make it
human.
Hi, I’m Drew. 👋🏻 I was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN, and I’m now living in Los Angeles, CA. I didn’t go to a fancy design school. Instead, I toured in a (semi-successful) band for eight years while teaching myself design on the road.
For the past ten years, I’ve worked with small boutique shops (like Knock in MN), big agencies (like Saatchi + Saatchi), and taken on freelance projects that have allowed me to collaborate with diverse clients across multiple disciplines, including product design, service design, large-scale eCommerce design, art direction, and branding.
This range of experience has enabled me to approach my work with a deep understanding of and appreciation for sound business strategy that drives revenue while delivering memorable impact.
Philosophy
It’s wild how quickly our industry evolves and changes. As new tools and platforms expand our scope and possibilities, it’s critical that we keep people at the center. I consider myself a Human-Centered Designer. I study and celebrate the many approaches and methodologies that define “good design” and infuse it with the humanity, warmth, and welcoming I first found as a musician touring.
But unique problems require unique approaches and solutions. So I tend to employ a Human-Centered Design framework informed by Service Design and User Interface Design methodologies, and combine that with a Design Thinking approach to flow and an Agile approach to getting things done to create timely products and experiences designed for humans.
(Be a Uniter/Not a Divider)
Team Development + Collaboration
Product design begins with building and designing your team. My goal is to bring together the right minds for the right project and create an environment that allows them to flourish.
Human-Centered Design Direction
When you design with people in mind, you create tailor-made solutions that put humans at the center. Everything I design is meant to fit seamlessly into and enhance people’s lives.
User Interface Design
UI Design is a powerful tool. When used right, it delivers joy with every interaction. I ensure that every interaction is simple, easy to learn, and efficient to use without sacrificing beauty.
Saatchi & Saatchi
I serve as the Design Lead for Toyota Owners, overseeing my team’s designers, supporting special projects, guiding visual direction to achieve client needs, and working cross-functionally with strategy, analytics, UX, and development teams to design and implement new features and systems. A few victories from my time at Saatchi are: (1) Overhauled Toyota’s ecosystem of digital products with new design & component systems, including research/development, auditing, defining, and developing libraries. (2) Championed reintroduction of strategy into design decision-making processes. (3) Designed a centralized hub for warranty protection plans. (4) Established a new look and feel addressing both user and J.P Morgan criticisms. (5)Promoted inclusion across UI/design systems through ADA compliance.
Clients
Toyota
2019 — Present
Sr. Product Designer
Design Lead, Toyota Owners
Design System Ambassador
Freelance
Since 2011, I have used my freelance work as an opportunity to seek out new challenges, expose myself to new industries, and master new technologies. My scope of work ranges from Product Design, Service Design, and UX/UI Design, to leading Product Workshops, Design Sprints, and collaborating with brand strategists, product strategists, copywriters, product managers, and on/off-shore development teams.
Clients
Red Light Mangement, MDDN, Island/Def Jam, Peterbilt Parts, Bitmovin, Riskstation
2011 — Present
Product Designer
Design Director
DISRO
DISRO was a budding agency in the tech world when they reached out to me to head up design for their projects. The founders came from the gaming world, so a lot of the work was connected to that. I led a team of three designers and together we built product for established media companies looking to get into the gaming space. I directed and executed design experience for apps (iOS + Android), PWAs, websites, design systems, and digital brand development. I also ran multi-day product workshops to understand MVP based on RAT analysis, Service Design, Product Design, and designing and developing products using more traditional product design.
Clients
Poker Go, World Series of Poker, Newberry Solutions, New Lens, Legion, Disro
2018 — 2020
Director of Product Design
KNOCK
I cut my teeth at KNOCK. I had several mentorship opportunities and got to get my hands dirty with brands like Target, Best Buy, Blue Cross, Caribou Coffee, and more. In addition, KNOCK acts as a startup incubator, where I got to work with early-stage products, oversee and execute digital brand experiences, and form design systems from the ground up. My work consisted of UX Design from audits to Information Architecture, Wireframing, Content Strategy & Creation, to UI design of the experience and third-party integrations of product fulfillment and marketplace.
Clients
Target, Best Buy, Caribou Coffee, BlueCross BlueShield, Gander Mountain, Handsome Cycles, E&J Gallo
2013 — 2017
Interactive Art Director
Education
Scrum Alliance
Certified Scrum Master
University of Minnesota — Twin Cities
BA Marketing + Journalism, Management Minor
Skills
Digital
Product Design
Web Design
Design Systems
Editorial Design
Methods
Design Sprints
Service Design
Experience Design
Workshops
Roadmapping
Approaches
Design Thinking
Systems Thinking
Agile
Strategy
User Journeys
Brand Architecture
Content Strategy
Positioning
Tools
Figma
Sketch
XD
InVision
Creative Suite
Principal
DSM
Figma