My name is Steve Wake. I’m a designer & design leader, based in Brooklyn.

I build brands, interfaces, & teams.

I’m currently Head of Design at Findigs.

This site showcases my design practise. Practise being the things I make, and the way in which I make things happen. Strategy, execution and iteration work best by thinking creatively (and critically) about both.

I shape experiences and have done so at global scale and for high-growth startups. All work shared has been created with other designers and in close collaboration across functions.

In short I can help you with;

  • Branding & brand building

  • Digital product design

  • Service design

These three areas come together to shape the end-to-end customer experience that underpin a business. It means I go into aspects of product, marketing, technology and environmental. I can also operate as an executive leader.

Working at some of the world’s best design studios and product companies I have led design teams ranging from the initial founding to studios of 40+ designers.

Designer, executive, masters-level optimist, entry-level pessimist, A+ listener.

Making things
Design, craft, scale

I lead design, and I can still do design. It feels funny saying that sometimes, but it feels like it needs saying these days.

I love working on experiences that people use everyday. Billions of people have used products and services I’ve designed and billions in business value have been created.

I have shipped experiences at scale for Amazon, IKEA, McDonald’s and Vanguard, and helped innovative new companies to achieve scale like Findigs, Clear, and Better.

Making things happen
Strategy, research, delivery

I create the conditions for great design to happen in. This can mean informing business strategy, defining product strategy, setting an inspirational vision or simply facilitating conversations and connecting the dots across silos.

I’ve run large research tracks across countries and cultures and can prototype a quick flow for informal usability.

I consider one of my biggest skills to be able to set vision and work back into execution to deliver. Ping-ponging between the two to ensure we’re moving fast day-to-day and staying on track month-to-month or year-to-year.