Meltwater
Media Search & Analytics
Design of an enterprise SaaS search application with realtime analytics across news and social media.
AI-driven Insights
User experience design for a developer platform and an AI-driven insights product.
Meltwater Mobile App
Native mobile app focused on providing customers with Meltwater’s core offering, on-the-go.
Flux Design System
A framework-agnostic design system based on Google’s Material Design.
Design Philosophy
I believe design can be like a telescope or a microscope. It can be used to let a company see into the future or envision the smallest details of the here and now. It can be used to model alternative scenarios. Design can be used to understand user needs and values. Like agile development, design works best when teams iterate on solutions and test with users. Business success involves many other actions but, used correctly, design helps companies see the path to getting there.
Connect design to business
One of my core strengths is seeing connections whether they be between people, products or technology. Leading design means connecting designers to a problem they haven't seen or a business goal that can be impacted by their design decisions.
Learning = Strategy
There are two ways to influence strategy
Make someone above you smarter... influence how they see a business goal playing out
Work closely with someone below you and make them smarter
“I’m a functionalist troubled by aesthetics"
That is a quote from Wim Crouwel, the Dutch Typographer that resonated with me. My design approach has always been rooted in a functional mindset. But I've seen many a good idea fail because the aesthetics were just not there. This includes my own work. I think it’s important to start messy… to sketch or whiteboard rough ideas with stakeholders. It’s important to wireframe ideas before creating detailed mockups. But none of this means that aesthetic pursuits can be skipped. People will describe a car purchase in practical terms but car makers know, it is primarily an emotional decision driven by a car’s look and feel. Aesthetics and function are both critical to success in design.
Try not to get "too close to the metal"
After delivering some feedback to a design consultant I had hired while at Sony, I got a call from the lead partner. "You're too close to the metal" he told me. The comment was a reference was to a low level programming language. His point was that our awareness of the technical limitations of the platform we were designing for was getting in the way of solving the user's problems. This comment has stayed with me ever since. In product design, it's important to know how things are built and to be able to communicate with engineers but it's also important to see the world from the user's perspective who is typically unaware of technical limitations.
Say Thank You
Throughout my career, I have always made handwritten notes. Since I've always sketched freehand, much of it was just an extension of that. At some point, I started sending notes of praise and thanks to designers on my team. Although my notes are always sincere, they were written on paper with the understanding that they were ephemeral. I have been surprised many times to see my team save these notes for months if not years. It has shown me the value of a simple thank you or praise for a job well done.