In the beginning, I enjoyed design for the sheer joy of making things visually appealing. But today, my passion has evolved—I design with a purpose. Harnessing the transformative power of design, I seek to tackle challenges, ignite positive change, and ultimately make a meaningful difference in the world. I thrive doing everything I can to make a positive impact on others lives, whether that’s through my work designing products, or volunteering with causes that support unhoused individuals, helping people recover from addiction and mental health challenges or through my business ventures where I support a variety of causes.

I’m currently merging my background in graphic design and business into a UX career. Since I was a kid (a hyper-active, very curious one, sorry mom), I’ve been obsessed with design and human behaviour, now I am intersecting them through my work. I’ve always asked a lot of questions, endlessly curious about this big, beautiful world. After ten years growing a clothing brand, while also working as a design lead at a visual communications agency, I ached for change.

I was introduced to the world of UX through a “hackathon” hosted by BrainStation Toronto in 2016. I stumbled upon an ad for creatives to apply for a chance at being selected to team up with Budweiser to solve a problem they were facing. We were tasked with building a solution to encourage designated driving amongst young people. Our team of 6 developed a mobile app that provided groups of friends with the ability to select and reward a designated driver while planning a night out. Our solution won, and we headed to Austin, TX to showcase it at the SXSW Interactive festival. I was hooked. 

I’m now strapped up with a solid foundation in UX and am taking on the ever-evolving world of product as the Senior Product Designer at Cubbi, an exciting Canadian-based food service startup .

I recently won my second hackathon this time for the City of Toronto! Our team developed an innovative dashboard for accessing and bringing value to the 'Daily Shelter & Overnight Service Occupancy & Capacity' dataset. The dashboard highlights what we believe to be the most valuable real-time stats, features an interactive map, and incorporates a predictive data model.

If I’m not busy researching, designing seamless UX or having a deeply passionate conversation then I’m likely taking photos, admiring architecture, or saying hi to every dog I see.

Let’s connect and share experiences or simply have a chat. Reach out at alex@designbyhines.com. Thanks for exploring my portfolio!