About Me

Hi there, my name is Tim Chan. I am a Vancouver-based designer born and raised in Hong Kong.

Recent SFU Master’s grad. Previously, I worked as a product design lead at HSBC running a team of 10. Before that, Senior UX designer at a Video-animation startup called Vyond.

With experience in both enterprise and startup environments, I can talk the language of business and get my hands dirty.

Experience

HSBC

Product Design Lead

4 yrs (2018 – 2022)

Vyond

Senior UX Designer

4 yrs (2014 – 2018)

Hutchison Telecom

UX Designer

1.5 yrs (2013 – 2014)

Design philosophy

Great UX design does not shout for attention.

It should be invisible, like an air-conditioner. The only time you notice its existence is when it is too hot, too old, or too noisy. When the temperature is just right, no-one should notice it.

Gently guide users through their tasks. Be at the right place at the right time when they need you, and stay out of their way if they don’t.

Be cautiously invisible.

How I got into design

From telecom to the world of UX! It all started when my company decided to create an app for bill payments and data tracking.

Enter "User Experience," a term I found online that sparked my curiosity, wanting this to be a full-time job instead of a one-off project. I went down the rabbit hole, self-teaching UX through a mountain of books and a part-time course at General Assembly.

Finally, I created a portfolio from my app project. Despite the rejections, I persisted and finally landed my first design role at Vyond, a San Francisco SaaS startup. Bonus: that's where I met my wife! 🎉

What I do in my free time

I write and I make origami. Origami teaches me that constraints breed creativity, you have one piece of square paper, that’s it. No cuts, no extra paper is allowed, and you can create amazing models. Check out my Instagram!