Edward Chu

Edward Chu

Founding Staff Product Designer & UX Leader

About

Highly accomplished Product Design and UX Leader with over 20 years of experience driving innovation and growth for SaaS, mobile, and web platforms, including 0-to-1 AI solutions. Proven expertise in shaping product vision, establishing scalable design systems, and leading cross-functional teams to deliver impactful, user-centric products. Adept at leveraging deep user research, strategic thinking, and a results-driven approach to optimize user experience and achieve significant business outcomes.

Work

Adopt AI
|

Founding Staff Product Designer

San Francisco, California, US

Summary

Leading end-to-end 0-to-1 product design for AI Copilot solutions, shaping product vision and driving growth across various SaaS platforms.

Highlights

Led the design of AI Copilot solutions for integration across various SaaS platforms, collaborating closely with CEO, CTO, Machine Learning, and Engineering teams to shape and deliver the product vision.

Drove end-to-end 0-to-1 product design, encompassing user discovery, workflow definition, and final UI/UX implementation for innovative AI products.

Conducted client discovery calls to identify pain points and opportunities, ensuring user needs were met and establishing scalable design processes and systems to support product growth.

Designed intuitive interfaces and interaction patterns that enable seamless user interaction with AI prompts for agentic workflows.

SomeDesign Inc.
|

Principal Designer / Design Consultant / Design Mentor / Speaker

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Summary

Led product design for multiple startups and built UX teams, while also mentoring designers and speaking on product design principles.

Highlights

Mentored designers across multiple academy and platforms including SpringBoard, CareerFoundry, and Adplist, and delivered impactful presentations on Product Design.

Led end-to-end product design for multiple startups (e.g., UrbanEater.ca, Blinki.io, Check-in Robot, Sametrica), driving product vision from concept to launch.

Built and led an UX team to design an oil trading platform within 4 months for Ne2 Oil, demonstrating rapid team formation and project delivery.

Managed ongoing infographic design for Tangerine's Forward-Thinking blog with large readership and social media branding for Toronto Raptors' sponsor, enhancing brand visibility and engagement.

SamaCare
|

Staff Product Designer

San Francisco, California, US

Summary

Served as the sole designer, leading product design efforts for over two years, contributing significantly to the company's Series B funding and scaling product coverage.

Highlights

Independently led design efforts for over 2 years, shaping the product roadmap and scaling product coverage, directly contributing to Series B funding achievement.

Conceptualized, validated, and designed a Chrome Extension plugin that successfully reduced churn and expanded reach.

Established and refined design processes in partnership with product and engineering teams, significantly improving operational efficiency.

Conducted extensive user research, interviews, and usability testing, translating insights into actionable design objectives and enhancing user experience with AI-driven features.

Kea.ai
|

Head of Product Design & Staff Product Designer

San Francisco, California, US

Summary

Led the design of the company's flagship operation console application, establishing design systems and AI suggestions interfaces for a B2B2C business model.

Highlights

Led the design for the company's flagship product, a new operation console application, as the staff product designer.

Conducted in-depth user research and feedback gathering for a unique B2B2C business model product with multiple user types.

Built and developed the company's design system and design patterns, ensuring sustainability and scalability in design processes.

Designed an admin dashboard to monitor key metrics and improve user experience, and established Voice UX patterns and AI suggestions interfaces.

Flybits
|

Product Design Manager

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Summary

Led a team of 5 designers, fostering collaborative design processes and implementing accessibility standards to enhance product delivery.

Highlights

Led a team of 5 designers, collaborating with cross-functional teams to develop cohesive product design and improve overall efficiency.

Established 'Designer Circle' to improve collaborative design processes, documented in a LinkedIn article, enhancing team synergy.

Developed cross-functional team working processes and standardized UX copy, improving consistency and clarity across products.

Implemented UserTesting.com to facilitate data-driven design decisions and established an accessibility design audit to meet WCAG AA standards.

Tier1 Financial Solutions (Acquired by SS&C Technologies)
|

UX Manager & Lead Product Designer

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Summary

Hired as the first designer, built and led a UX team of 5, and drove the design process for all SaaS, web, and mobile products.

Highlights

Hired as the first designer, built and mentored a UX team of 5 designers, leading by example to establish a robust design function.

Identified and designed a unified top bar as a cohesive element across core applications, significantly improving UX consistency internally and externally.

Developed and implemented a comprehensive Design System, successfully improving UX consistency across all products.

Led the design process for all products, including SaaS, Web & Mobile platforms, contributing to $34M funding and multiple industry awards (Deloitte Fast 500, Buy Side Technology).

Hubub Inc.
|

UX/UI Designer

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Summary

Researched and redesigned SaaS wealth management platforms and developed new designs for desktop, mobile, and interaction experiences.

