Helping your team ship great design as they grow
I’ve spent a decade building world-class design teams for some of Canada’s most successful tech companies, guiding & coaching them to ship their best work with great results. Teaching designers to grow and building strong team foundations for future success is what I love to do. That’s why I’m sharing everything I’ve learned working for Shopify & Wealthsimple with you. So that you, your team, and your products can be more successful – right from day one.
Improve the quality of design work with reviews and pairing sessions
Introduce time saving processes and tools for increased team efficiency
How and when to scale the team with proven hiring best practices
Help the team measure the impact of their work through research & data
1:1 coaching of technical and professional skills for all levels
Defining the problem
Provide designers with a well defined project brief including; business goals, customer insights, success metrics, technical constraints and more.
Design reviews
Full reviews of upcoming features from high-level UX strategy to the nitty-gritty UI details. Helping you avoid mistakes and gather insightful feedback quickly.
Growth & activation
Feedback and advice on how to improve your user onboarding and experiment design as well as insights from my time helping to grow Wealthsimple and Shopify.
Hiring processes
Advise on role definition, search criteria, job postings, and developing an effective, inclusive interview process.
Career paths
Create an environment of growth where designers are rewarded with a sense of career progress, ensuring they build with you for longer.
User experience audit
Comprehensive review of the current product including overall usability, accessibility, and visual design. Advice on how to improve with simple, actionable suggestions.
Design sprints
Team members work together to understand the problem and sketch out solutions. Validating ideas early and solving challenges through prototyping with customers.
Measuring design
Assess the impact of your product design decisions to unpack what might be contributing to your success or what could be holding you back.
Recruiting talent
What to look for, how to get their attention, and how to make every reach-out count. I'll help by making introductions and pitching them on joining your team.
Coaching & mentoring
I've mentored and managed more than 50 designers at every stage of their career. From junior to principal, new manager to seasoned leader.
Design leader
expansion pack
I’ll partner with your team to advise on all things product design
$1500 /month
Best for teams of 1-5 designers
Up to 5 hours of calls
24hr response time
Q&A via slack or email
Resources & network
Get in touch
$3000 /month
Best for teams of 5-20 designers
Up to 10 hours of calls
24hr response time
Q&A via slack or email
Resources & network
Get in touch
1:1 mentorship & coaching
Together, we unpack how you can grow to the next level in your career
Design Mentorship
Looking to level up in your design career? Feeling stuck in your current role?
We’ll work together to identify strengths and weaknesses, unpacking feedback from your team, to build a plan that helps you make meaningful progress in your career.
Book a session
Leadership Coaching
Leading designers and not sure if you’re doing it right? Perhaps you’re brand new to managing other managers?
We’ll work together to discover how you can become an expert manager and design leader, just like you became an expert designer.
Book a session
Endorsements
What those I’ve worked with have to say
"James’ humility and emotional intelligence is off the charts, which allows him to create a leadership space that is vulnerable, honest, resilient, and continually improving. It was one of the strongest management groups I’ve ever worked in, which is a testament to his hiring of leaders. I could come to him with any challenge and feel heard, and motivated to move forward. He’s very strong in product strategy, leaning into his ability to truly listen, comprehend, then synthesize. A truly well-rounded, inspiring leader."
Lanya O – Product Design Manager, Meta
"I was paired with James through a UX Mentorship Program where he mentored me 1:1 over several months. I was in a transitional part of my career and was looking to up-level to a product design role that was better suited for me. He supported me through the process from assessing where I was, to where I'd like to head towards. He provided a lot of useful, honest, and tangible feedback on ways to improve my portfolio, case studies, and job search. James provided a safe space where I felt I could be honest about challenges I had and made himself available for any questions after the mentorship program ended. I ended up getting a new role that I feel really good about and I highly recommend James for coaching/mentoring for your career!"
Vivian N – Product Designer, Xero
"I had the pleasure of working with James over a number of years in different circumstances. His impact was constant. For his team, his curiosity, charisma, and talent for leadership translate to a desire to rise to the challenges he lays out. What I admire most is the open-minded caring with which James manages his teams and supports his colleagues. James is a driving force and a leader that every team would benefit from."
Skye Z – Staff Product Designer, Wealthsimple
"James is a thoughtful, strategic, and compassionate UX leader. In our time at Wealthsimple, James championed the growth of the UX practice for product design, as well as content design and UX research. He advocated for user-centered thinking across the company, and implemented workflows, structures, and processes to meet the needs of a growing organization. James is also a compassionate leader, and cares deeply about the well-being of his teams and providing meaningful growth opportunities. He is someone who always takes the time to check in, mentor, listen, and give valuable feedback-and inspires those characteristics, and trust, in others."
Sam R – Content Design Manager, Shopify
"James is a caring, thoughtful and kind leader. As the leader of the design org, he was a fierce advocate for our team, fostering clear growth paths, ensuring we had the resources and tools we needed, and building the profile of UX and client-centered thinking within the company. As a mentor for me personally, he made me a better leader, supporting me in navigating the org, speaking up for what I needed, and growing in my own career. Above all, James led with trust and care — he enabled his leadership team to show ownership and learn together, and he made time for everyone in the design org (and beyond) to support and mentor them any way he could."
Danielle K – UX Manager, 1Password