I speak with Thriver's CPO, Gilad Bonjack to discuss how we approached adapting our teams to uncertainty during the early days of COVID-19 and the central role customers played in helping guide many of our decisions. We speak about the value of returning to fundamental principles and conclude with advice on how teams outside of design and product can go about making more informed decisions.

Melanie Buset (Host, UX Researcher @ Spotify) and I speak about the importance of design process, how and why it's important to allow your team to be autonomously creative, what UX Research can look like at a startup, and how venture funding works.

As designers, how can we better utilize our soft skills to build successful careers? Being honest and knowing yourself is challenging but rewarding. Myself along with other mentors share design stories from the field and chat about why your past experiences will always be of benefit to your design journey, offer practical tips for how to practice being self-aware, and answer questions from a crowd of 180+ attendees. Real talk, no fluff.

Self-awareness is not a topic that is often talked about in design circles and yet, it's one of the most important skills to develop as a designer. I explain why it's the trait I look for most when hiring, how I evaluate for it, and how people can practice to become more self-aware.

I oversaw Lunchbox's product design and research teams, working to aid the service industry in operating digital-first at scale toward greater growth and customer loyalty independent from third-party services.

I developed Thriver's design and operations strategies, working with other members of senior leadership to define the product roadmap; identifying critical touchpoints, how they tie into ways people experience Thriver, and the opportunities that lie therein.

In 2020, I helped shift a heavily ops and sales-led business to a smaller, more agile design and product-led organization during the pandemic.

2018-2020 - UX Lead. Core platform IA & design systems, end-to-end booking, marketplace optimization, vendor portal, ethical hiring practices.

I maintained and improved day-to-day design operations while executing mission critical initiatives; during my tenure, the design org grew from 1 generalist team post-Series A to 3 dedicated feature teams leading up to Series B, driving design strategy for both CA & US markets.

My contributions across multiple teams and feature areas resulted in a NPS score 7x over industry average; 60%+ engagement with the product per month; and increased customer enrolment 2x over industry standard.

I developed and executed design-led features from ideation to product launch. I also started the design internship program, hiring and mentoring 4 UX interns from uWaterloo, George Brown, and York-Sheridan during my tenure.

Led the design of two successfully launched titles: Sky Tactics and Titans on iOS and Android, the latter of which was awarded 'BEST NEW APP' in over 100 countries.

Story Arcade was a boutique product agency focused on helping local small businesses and startups create and launch their online businesses through rapid week long sprints over a period of 6 weeks.

In addition, we helped connect hundreds of creatives and developers to our clients in the city, fostering connection and growth in our local communities.

Acquired by One Advertising.

Graphic Design, Advertising