Dan Ross

Leading a holistic design system for one of Apple's largest organizations, driving strategic initiatives in design tooling and operations.

• Spearheaded the development and implementation of a comprehensive design system, significantly enhancing product consistency and efficiency across a major Apple organization.
• Drove strategic initiatives in design tooling and operations to optimize UX workflows and foster innovation within a complex global environment.

Played a pivotal role in evolving Shopify's Polaris design system and internal tooling, significantly impacting the core experience and admin architecture.

• Led the creation and evolution of Shopify's Polaris design system, including core components, guides, and Figma UI Kits, directly improving product quality and developer efficiency.
• Directed the successful migration of over 5,000 employees from Sketch, Abstract, and InvisionApp to Figma, developing comprehensive onboarding programs and establishing new team structures.
• Designed and implemented critical analytics dashboards and merchant reports, providing data-driven insights that informed strategic business decisions.
• Redesigned the Shopify Payments system and contributed to the early stages of Shopify Capital, enhancing user experience and operational efficiency for key financial products.
• Developed and delivered workshops and mentorship programs, fostering a culture of continuous learning and elevating design capabilities across the organization.

Led product design for a music streaming network, overseeing iOS, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Android apps.

• Spearheaded product design for a suite of music streaming applications (iOS, Android, Apple Watch, Apple TV), contributing to a platform with over 20 million users across 20+ regions.
• Led the design and development of innovative products like Guvera/Labs (artist/label platform), Fradio (personal radio), and Kwickie (video compositing app), securing a patent for video compositing technology.
• Achieved industry recognition, including design awards and a Webby Awards '15 Runner-up for Best Entertainment App, validating exceptional product design and user experience.

Managed and led web services departments for Australia's largest business directory, overseeing design, development, and customer service.

• Established and managed multiple web services departments, including customer service, quality control, design, and development, significantly expanding company capabilities.
• Built and led high-performing design and development teams, fostering collaboration and driving successful project delivery.
• Orchestrated the comprehensive redesign of the company website and brand identity, enhancing market presence and user engagement.

Actively contributing to the W3C Design Tokens Community Group, collaborating on establishing industry standards for scalable and consistent design systems.

• Collaborating with industry experts to define and standardize design token best practices, aimed at improving consistency and scalability across digital products.

Developed and maintained the Polaris for Admin Web UI Kit, a comprehensive Figma resource with over 400 components, colors, typography, and icons, enabling consistent and efficient design across Shopify's admin.

Contributed to the creation of the Shopify Polaris design system style guide website, providing essential resources, tools, and guides that empowered merchants and internal teams to build exceptional user experiences.

Designed and implemented the Polaris Icons Explorer, a searchable repository for Shopify's icon library, streamlining icon usage for both internal employees and external developers and ensuring brand consistency.

Initiated and led the strategic migration of 5,000+ Shopify employees from Sketch/Abstract/InvisionApp to Figma, involving stakeholder alignment, onboarding documentation, and global office workshops to ensure seamless adoption.

Drove the design and development of the Kwickie video compositing app from concept to iOS release, contributing to a patent for innovative video compositing technology.

Contributed to the design and evolution of the Guvera music streaming apps (iOS, Apple Watch, Apple TV), which garnered design awards and was a Webby Awards '15 Runner-up, serving over 20 million users globally.

Designed and launched the Fradio app, empowering users to create and broadcast personal radio stations on iOS, Android, Apple Watch, and Windows Phone, fostering unique community engagement.

Created and released Flow, a free typeface for wireframing, adopted by leading companies like Stripe, TailwindCSS, and Google for visualizing code and content on marketing and documentation websites.

Developed and launched Velositey, a Photoshop plugin that enabled rapid wireframing and prototyping (within 45 seconds), achieving over 250,000 downloads and significantly improving design workflow efficiency.

Received multiple design awards for the Guvera App, recognizing excellence in product design and user experience.

Recognized as Runner-up in the 'Best Entertainment App' category at the Webby Awards for the Guvera App.