When thinking of SaaS software companies, you’d be forgiven for assuming that they aren’t necessarily known for being design-driven, but here at Affinity, we believe human-centered design has a leading role in the success of our customers and the success of our business. Over the last year and a quarter we have significantly grown the design team and our design muscle. We’re excited about this new chapter and thought this would be a great time to introduce you to the new faces on the team.
Agnes Kim
Product Designer
Designer based in SF, excited about building products that will have a positive, lasting impact on the world. Born and raised in Southern California, but fell in love with the Bay after moving here for college. Outside of work, you can find me hiking, doing a DIY project, or catching up on reading.
What are some design books you recommend?
- Sprint by Jake Knapp
- The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman
Whose work do you look to for inspiration?
- Graffiti artist: Hueman
- Digital art: teamLab
- Design team: Airbnb
- Watercolor artist: Natalia Kadantseva
What is your daily ritual?
- Wake up and stretch (tech neck problems 😓)
- Make some tea and drink it while watering my plants
- Eat breakfast while reading the news
- Start work with some schedule planning for the day, and head into standup/meetings/focus time
- End the day with a workout, dinner and some DIY projects or TV
What are your favorite hex codes? #000000&#D5FAE7
Photo notes:
Officially obsessed with plants. My indoor garden is steadily getting bigger as I propagate my plants and add new ones to the family.
Brian Lee
Product Designer
Born, raised, and based in Los Angeles, Brian is a customer support-turned-product designer with a knack for simplicity. Outside of work, you can find him biking his way through LA traffic and enjoying a burrito at the park.
What are some design books you recommend?
- Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
- The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman
Whose work do you look to for inspiration?
- Urban Design: Jane Jacobs, The Netherlands
- Product Design: Spotify, Notion
- Illustration: Roman Muradov, Alice Lee
- Architecture: Bjarke Ingels, Elora Hardy
What is your daily ritual?
Coconut cold brews, meditative walks, and bossa nova jazz.
What are your favorite hex codes? #F9E8BD
Photo notes:
- Ball is life — rest in peace #24
- Nothing says LA like palm trees and blue skies
- Standing desk setup covered with all things Apple
David Chan
Product Designer
David is a designer who grew up on the East Coast of Canada and is currently living and working in Toronto. As a designer, David follows Dieter Rams’ “Less, but better” philosophy and believes good design goes beyond aesthetics and should create better experiences.
What are some design books you recommend?
- Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows
Whose work do you look to for inspiration?
- Dieter Rams
- Wes Anderson
What is your daily ritual?
- Wake up later than I planned
- Daily grocery run
- Make an effort to be active by going to the gym, running or taking a long walk
- Cook dinner
- Go to bed later than I planned
What are your favorite hex codes? #E5E5E5&#F5F5F5
Photo notes:
Nike Free Run 5.0: Favorite pair of running shoes
Zerg Plush: From my favorite video game StarCraft 2
Terrarium
Filip Skrzesinski
Senior Product Designer
Filip is a designer crafting thoughtful & intentional experiences. He was born in Poland and grew up outside of Chicago before moving to California to forget what winters feel like. He likes to take things apart and (sometimes) put them back together. With a background in computer science, studio art, and early stage startups, you’ll often find him wearing many hats (though not in real life — they make his head look small).
What are some design books you recommend?
- A New Program for Graphic Design by David Reinfurt
- Interaction of Color by Josef Albers
- Slow Reader: A Resource for Design Thinking and Practice by Ana Paula Pais & Carolyn F. Strauss
- Ruined by Design by Mike Monteiro
Whose work do you look to for inspiration?
- Sam Youkilis
- Mark Allen & Machine Project
- Work & Co.
- The talented folks behind makespace.fun
- IDEO
What is your daily ritual?
Making hand-ground pour over coffee for my partner Emily and me the same way every morning for the last 4 years (ever since I did this).
What’s your favorite hex code?#587E6D (color) #FAFAFA (hex)
Photo notes:
The Vitra Tip Ton chair, designed by Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby. Colorful, indestructible, and with a rocking motion perfect for the little boy in me who can’t keep still.
Frank Liu
Product Designer
Frank is a multidisciplinary designer who spent most of his working life in Toronto. As a designer who wore many hats, Frank is passionate about reducing complex problems into simple experiences for everyone. In his spare time, he dabbles in other forms of creativity by going on photo walks, recreating restaurant dishes, and coding web apps.
What are some design books you recommend?
- This is Service Design Thinking by Marc Stickdorn
- Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell
Whose work do you look to for inspiration?
- UX: Matias Duarte at Google
- Branding: Pentagram
- Vision: Ueno
- Photography: Samuel Elkins, SamAlive
What is your daily ritual?
- Wake up before the sun
- Focus time until everyone is up
- Catch up on the rest of the world during lunch
- Go to volleyball league for our weekly match
- Meal prep or eat prepped food
- Rewatch an episode of “The Office” for the 10th time
What’s your favorite hex code?#202020&#FFD340
Photo notes:
Mirrorless camera, Figma the Fiddle-Leaf tree, a beach volleyball, and my recent photo prints.
Kaitlin Sullivan
Senior Brand Designer
Kaitlin is a mission-driven brand designer, outdoor enthusiast, and native New Yorker. You can usually find her with a camera in her hand when she’s not at her desk.
What are some design books you recommend?
- Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team by Alina Wheeler
Whose work do you look to for inspiration?
- Photographers: Henri Cartier-Bresson, Annie Leibovitz, Ansel Adams
- Illustrators: Early Disney films, Ernst Haeckel, editorial pieces on the New York Times
- Designers: Erik Nitsche, Tina Roth Eisenberg
- Other talented beings: Mother Nature, Marc Maron, Hannah Gadsby, James Turrell, my partner Matt McKee
What is your daily ritual?
