I'm a cross-functional product designer based in Montreal. I specialize in building user-friendly software products that can scale without compromising your agility.
Jan 2024
Justifying Prioritizing Design Systems, Robust DevOps Culture, and Effective Product Management Through the Lens of Risk
Oct 2023
Earwig is an audio app for listeners with rich information diets.
Apr 2022
Gherkin is a powerful tool for describing system behaviours. By annotating your design deliverables with Gherkin, you will win the hearts of product, development, and documentation teams.
Mar 2022
What happens when your simple color palette also needs to accommodate interaction states, sentiment, accessibility requirements, and more?
Mar 2022
How do you allow users to search, filter, sort, and perform batch operations on collections when space is so limited?
Jun 2020 — Present
Building and maintaining a design system to accelerate the design and development of OneSpan software products and features at scale.
Jul 2019 — Jun 2020
Managed the development of a mobile app that facilitates shift worker scheduling, communication, and retention for security service companies.
Jun 2015 — Jul 2019
Built a turnkey Google Ads solution for SMBs, contributing to Acquisio’s eventual acquisition by Web.com. Fulfilled triple duties of UX Designer, Front-End Developer, and Product Manager, facilitating unprecedented development velocity and deployment frequency within Acquisio.
May 2012 — Jun 2015
A talent engagement platform used by brands such as Home Depot, Scotiabank, and Roots Clothing Company. Developed its design language system and its front-end. Learned BDD-related tools to increase development velocity by 15%.
Jan 2012 — May 2012
UrbanOrca was a friend finder and social network where I had learned to design and integrate within the Django web development framework. I also had the opportunity to work with, and learn from, a technically-savvy and data-informed product manager.
Jul 2010 — Jan 2012
An oenophile's social network, which received an honourable mention by Robert Scoble during the 2010 San Francisco Vintners Market. Developed design language system for both web and mobile apps while also developing the web app’s front-end and design language system.
Oct 2009 — Feb 2010
Webdweller was a brand engagement platform where I further refined my skills as a web designer and front-end developer specializing in designing for the Ruby on Rails web development framework and using CSS preprocessors. Beyond front-end development, tasks also included wireframing and paper prototyping.
Oct 2007 — Oct 2009
A recruiting portal Acquired by Talemetry. Learned front-end development within a Ruby on Rails stack. Further integrated myself into the development team by learning to work with GitHub while developing Standout Jobs’ design language system.
Sep 2004 — Oct 2006
Wine Price Exchange was a wine cellar management and appraisal app. At the company, I focused my web design skills into application design while working with developers. These skills included wireframing and prototyping, design integration into PHP. There, I continued to champion business blogging and usability.
Jun 1998 — Sep 2003
Mediagrif builds and operates B2B marketplaces for resellers. Provided customer support, often technical in nature. Performed database entry before improving its processes and rebuilding its core tool to increase database entry by 500%. Joined its marketing department and further developed skills in web design and brand development. Subsequently engaged in blogging and usability evangelism within the organization.
1998
Diploma of College Studies issued by Champlain College Saint-Lambert
Hi! I'm Francis Wu, a husband, dad, and product designer from Montreal. I've had the opportunity to work with amazing people who taught me so much. Now I try to help designers and organizations level up the way I did. I'm currently a senior product designer at OneSpan.
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Montreal, I started tinkering with design at the age of 10 when my family got an Apple IIc and a copy of The Print Shop. What followed was a long love affair with PCs and bootlegged copies of Photoshop that culminated in a degree in computer science.
Joining a B2B internet startup in '98 revealed customer issues rooted in poor design. I thought this was something I could help people with. I read The Design of Everyday Things and Don't Make Me Think. I learned HTML and CSS, and grew into what we'd call today a front-of-the-front-end web developer.
Since then, I've worked with test-driven developers and data-informed product managers. I eventually became a product manager myself, leading a great team that deployed code multitple times a day. I've seen what "good" looks like and I'm committed to helping others recognize they need not settle for less.
Beyond work, I enjoy reading, podcasts, running, cooking, board games, and being a less-than-perfect handyman.
I'm always up for a chat about design, working together, and .
Design forked from resume-template and subsequently bent to my will. © 2024 Francis Wu