at [unreleased product]
September 2012 - March 2014
This product was intended to be a web service. It had elements of community, sharing, browsing, discovery, personal profile and collections. The first version was fully designed and built, and a week away from release when it was cut. I was the sole designer on the team so i was responsible for concept development, leading brainstorm sessions, wireframes, interaction design, refinement, visual design and handoff documentation. I worked closely with my PM partners, the marketing team and the developers as well as receiving ideas and feedback from partner design teams.
Interaction Design Intern at Aesthetec
Toronto, Canada, Summer 2010
During my time with Aesthetec, I helped with design and implementation of the Spark exhibit at the Calgary Science Center as well as an interactive Donor Alcove for the University of Waterloo. The studio designs and builds all their installations so I participated in the design, 3-D modeling, construction, wiring and coding of the installations.
Product Designer at Sway
March 2014 - March 2017
Sway is a product for creating interactive reports, presentations and stories with all the benefits of the modern web: seamless collaboration, responsive layouts, instant sharing, interactive and dynamic content, and instant flips between professional designs. As sole designer for the authoring experience, I was responsible making the creation of a Sway effortless and delightful. I collaborated closely with my PM and dev partners and the broader design team throughout the iterative design, testing and refinement process.
Product Designer at Office Labs
September 2011 - September 2012
An incubation lab for modern productivity. Office Labs was an innovation studio focused on future opportunities for Microsoft Office. "We strive to imagine and create the seeds for new products and services that can enhance the lives of millions." As a designer on the labs team, I worked on pitches and incubations. Pitches were all about developing the vision for a new product or service. Incubations involved creating a proof of concept. Ideation, conceptual design, product strategy and storytelling were some of my most-used skills while working on the Labs team.
Graphic Designer at The Pique
Whistler, Canada, August 2008 - August 2009
The Pique is a Whistler-based news, sports, arts and culture magazine. As a graphic designer there I worked on article layout, covers design and advertisement design. We had to work quickly so efficiency and refined typography skills were two of the most valuable skills I acquired during this time. These skills have proved foundational throughout the rest of my carreer.