Morning tea, sunshine, and a stroll around Berkeley.
What’s your favorite hex code?#E1E100&#A3007A
Photo notes:
My shelter-in-place set-up with abundant sunshine, a Gerald Scarfe print from Pink Floyd’s The Wall, and my Canon AE1. Currently grooving on Kodak Tri-X 100 film stock.
Rae Shambrook
Product Designer
Rae is an NYC product designer who loves to take on complex problems and turn them into seamless experiences. Formerly of San Antonio, Los Angeles, and London, she’s wondering which city she’ll land next. In her spare time, you can find her working on a sci-fi novel.
What are some design books you recommend?
- The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman
- Art Direction Explained, At Last! by Steven Heller
Whose work do you look to for inspiration?
- Design Agencies: Pentagram, IDEO, Experimental
- Product Design Team: Spotify, Airbnb, Invision
- Film/TV: Phoebe Waller Bridge, Jean Pierre Jeunet
What is your daily ritual?
- Morning: Get in as much sleep as I can. Get coffee ASAP.
- Between meetings and focus time: Pet the cats
- After work, occasionally practice the clarinet. And after 10pm is when I feel I can focus again so I write my sci-fi novel.
What’s your favorite hex code?#576675&#EEEEEE
Sandy Roy
Brand and Marketing Designer
Born in Montreal, raised in Tampa Bay, and now residing in Toronto, Sandy is a brand designer who is passionate about growing brands through good design. In her free time, Sandy loves watching films and annoying her neighbors with her tap dancing.
What are some design books you recommend?
- Interaction of Color by Josef Albers
- How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp
- The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeie
Whose work do you look to for inspiration?
- Illustrators: Aubrey Beardsley, Elliot Snowman, Kensuke Koike
- Directors: Terrence Malick, David Lean, David Cronenberg
- Design Agencies: Red Antler, Concrete, Koto
- Tattoo Artists: Jessie Preston, Hoode, Nacho Eterno
What is your daily ritual?
I’m not a morning person so I need a little extra time to get my day started.The first thing I do when I wake up is make myself a cup of coffee. After my coffee, I’ll take Morty on his morning walk. When I get to my desk, I always like to read Brand New so I can get some good inspiration flowing before I jump into my work.
What are your favorite hex codes? #286755&#F1E6E4
Photo notes:
A page from my sketchbook, aka my workspace. All of my creative work, ideas and musings live here. It’s messy, and half the time I can’t read my handwriting, but nothing beats putting a pen to paper.
Former teammates
Jason Fain
Product Designer
I was born in central valley California, and my grandma got me into competitive sailing at a young age which allowed me to travel the globe before I was 21. Living 6 years in Europe taught me more about myself than any life experiences before this period. I love the ocean, and like the desert once in a while. I throw clay pottery as it makes me feel very grounded. I am a connector of people and enjoy my alone-time when I can grab it.
What are some design books you recommend?
- Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
- Don’t Push the River: It Flows by Itself by Barry Stevens
- Sprint by Jake Knapp
Whose work do you look to for inspiration?
- Tadao Ando
- Modern art museums
- Airbnb design
- Yves Behar
What is your daily ritual?
Piano and cello to wake, meditate, write down what’s on my mind… then I begin my day for whats to come!
What’s your favorite hex code?#CD00EE
Photo notes:
Antique study lamp originally with oil and wick. 1850 made in London near where I lived 170 years later. I wonder who studied near the lamp, and wonder why and how it made the trip to California.
The shelter-in-place photo is simple desk with fresh air, views of the street, and always waving to neighbors.
Mika Kozma
Product Designer
Mika is a product design leader, business strategist, and entrepreneur based in SF. He works at the intersection of design, strategy, and data science. His primary focus is on technology and human-centric design. He joined Affinity in June 2020 and is a Product Designer on Mobile Team. Before Affinity, he co-founded Roadster and worked as Principal Designer at Fandom. Outside of work you can find him playing with his family on a beach, or see him stare at art installations at modern art museums.
What are some design books you recommend?
- The Startup Playbook by David S. Kidder
- Ten Principles for Good Design by Dieter Rams
- The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda
- Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal
Whose work do you look to for inspiration?
- Ai Weiwei
- Banksy
- NDT — Netherland Dance Theater
- Bauhaus
- I find regular people doing regular things the most inspiring.
What is your daily ritual?
- Two cups of coffee
- Morning play time with kids
- Dog walk
- 3 minutes meditation
What’s your favorite hex code?#010101&#F7F7F7
Travis Ortiz
VP of Design
Travis is a San Francisco based design leader and has been a designer in tech since the early days of e-commerce on the web. He joined Affinity in March 2019 and is our head of design. Previously, Travis led design efforts for Prosper Marketplace and Snapfish. Outside of work you can find Travis DJing, writing, publishing, and hiking.
What are some design books you recommend?
- Lean UX by Jef Gothelf
- How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul by Adrian Shaughnessy
- A-Z of The Designers Republic by Ian Anderson
Whose work do you look to for inspiration?
- Hiroshi Sugimoto (photographer)
- Robert Frank (photographer)
- Diane Arbus (photographer)
- Annie Leibovitz (photographer)
- Bruce Conner (mixed media)
- Agnes Martin (painter)
- Jeremy Fish
- Shepard Fairey
- Margaret Kilgallen
- Barry McGee
What is your daily ritual?
First thing in the morning I do yoga, then make a cappuccino and cook breakfast. Then I walk the dog on Bernal Hill for an hour.
What’s your favorite hex code?#FF0073 (I've been digging this bright color as a bold contrast to dark colors)
And a few of our favorite design memes…
To learn more about Affinity, visit affinity.co.
