Tian-Yuan Zhao

Tian-Yuan Zhao

Digital Product Design in Toronto, Canada, He/Him

About

I'm a passionate digital product designer who's highly audacious, tenacious, and vivacious.

My mindset is such that I care deeply & widely about working within environments that are, highly-technical, industry-scale,
enterprise-level, design-driven, exponential-in-nature, and systemically-impactful.

My skillset includes Visual/Graphics Design, UX/UI/IX Design, IOS, Android, & Progressive-Web-App Design, Responsive/Adaptive
Web Design, Wireframing, & Prototyping.

My toolset includes Sketch/Figma/Invision-Studio, Invision/Marvel/UXPin, and the Adobe/A¢nity Design Studio - to name a few.

Education

2010 — 2015
Toronto

Majored in Human Factors Engineering which is all about Human-Centred Design

Work Experience

2022 — 2023
Toronto

Between August 2022 to Jan 2023 and was laid off due to the FTX contagion.

As a senior product designer, I successfully led the redesign of a major e-commerce-based Web3 product (in the form of an extension as well as an app for a client called MGA Entertainment), resulting in a 30% increase in community member count and a 20% improvement in our lead-generation. Through extensive user research and prototyping, I developed a clean and intuitive interface that streamlined the purchasing process and improved the overall user experience. My design solution was well received by both customers and stakeholders, and the platform received numerous industry awards for its design excellence. This project has been a testament to my ability to drive meaningful business impact through the design of user-centered products.

2020 — 2022
Toronto

Between May 2020 to August 2022.

As the founding product designer, I played a pivotal role in the development of this embedded finance product for a leading fintech company. The product aimed to simplify financial services for millions of users worldwide. I conducted user research and designed a clean, intuitive interface that made it easy for users to manage their finances on a daily basis. The product was a huge success, with over 10 million users adopting it within the first year of its launch. I was praised for my ability to translate complex financial concepts into a user-friendly experience and for my ability to work closely with the development team to ensure a smooth and seamless integration with the company's existing systems. This project is a testament to my ability to create impactful financial products that are both user-centered and scalable.

2022 — 2022
Remote

Between May to August 2022 and was laid off due to the Terra crash.

As a senior product designer, I led the design of a Web3 tech nonprofit mobile app that aimed to tackle poverty by providing a crypto-based universal basic income to its users. Through extensive user research and collaboration with a team of experts, I developed a user-friendly interface that made it easy for users to sign up and receive their daily payments. The app with is immense popularity was already significantly adopted by people in need within the Global South; with my work - I was able to help increase its usage by about 25%. My design was praised for its simplicity, accessibility, and the innovative use of blockchain technology to provide financial stability to people in need. This project is a testament to my ability to create products that not only solve real-world problems but also have the potential to make a positive impact on society.

2022 — 2022
Remote

Between Jan 2022 and April 2022 inclusive.

As a senior product designer, I was instrumental in the success of a Web3 DAO infrastructure protocol called Passage. I led the design of the company's flagship product, Passageway, a user-friendly platform that made it easy for organizations to launch and manage their own decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). Within half a year of its launch, Passageway helped the company grow from 0 to 50+ customers and clients, making it one of the fastest-growing Web3 infrastructure providers in the market. My design was praised for its simplicity, elegance, and ability to provide users with a seamless experience in launching and managing their own DAOs. This project is a testament to my ability to create impactful and user-friendly products that leverage the latest Web3 technology to meet the needs of modern organizations.

2022 — 2022
Remote

Between Jan to April 2022 inclusive.

As a senior product designer, I made a significant contribution to the success of Tempus Finance, a Web3 DeFi protocol. I was responsible for iterating their Fixed-Income product from version 2 to version 3, which involved a complete overhaul of the user experience and interface. Despite being a work in progress, this iteration informed the company's rebrand and the subsequent launch of another product called Nostra. My design was praised for its innovative approach to fixed-income products in the DeFi space and for my ability to work closely with the development team to bring my vision to life. This project is a testament to my ability to create impactful and forward-thinking products that leverage the latest DeFi technology to meet the needs of modern investors.

2018 — 2022
Founder & Lead Product Designer at RoundSky Studio
Toronto

Between Jan 2018 to July 2022 inclusive.

Founded a boutique design studio where I spearheaded the product design of several digital/software products by collaborating with developers & executives, such as the following:

"Kapture": a mobile application within Consensys all about being a brand/fan engagement application with the use of digital collectibles and image recognition. We ultimately increased their customer count from 0 to 3 in half-a-year's time.

"Paymi": a mobile application all about enabling consumers to earn cash back by spending money on daily goods & services. We ultimately increased retention by 86.49%.

"The Kleros Court": a web application all about being a decentralized court system for jurors overseeing small-claims cases. We ultimately increased their retention rate by 125%.

"BlockX Labs": a mobile application all about providing travelling employees an expense management solution for a traveltech client of BlockX Labs called HelloGBye. We ultimately expanded their software product catalogue with the additional of a new revenue stream. I also designed 3 other smaller products that are blockchain developer tools - the Universal Crypto Faucet (faucets.blockxlabs.com/), the OneExplorer (blockchain explorer for OneLedger: oneledger.network/), and a test product codenamed "Perscript", which was a smart contract explorer.

"Raise": a web application all about providing small-to-medium-sized businesses/enterprises throughout the African diaspora with a corporate asset management solution so as to enable greater economic prosperity for Africans overall. We ultimately enabled the birth of a new funding and business management solution that will benefit millions upon millions of people throughout the African diaspora.

"RBC": Royal Bank of Canada is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients worldwide. I conducted design research with them for 4 months between Jan 2019 to April 2019 and sefl-started a project all about stablecoins.

2017 — 2017
Munich, Germany

Between September to December 2017.

Championed this product called "Belt" by collaborating with a team of product developers and business executives to design and
implement a software application all about investing one’s spare change in cryptoassets. We ultimately enabled a successful new
digital identity service to be born from this experience called Passbase.

2022

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