This website was designed and built using the new Figma Sites tool, which is still in beta. Consider the site itself to be an experiment and learning experience!
Hello there!
My name is Gavin, I’m a designer and Design Operations Manager located in Halifax, NS.
I have a passion for talking to people and making lives easier through good design. Currently that applies to UX, business strategy, and graphic design. You can find me on LinkedIn here.
Previously I was Design Team Manager for the North-America-wide trades magazine publisher Focus Media Group, then User Experience Team Leader at Medavie Blue Cross.
A manual of me...
I add value to teams by...
Collaborating, communicating, and facilitating. I bring a wide perspective, empathy, and a variety of personal skills to the team based on my varied experience.
People often say I’m brilliant at...
Making things easy to understand. Explanations, project briefs, coaching or instruction are all well-practiced for me. My goal is to help others approach work more confidently when I provide information they can absorb and use to make their own decisions.
The brief I can work best from includes...
A problem statement and a clear goal or result to target. Understanding the purpose allows me to leverage creativity when solving the problem. If we’re working together, a clear goal keeps us aligned and on track.
The stages of a project I work best at include...
The beginning and the end. I am comfortable planning a strategy, stages and steps to help myself or others begin the work with momentum. As we approach the end, I have an eye for detail and polish to tie up loose ends and result in a solid final product.
The sorts of outputs and outcomes I create include...
Outputs like strong visual design documents, approachable reports and presentation. Outcomes like confident and creative teammates, strong brands, and happy customers.
Beyond work, I’m really passionate about...
Storytelling! I enjoy critical media theory and considering the details of films and novels. You can regularly find me behind the Game Master screen playing D&D with friends.
Create your own Manual of Me.
Recent work history
Medavie, Inc.
Design Operations Manager, 2024 - present
Medavie Blue Cross
User Experience Team Leader, 2021-2024User Experience Designer, 2021
Focus Media Group
Project Manager, 2019-2020Design Team Manager, 2016-2019
Education history
University of New Brunswick
Bachelor of Applied Arts, 2015
New Brunswick College of Craft and Design
Diploma in Graphic Design, 2012
The Centre for Arts and Technology
Diploma in Digital Media, 2010
Designing experiences.
I am obsessed with UX. Not just in the conventional sense of applied product design, but everywhere. I am fascinated with people, how they work, how they see and interact with the world. I love finding problems and hang-ups to solve. If you’ve ever found something annoying because it didn’t work how you expected, or marveled when a problem that seemed so complex was completely negated by a simple fix, I want to hear about it. I love making lives easier though good design.
Build paths, not fences.
This statement summarizes my philosophy on UX design, and maybe on design as a whole.
When planners at Ohio State University began paving permanent paths through the growing campus, they didn’t decide their placement based on mathematical ratios, prevailing architectural theory, or a single designer’s grand idea; they simply observed where people naturally walked and paved there.
Good design elegantly supports the user’s goals, often without them even noticing.
This website was designed and built using the new Figma Sites tool, which is still in beta. Consider the site itself to be an experiment and learning experience!
Hello there!
My name is Gavin, I’m a designer and Design Operations Manager located in Halifax, NS.
I have a passion for talking to people and making lives easier through good design. Currently that applies to UX, business strategy, and graphic design. You can find me on LinkedIn here.
Previously I was Design Team Manager for the North-America-wide trades magazine publisher Focus Media Group, then User Experience Team Leader at Medavie Blue Cross.
A manual of me...
I add value to teams by...
Collaborating, communicating, and facilitating. I bring a wide perspective, empathy, and a variety of personal skills to the team based on my varied experience.
People often say I’m brilliant at...
Making things easy to understand. Explanations, project briefs, coaching or instruction are all well-practiced for me. My goal is to help others approach work more confidently when I provide information they can absorb and use to make their own decisions.
The brief I can work best from includes...
A problem statement and a clear goal or result to target. Understanding the purpose allows me to leverage creativity when solving the problem. If we’re working together, a clear goal keeps us aligned and on track.
The stages of a project I work best at include...
The beginning and the end. I am comfortable planning a strategy, stages and steps to help myself or others begin the work with momentum. As we approach the end, I have an eye for detail and polish to tie up loose ends and result in a solid final product.
The sorts of outputs and outcomes I create include...
Outputs like strong visual design documents, approachable reports and presentation. Outcomes like confident and creative teammates, strong brands, and happy customers.
