A pixelated self portrat of Brendan Finlayson

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I'm a multidisciplinary

design leader who

builds great teams to

builds great teams to make

make awesome stuff.

awesome stuff.

View Portfolio

View CV

Born in Portland, Oregon, and based in Oakland, California. Over 20 years of experience.

As a design leader for the past eight years, I have built and guided in-house teams to develop products, tools, and design capabilities from various starting points. I have enhanced ecosystems such as Zume and the Zume Pizza brands, as well as food production products, communication tools, and ordering applications. Additionally, I have assembled teams for smaller organizations, including Tend, a fintech with its feature-rich banking app; Guile with its app for barbers; and a brand and MVP for Balto Energy, a solar startup aimed at revolutionizing solar sales for homeowners.

As a design leader for the past eight years, I have built and led in-house teams to develop products, tools, and design capabilities from various starting points. I've improved ecosystems like Zume and Zume Pizza's brands, food production products, communication tools, and ordering applications. Additionally, I've assembled teams for smaller organizations, including Tend, a fintech company with its feature-rich banking app; Guile and its app for barbers; and a brand and MVP for Balto Energy, a solar startup focused on revolutionizing solar sales for homeowners.

Before that, for sixteen years, I was fortunate to work with product, UX, and brand design teams across various industries, including both in-house and agency roles. I contributed to major brands like Nike's Nike+, Nike Basketball, and NikeID, creating digital and physical retail experiences, as well as Jawbone’s inaugural website, GoPro’s retail and web experiences, The North Face’s shopping platforms, and Oakley’s interactive product guides.

SKILLS & Proficiencies I HAVE TO MAKE awesome STUFF

• Design leadership & management

• Hiring & growth

• Design & creative direction

• Strategy development

• Product development

• Project management

• UX & product design

• UI & interaction design

• Design systems

• Design leadership

& management

• Team management

• Hiring & growth

• Design & creative direction

• Strategy development

• Product development

• Project management

• UX & product design

• UI & interaction design

• Design systems

• Design leadership

& management

• Team management

• Hiring & growth

• Design & creative

direction

• Strategy development

• Product development

• Project management

• UX & product design

• UI & interaction design

• Design systems

• Design leadership & management

• Hiring & growth

• Design & creative direction

• Strategy development

• Product development

• Project management

• UX & product design

• UI & interaction design

• Design systems

• Design leadership & management

• Hiring & growth

• Design & creative direction

• Strategy development

• Product development

• Project management

• UX & product design

• UI & interaction design

• Design systems

• Mobile & web apps

• Data visualization

• Prototyping

• User research

• Brand & identity design

• Visual design

• Environment design

• Packaging design

• Music & sound design

• Mobile & web apps

• Data visualization

• Prototyping

• User research

• Brand & identity design

• Visual design

• Environment design

• Packaging design

• Music & sound design

• Mobile & web apps

• Data visualization

• Prototyping

• User research

• Brand & identity design

• Visual design

• Environment design

• Packaging design

• Music & sound design

Figma, Framer, Webflow, Miro, Adobe Creative Suite, Ableton Live, Notion, Asana, Jira, Confluence, Trello, Etc.

Recommendations

(from people who i've hired, led, and made awesome stuff with)

He is an extremely well-articulated and thought-out individual. Brendan supports his team, and product owners and engineering leads can also trust that his design leadership will be cognizant of their processes in product development and, ultimately, the best direction for the user experience within the end product.

Roy Brubaker

SENIOR DESIGN PROGRAM MANAGER

director of design
operations at joy

SENIOR DESIGN PROGRAM MANAGER

Brendan invested first in us and went to bat for our needs, and he always ends up with fiercely loyal teams and networks as a result.

Roxanne Tomco

Content design COACH at uxcc

Brendan has a serious talent for hiring a team that is impactful and high performing, while building a culture that is fun, inclusive, and highly positive.

Alex Fallas

interaction design LEAD at google

interaction design LEAD
at google

Time after time I saw Brendan advocate for our team and our user’s experiences, always backed by thoughtful strategy. He’s an excellent communicator and leader, who delivers great outcomes in the face of uncertainty.

Erika von Kelsch

senior product designer at quicken

senior product designer
at quicken

He has an eye for identifying and hiring skilled people who work well with others, who contribute positively to the team dynamic, who are self-motivated and don't need a lot of hand holding. He does this quickly and under pressure and handles it with grace and without losing focus on his standards or his vision. The result is a happy team that comes to work ready for the day, every day.

Matt Fisher

senior content design at SAP

Everyone on our team knew Brendan had our backs and would go to bat for us whenever it was needed. I always looked forward to our 1:1s, as I knew Brendan could always give me candid advice on whatever situation I was facing.

Kai Takahashi

Product designer at watershed

Product designer
at watershed

Brendan is a clutch combination of creative leader, strategic thinker, problem-solver and coach. I especially appreciated his ability to remain calm under pressure.

Carrie Ammermann

Director, Global Marketing Communications at prepass

His implicit trust in us inspired us to do great work. However, if we ever wanted any advice or input on projects, he would go out of his way to spend as much time as we needed with him. This approach was good for the individual employee, the team, and the company as a whole. I would highly recommend Brendan for any design leadership role, especially one that requires a strong grasp of multiple design disciplines.

John Mauriello

Industrial Design Lead, Design and Content Strategist, Creative Director

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I'm a multidisciplinary

design leader who

builds great teams to

builds great teams to make

make awesome stuff.

awesome stuff.

SKILLS & Proficiencies I HAVE TO MAKE awesome STUFF

SKILLS & Proficiencies I HAVE TO MAKE awesome STUFF

SKILLS & Proficiencies I HAVE TO MAKE awesome STUFF

SKILLS & Proficiencies I HAVE TO MAKE awesome STUFF

Recommendations

(from people who i've hired, led, and made awesome stuff with)

Roy Brubaker

SENIOR DESIGN PROGRAM MANAGER

director of design operations at joy

SENIOR DESIGN PROGRAM MANAGER

Roxanne Tomco

Content design COACH at uxcc

Alex Fallas

interaction design LEAD at google

interaction design LEAD at google

Erika von Kelsch

senior product designer at quicken

senior product designer at quicken

Matt Fisher

senior content design at SAP

Kai Takahashi

Product designer at watershed

Product designer at watershed

Carrie Ammermann

Director, Global Marketing Communications at prepass

John Mauriello

Industrial Design Lead, Design and Content Strategist, Creative Director

Industrial Design Lead, Design and Content Strategist, Creative Director

Industrial Design Lead, Design and Content Strategist, Creative Director

director of design
operations at joy

interaction design LEAD
at google

senior product designer
at quicken

Product designer
at watershed