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Build Direct eCommerce

Transforming mindsets from a UI mindset to a holistic UX, product design mindset.

Overview

Most senior product designer / UX architect. Hands-on design and leading in strategy. Mentoring and growing a team of six dealing with the following areas:

BuildDirect Marketplace

An online AI powered ecommerce marketplace that offers buyers a wide selection of products at the best value, direct-to-home shipping, and best-in-class customer service.

Seller Management Portal

An online management portal that allows sellers to list their products on the Marketplace. Features extensive analytics and seller tools to optimize pricing, inventory, and location of products.

Gateway Logistics Supply Chain 

The first anywhere-to-anywhere supply chain for heavy goods

Achievements

  • Hands-on design, strategy and mentorship in a multi-disciplinary UX, UI & Product Design team located across North America and Asia.
  • Product design & UX Design in a number of platform projects including AI Smart Pricing, BuildDirect ‘Prime-like’ shipping & pricing proposition, Platform UX Audits,
  • Logistics Shopify Plugin, Loyalty Program, Inventory Management, Seller Product & Accessory Management, Regional Pricing, AI Product Ranking, and more.
  • Provide product UX direction, vision and goals. Analyzed key metrics to ensure product platform designs were supporting business objectives.
  • Diagnosis of usability and conversion issues and developing innovative solutions to support conversion on the eCommerce Marketplace.
  • Creation of strategic UX roadmap and tactical UX solutions for the eCommerce Marketplace.
  • Developing a strategic approach to platform design language, where part of the platform featured significant AI-powered UX.
  • Hands-on peer designer, strategist and lead for team performing strategic design thinking, user research, scoping, journey mapping, UX audits, product roadmaps, interaction design, UI design, motion design, visual design mockups, and front-end development.
  • Transforming design team from a reactionary UI design mindset, – to an experience and strategy led, product mindset.
  • Implementing regular learning sessions, peer review, and mentorship to improve the experience of team members.
  • Driving informed decision-making in strategic and granular work streams with qualitative and quantitative user insights.
  • Driving change in the organization for: improved UX design, product design strategy and planning, mentorship, testing via A/B framework.
  • Communicates with stakeholders across the business including, analytics/data science, technical teams, marketing, merchandising, product owners/managers, project teams, and executives to drive design vision and consistency.
  • Evangelism of a holistic approach to UX & Product Design through understanding and communicating business objectives, technical feasibility and, user-centered, measurable design.

Above: Strategic design direction

Above: Strategic roadmap planning

Above: Collaborative design with some of the team

Above: Collaborative design with some of the team

About Build Direct

Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, BuildDirect WAS ONE OF the first technology platformS for the home improvement industry. THEY connect homeowners and home improvement professionals with sellers around the world through innovation and technology.

Colleagues at Build Direct

Simon Shum
User Experience Designer

Working with Stephen has been one of the most rewarding experiences at BuildDirect. Joining in a time of growth, Stephen faced challenges from multiple channels and handled them with swift and detail. His quick thinking and empathetic nature complimented leadership while working with him at BuildDirect. On a daily basis, Stephen supported everything from politics from above all the way down to interaction design.

As time grew Stephen also became a mentor to me. Even in harsh deadlines and business goals, Stephen still crafted space for user experience and growth opportunities for each of us. His dedication to the team and our personal development became an inspiration for me to work smarter rather than just faster. His diverse knowledge in e-commerce, psychology, and user interface design unified processes between product managers and designers to building crisp, meaningful, invisible experiences.

James Komenda
Vice President, Sales

I truly enjoyed my time working with Stephen. His passion and raw enthusiasm for creating the perfect customer experience was contagious. He is dedicated, self motivated and extremely capable.

Gabriella Malta
Designer

Stephen is an excellent professional. He is really passionate about User Experience and Design. As a professional with years of experience, his knowledge and background are reflected every day in his routine and in every project that he owns. He was always willing to support his team, to grow together as professionals and as individuals with each new challenge. I’ll always be grateful for all his help, experience and opportunities that made me part of the professional that I’m today: every day more passionate for the user experience process, understanding different enriching ideas and behaviours.

Jennifer Gutierrez Castro
Email and Marketing Automation Specialist

Stephen is a fantastic UX practitioner who has proposed innovative ideas that have greatly improved the entire user experience for Builddirect. Stephen is the type of team player that’s integral to directing a team that’s constantly improving and testing many aspects of the customers’ purchase experience. He also has a keen eye for integrating existing and new technology into the full picture of the user experience to deliver a seamless and bottom-of-the-funnel focused user journey. When the email marketing program at BuildDirect was shifting as a result of A/B testing, Stephen’s leadership and insight were integral to the process of refining those A/B testing results to deliver a more engaging email marketing experience for our users. Stephen’s insight and deep understanding of user behaviour greatly helped in improving our user engagement metrics across all email communications.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Stephen at two companies so far, and he has been an exceptional team member for both teams. Not only is he an expert in his field, but he also ensures that his knowledge is planted across the various customer-facing channels. Stephen has my greatest recommendation for directing any UX team.

Kelvin Leung
Lead UX/Product Designer

It’s rare to come across a standout talent like Stephen. During our time at BuildDirect, Stephen has been an amazing mentor and colleague. I am always in awe of Stephen’s ability to push our team to new heights and how he shows empathy within his leadership. Today, we still miss his talks about organic food and what he learned in his audiobooks. Stephen would be an asset to any team and deserves my highest recommendation.

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