A BIT ABOUT ME

As great as it is having a solid remote work setup, I do also enjoy stepping away from the screen. I’m a dad to two special boys and married to a sweetheart of a lady. I have a lot of fun playing acoustic guitar, growing vegetables in my backyard garden and hiking the trails around my city.

Principles and values

Some of the core guiding principles I have in work and life are open-mindedness, positivity and clarity.

“The world makes much less sense than you think. The coherence comes mostly from the way your mind works.” Daniel Kahneman

When it comes to being open, it’s important to be aware of speculation, we have learned a lot about cognitive biases since research like what was popularized in the book Thinking Fast and Slow. This is a trait that is easier to see in others than ones self, I would appreciate it if you call me out on it!

On positivity, I learned an important lesson from a leader in my life who made it a trait to never say a negative word. Even if he was feeling tired, he would push and emphasize how he was looking forward to a good rest that night. I make it a habit to strive to push back against cynicism, sarcasm, and speaking negatively. If I wouldn’t say something in front of you, I wouldn’t want to say it when you aren’t there. This just makes life a whole lot simpler.

“Simplicity is never a goal: It is a byproduct of a good idea and modest expectations.” Paul Rand, alternate version

For clarity, as important as it is to strive to make communication and product presentation simple, it's important to get to that place with respect for users. It's easy to tuck elements away into menus on the path to reducing cognitive load, but getting to the point of something truly simple and usable needs to be done in a respectful way that avoids anxiety and even brings joy. I hope that the things I make can bring a smile to someone's day.

A little back story

When I was in my late teens, done highschool and ready for the world, I was at a point where I was not yet sure what I would want to do with my life. I worked at a local store, when morning, a couple of managers were working on the store layout, strategizing of how to face products and position items to make the best experience for customers. A light went off inside. I went straight to the highschool guidance counsellor and told her that I wanted to pursue “Design”, which in ’98 she pushed me on to Graphic Design. I had a background in art, so it seemed to make sense. I signed up for college and after a couple years, one summer I took a design job and never went back.

This was the late early 2000’s now, a whole new century! I was quick to move from print to web, it was just a much better opportunity. After several years, I decided it was time to “break out on my own”, quit the day job and work freelance from my basement full time. This lasted 6 months, my first son came into the world and it was time for me to go back to office work. I took a job at a small, but quite talented marketing company, where I got to work with some great people.

Today, I work as a front-end developer at a growing Toronto based SaaS company. I haven’t worked on the marketing website for a couple versions, but my work is focused on helping new customers quickly learn the product and see it’s value.

Where to next?

When I consider the world at large, I am left with a lot of gratitude and appreciative of the journey. I have always considered my work to be more about the people than the things, and more about the help that I can give than the artifact delivered. Wherever I go, I want to go with full ambition, as author Bob Goff says in his book Undistracted, “ambition attracts opportunity like catnip.”

I’m always interested in talking about new opportunities, if you would like to work on a project together, please get in touch.