About

Hey, I'm Zack!

I'm passionate and skilled at conducting user research, prototyping simple and complex interactions, crafting functional and accessible user interfaces, building design systems, thinking strategically, front-end development and design mentorship.

My career has spanned over 10 years, and I’m currently working with the fine folks at Electronic Arts, where I’m focused on the foundational design and technology our games are built on. Additionally, I’m an active design mentor with ADPList, and I teach UX design at BrainStation.

Prior to my role at EA, I’ve worked at industry-leading UX shops like Teehan+Lax, shipped digital products like Format.com, and collaborated on national ad campaigns at Grip Limited (now dentsuOne).

I believe in kindness, humanity and doing really great work informed by data, driven by people.

Let's Chat

Work Experience

  • Electronic Arts

    Experience Designer
    10/2019 - Present
  • BrainStation

    Associate Instructor
    09/2021 - Present
  • Format

    UX Developer
    10/2014 - 01/2019
  • Teehan+Lax

    UX Developer
    11/2013 - 06/2014
    Developer
    11/2008 - 05/2010
  • Grip Limited

    Front-End Tech Lead
    01/2012 - 02/2013
    Developer
    01/2011 - 01/2012
  • CM3

    UI Designer & Front-End Developer
    04/2006 - 03/2008

Education

  • BrainStation

    User Experience Design, Diploma
    Spring, 2019
  • Georgian College

    Web Design & Development, Diploma
    09/2005 – 04/2006
  • Seneca College

    Visual Merchandising, Diploma
    2003 - 2005

Skills, Tools & Tech

  • Core Skills

    • Ideation & strategy
    • User research
    • Information architecture
    • Prototyping & user validation
    • Responsive UI design
    • Peer mentorship & career development
  • Tools & Tech

    • Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD
    • Prototyping with Axure
    • Usability analytics with FullStory
    • Remote collaboration with Miro
    • HTML, CSS & JavaScript

Volunteer Work

  • Health Initiative for Men

    Community Outreach
    03/2020 - Present
  • ADPList

    Design Mentor
    10/2020 - Present
  • AIDS Commitee of Toronto

    User Experience & Community Outreach
    05/2016 - 09/2019

Speaking Gigs

  • What Would I Tell My Younger Designer Self

    Design Buddies
    September 30, 2021

  • LGBTQIA+ and allyship

    Design Buddies
    September 5, 2021

  • Can designers be “good for business”?

    ADPList
    July 7, 2021

  • Queer By Design

    LinkedIn
    June 22, 2021

  • Cognitive Bias Power Hour

    BrainStation
    June 19, 2020

  • Niche Gamers

    iVentures
    October 26, 2017

What Keeps Me Inspired

  • Memphis Design

  • Video Games

  • Horror Movies

  • Drag

  • Tropical Drinks

  • Photography

  • Tarot & Cartomancy

  • Karaoke

  • Queer Art & History