Beyond work, I’m really passionate about...
Storytelling! I enjoy critical media theory and considering the details of films and novels. You can regularly find me behind the Game Master screen playing D&D with friends.
Create your own Manual of Me.
Recent work history
Medavie, Inc.
Design Operations Manager, 2024 - present
Medavie Blue Cross
User Experience Team Leader, 2021-2024User Experience Designer, 2021
Focus Media Group
Project Manager, 2019-2020Design Team Manager, 2016-2019
Education history
University of New Brunswick
Bachelor of Applied Arts, 2015
New Brunswick College of Craft and Design
Diploma in Graphic Design, 2012
The Centre for Arts and Technology
Diploma in Digital Media, 2010
Designing experiences.
I am obsessed with UX. Not just in the conventional sense of applied product design, but everywhere. I am fascinated with people, how they work, how they see and interact with the world. I love finding problems and hang-ups to solve. If you’ve ever found something annoying because it didn’t work how you expected, or marveled when a problem that seemed so complex was completely negated by a simple fix, I want to hear about it. I love making lives easier though good design.
Build paths, not fences.
This statement summarizes my philosophy on UX design, and maybe on design as a whole.
When planners at Ohio State University began paving permanent paths through the growing campus, they didn’t decide their placement based on mathematical ratios, prevailing architectural theory, or a single designer’s grand idea; they simply observed where people naturally walked and paved there.
Good design elegantly supports the user’s goals, often without them even noticing.
This website was designed and built using the new Figma Sites tool, which is still in beta. Consider the site itself to be an experiment and learning experience!
Hello there!
My name is Gavin, I’m a designer and Design Operations Manager located in Halifax, NS.
I have a passion for talking to people and making lives easier through good design. Currently that applies to UX, business strategy, and graphic design. You can find me on LinkedIn here.
Previously I was Design Team Manager for the North-America-wide trades magazine publisher Focus Media Group, then User Experience Team Leader at Medavie Blue Cross.
A manual of me...
I add value to teams by...
Collaborating, communicating, and facilitating. I bring a wide perspective, empathy, and a variety of personal skills to the team based on my varied experience.
People often say I’m brilliant at...
Making things easy to understand. Explanations, project briefs, coaching or instruction are all well-practiced for me. My goal is to help others approach work more confidently when I provide information they can absorb and use to make their own decisions.
The brief I can work best from includes...
A problem statement and a clear goal or result to target. Understanding the purpose allows me to leverage creativity when solving the problem. If we’re working together, a clear goal keeps us aligned and on track.
The stages of a project I work best at include...
The beginning and the end. I am comfortable planning a strategy, stages and steps to help myself or others begin the work with momentum. As we approach the end, I have an eye for detail and polish to tie up loose ends and result in a solid final product.
The sorts of outputs and outcomes I create include...
Outputs like strong visual design documents, approachable reports and presentation. Outcomes like confident and creative teammates, strong brands, and happy customers.
Beyond work, I’m really passionate about...
Storytelling! I enjoy critical media theory and considering the details of films and novels. You can regularly find me behind the Game Master screen playing D&D with friends.
Create your own Manual of Me.
Recent work history
Medavie, Inc.
Design Operations Manager, 2024 - present
Medavie Blue Cross
User Experience Team Leader, 2021-2024User Experience Designer, 2021
Focus Media Group
Project Manager, 2019-2020Design Team Manager, 2016-2019
Education history
University of New Brunswick
Bachelor of Applied Arts, 2015
New Brunswick College of Craft and Design
Diploma in Graphic Design, 2012
The Centre for Arts and Technology
Diploma in Digital Media, 2010
Designing experiences.
I am obsessed with UX. Not just in the conventional sense of applied product design, but everywhere. I am fascinated with people, how they work, how they see and interact with the world. I love finding problems and hang-ups to solve. If you’ve ever found something annoying because it didn’t work how you expected, or marveled when a problem that seemed so complex was completely negated by a simple fix, I want to hear about it. I love making lives easier though good design.
Build paths, not fences.
This statement summarizes my philosophy on UX design, and maybe on design as a whole.
When planners at Ohio State University began paving permanent paths through the growing campus, they didn’t decide their placement based on mathematical ratios, prevailing architectural theory, or a single designer’s grand idea; they simply observed where people naturally walked and paved there.
Good design elegantly supports the user’s goals, often without them even noticing.