David Hong Profile

Hey, I’m David 👋

I’m a hands-on product designer with over 5 years of diverse experiences in designing & shipping top-class consumer and fintech products, crafting everything from innovative startup ideas to multi-million dollars fintech products. No matter what kind of products, I believe solving the right problems with simple, purposeful, and elegant design & experience creates lasting value for people.

Here's a snapshot of my professional journey:

My expertise:

  • UX Design🎨

  • Interaction Design🖱️

  • Product Strategy 🧠

  • Design Thinking💡

  • Product development📦

My design approach:

  • Focus on the “why” of the problem and look for value

  • Identify new change in customer behaviors and habits

  • Rapid prototype, test, and iterate design and use research to de-risk and validate

  • Push to market fast and learn from real customers

  • Continuous improvement based on learning

When I'm not working, you can find me:

  • Exploring finance and investment strategies 📈

  • Expanding my knowledge through an ever-growing reading list 📚

  • Maintaining a healthy lifestyle with regular gym sessions 💪

  • Enjoying nature during long walks with my four-legged companion 🐕

Currently based in Toronto, Canada.

On July 18, 2024, I was nominated as a key speaker representing EQ Bank and its design team at DesignX's "Designing for Fintech" conference. The event featured product leaders from major Canadian banks and fintech companies, including Scotiabank, RBC, and Intuit. My presentation, alongside my colleague, titled "Making Fintech Products Approachable," used the Notice Savings Account as one of the primary case studies.

Designing for Fintech hosted by DesignX and Intuit

Kind words from past clients

  • Working with David was a pleasure. Throughout every iteration of the UX and UI design process, he took care to incorporate our desired design direction, user personas, and feedback into the next stage that'll help us to grow and scale.

    Mio Akasako
    VP of Design at Ash Wellness

    I led the rebranding and redesign of Ash Wellness's website, focusing on B2B growth strategies. This effort contributed to the company's expansion across all 50 states by 2023, solidifying its position as a leader in the digital healthcare industry. The redesigned website played a crucial role in attracting and retaining business clients, ultimately driving Ash Wellness's rapid growth and market penetration.

  • David made the design process so easy and fun; he listened to our preferences and requests and was able to present us with a design concept that was wholly unique, scalable for growth, and incorporated our team's personalities. We highly recommend David for all your design needs!

    Jenn Chung
    Founder of Embody

    I led Embody's brand design, product positioning, and the successful launch of their signature Retinol gummies in 2020. By 2024, Embody had expanded its product line to four offerings, garnered recognition in prestigious publications like Elle and Forbes, and extended its retail presence to major platforms such as Amazon and Faire. This strategic growth demonstrates the lasting impact of our initial branding and positioning efforts.

  • I got the chance to work with David for the launch of our hot sauce brand FlavürLust. David's sense of detail in terms of taking our suggestions and executing them to reality was such a breath of fresh air compared to past designers we've worked with.

    Wallace Wong
    Founder of Six Pack Chef & Flavurlust

    I led the development of Flavurlust's consumer product from inception to launch. This comprehensive project encompassed branding, value proposition definition, consumer strategy formulation, and market introduction. Since its debut in 2020, Flavurlust has experienced significant growth, expanding its retail presence and securing a coveted spot on Amazon Canada's platform. This success story underscores the effectiveness of our initial product design and go-to-market strategy.

  • We loved working with David. He's so talented and professional and it was truly a breeze getting our store re-designed and optimized by him. Highly recommend!

    Ericka Rodriguez
    Founder of Axiology

    I led the optimization of Axiology's e-commerce platform, resulting in significantly improved conversion rates and sales growth. By 2024, leveraging the redesigned product hierarchy, Axiology Beauty successfully expanded into new product categories complementary to their core offerings. Additionally, I helped implemented subscription bundle options, further enhancing customer retention and recurring revenue streams. This strategic expansion not only diversified their product range but also strengthened their market position in the beauty industry.

Resume

  • Sep 2022 - Present
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Hybrid)

    Currently leading product design & strategy for Saving & Investment products (TFSA, RSP, FHSA, GICs) and simplifying digital banking experience, across web & mobile.

    *EQ Bank is 7th largest schedule 1 bank in Canada with over 450,000 customers (as of Jun 2024)

    • Led end-to-end design & product strategy for FHSA Saving Account. 150% deposit target reached in 6 months with 30% total deposit achieved from the new design feature (first time funding widget). - launched on July 2023

    • Led end-to-end design & product strategy for Notice Saving Account. Over 10,000+ customer sign up with over 300% above target reached in the first month. 32% total fund achieved leveraging FHSA’s funding widget. - launched on May 2024

    • Initiated and designed onboarding experience for new customers and increased external funding per customer by 30% and overall funding rate by 6%.

    • Nominated as a key speaker to represent EQ Bank and design team at DesignX’s “Designing for Fintech (July 18, 2024)” conference alongside product leaders from major fintech companies such as Scotiabank, RBC, and Intuit. Topic “Making fintech products approachable” and referenced Notice Saving Account as one of the case studies. 150+ audience.

  • Dec 2021 - May 2022
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Remote)

    *Casual Sushi was acquired by Good Kind Agency (thegoodkind.co) in 2024

    • Led multiple end-to-end B2C optimization projects; from discovery, strategy, to delivery. Key projects include Mutha and Axiology that increased 18% and 15% conversion rate.

    • Managed a team of four: two designers and two developers to ensure design excellence, effective collaboration, and agile development for all projects and deliver projects on time.

    • Collaborated with internal team to optimize design and delivery processes to increase operation efficiency. This includes hiring designers and applying lean UX principles to collaboration, design, and delivery.

  • Nov 2020 - Nov 2021
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Remote)

    • Designed UI and interactions for Brand Your, Lil Helper, and Awde Alchemy. These brands became key portfolio work PB+J to acquire new clients. See PB+J portfolio

    • Collaborated directly with UX leads in user research, a/b testing, feature mapping, and experience auditing for all client projects.

    • Worked closely with developers to ensure design QA and accessibility standard.

  • Dec 2018 - Nov 2020
    Santa Monica, CA, US (Remote)

    Launch Pop

    • Early stage founding designer; worked closely with founders to explore, iterate, and establish lean design process within the company. Helped with hiring new designers, outsourcing talents, and growing the team.

    • Designed all visual-related work and experiences; successfully launched 3 startups from discovery to market and helped raised capital from investors after launch - Embody: 150k seed funding, Snack Owl Candy: 550k seed funding, Strands Haircare: 2mm seed funding.

    • Acted as design partners and consultant for startups over time, from discovery, strategy, development, to launch to market, and even collaborated on pitch decks for investor funding.

Let's connect

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Let's connect ⋆

Email me at dh.davidhong01@gmail.com or send me a message through LinkedIn. Let's chat soon!