Highlights

Researched and fully redesigned a SaaS wealth management platform for InStream Solutions, enhancing user experience and functionality.

Designed comprehensive workflows and UI for L1bre, including rider, driver, and admin portals, backed by government initiatives.

Developed new designs for desktop, mobile, and interaction patterns for Hubub news portal, backed by Bell Media.

Conducted thorough user research and testing, utilizing Sketch, Invision, and Zeplin for efficient asset handoff.

Toronto Star
|

Digital Designer – Team Lead

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Summary

Hired as the first designer, refined the StarTouch iPad app, and led two main pods while establishing design processes and mentoring junior designers.

Highlights

Hired as the first designer, refining the StarTouch iPad app in collaboration with dev and QA teams, significantly improving user experience.

Led two main pods as a team lead, developing templates, design systems, and processes adopted by a team of 25+ designers, enhancing efficiency.

Explored new interaction possibilities and mentored junior designers, fostering skill development and team growth.

Managed multi-tasking, project management, and collaborated constructively with multiple cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality digital products.

Cityhunter App
|

UX Architect

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Summary

Hired as a full-stack UX consultant, managing the design process from research to prototyping and redirecting company strategy from web to mobile.

Highlights

Hired as a full-stack UX consultant, managing the entire design process from research and focus groups to wireframes, mock-ups, and testing prototypes.

Completely re-directed the company's direction from a web portal to a mobile app based on user research and analysis, aligning product with market needs.

Designed the full scope for the mobile app and web admin platform, ensuring alignment with business vision and strategy.

Leveraged user research and analysis to drive strategic product decisions, enhancing user adoption and engagement.

Bank of Montreal Capital Markets
|

Desktop Specialist, Lead

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Summary

Led the desktop specialist team, analyzing data to design effective visual representations and creating templates for marketing materials.

Highlights

Analyzed complex data to design and build effective, functional, and visually appealing representations for financial applications.

Demonstrated ability to create templates and designs for marketing materials for both print and web, ensuring brand consistency.

Supervised the desktop specialist team, managing workloads and reviewing their work to ensure high-quality output and efficiency.

Contributed to enhancing visual communication and user experience for critical financial data and marketing collateral.

Thinkway Toys (Disney Pixar)
|

Graphic & Toys Packaging Designer

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Summary

Designed graphic and packaging for toys, collaborating with Disney Pixar to ensure brand alignment.

Highlights

Designed compelling graphic and packaging solutions for Disney Pixar toys, ensuring brand consistency and market appeal.

Collaborated with cross-functional teams to translate creative concepts into tangible packaging designs.

Managed design projects from concept to production, adhering to brand guidelines and project timelines.

Contributed to the visual presentation of consumer products, enhancing shelf appeal and market presence.

Smart Circle International
|

Graphic Design Team Lead

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Summary

Led the graphic design team, overseeing projects and ensuring high-quality visual output for marketing materials.

Highlights

Led a graphic design team, overseeing project execution and maintaining high creative standards for all visual outputs.

Managed the design and production of diverse marketing materials, ensuring brand consistency and impact.

Collaborated with marketing and sales teams to develop effective visual strategies for campaigns.

Streamlined design workflows and processes to enhance team efficiency and project delivery.

Education

Maryland Institute College of Art

Master

UX Design

University of California, San Diego

Certificate

Interaction Design

University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Certificate

Marketing / E-Business & Web Marketing

OCAD University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Bachelor

Advertising & Graphic Design

Languages

English
Cantonese
Mandarin

Skills

Software Proficiency

Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite.

Web Technologies

HTML, CSS, Wordpress.

Platforms & Collaboration Tools

Jira, Slack, Zeplin, Basecamp, GitHub, Miro.

Wireframing & Prototyping

Figma, Sketch, Invision, XD, Principle, Balsamiq.

Core UX/Product Design Skills

Product Vision, User Research, UX/UI Design, Design Systems, Interaction Design, Workflow Design, AI-driven Features, Usability Testing, Product Roadmap, Cross-functional Collaboration, Design Strategy, Information Architecture, Prototyping, User Flows, Accessibility Design (WCAG AA), Data-Driven Design.

Leadership & Management

Team Leadership, Mentoring, Project Management, Strategic Planning, Stakeholder Management, Process Improvement, Team Building, OKRs Definition.

Business Acumen

SaaS, B2B2C Business Models, Market Analysis, Churn Reduction, Growth Strategy, Funding Support (Series B), KPI Monitoring.

Soft Skills

Analytical, Creative, Detail-Oriented, Entrepreneurial, Quick Learner, Results-Driven, Self-Motivated.