CDO – owns brand+product vision; VP Brand & Creative Design Director – steers multi-team systems; Head of Design (Seed–A) – leads compact, high-impact crew; Principal Product Designer – early-stage UX; Product Design Lead – hands-on, mentors 1-2; Fractional Brand & Product Consultant – strategic retainers. Sweet spot: fusing brand & product for lean teams.
Joel Wasserman
@joelwasserman
Aus-based strategic product & brand design leader, 20+ yrs; open to remote & global roles worldwide.
What I'm looking for
I’ve spent over two decades in design, leading teams to create digital products that truly make a difference. My journey has taken me through startups, Fortune 500 companies, and rebranding efforts for brands like Yahoo and HoneyBook. I’ve also had the chance to work closely with startups like Milewise and Yup, helping them navigate key milestones like funding and product development.
What drives me is the pursuit of excellence, but not in a robotic way—it’s about being honest with yourself, challenging assumptions, and constantly improving. I’ve learned that the best work comes from collaboration, where open-minded discussions lead to creative solutions. My leadership style, which was shaped by Google’s Rare Creative Leadership Program, is all about building inclusive, supportive teams where people are held accountable, not just for their work, but for doing the right thing, even when it’s tough.
I love digging into complex user problems and aligning design with business goals, always keeping the bigger picture in mind. By working closely with product management, engineering, and marketing, I help ensure that the user experience is seamless and engaging across all touchpoints.
At the end of the day, I want to create products that people love using and that actually move the needle for businesses. I’m always learning and growing, both personally and professionally, and I try to foster that same mindset in the teams I lead.
Experience
Work history, roles, and key accomplishments
Product & Brand Design Lead
Keypa
Oct 2024 - Present (9 months)
Guiding Keypa's cross-functional team through brand strategy, product vision and UX delivery. Established design culture, launched lean sprints, built the modular component library, mentored two juniors and delivered a brand platform that lifted pre-launch sign-ups 38 %.
Head of Strategic Design
:Different
Apr 2024 - Oct 2024 (6 months)
Partnered with the CEO to pivot prop-tech to a tenant-centred membership model. Validated opportunity through 30+ interviews and prototyped an MVP, securing $4M in bridge funding. Built the first design system and hired two designers.
Fractional Lead – Strategic Brand Design
HoneyBook
Nov 2022 - Jan 2023 (2 months)
Drove rapid re-brand ahead of international expansion. Led concept boards, external illustrators and logo now used by 100 k+ users; kept delivery within a four-week hand-over.
Partner / Co-Founder
Human Relations Studio
Nov 2022 - Present (2 years 8 months)
Launched a boutique strategy-and-identity studio focused on human-first brands. Built the go-to-market plan, recruited a senior collective, and won ten retainers in year one, growing revenue 30% year-over-year. Achieved a 25% lift in client NPS via diagnostic workshops and 40% faster brand-to-product hand-over through a shared token system.
Head of Design
LandingPad (1835i venture)
Mar 2020 - Dec 2021 (1 year 9 months)
Led a real-estate app from initial concept to an App Store top-10 ranking. Oversaw research, UX, UI, design operations, and agency selection. The app reached 250K downloads and maintained a 4.8-star rating.
Strategic Advisor
Flyte
Nov 2019 - May 2023 (3 years 6 months)
Served as Fractional CPO for a Gen-Z banking start-up. Crafted vision decks, redesigned onboarding, and ran guerilla research. These efforts doubled weekly activation and underpinned a $15M Series A funding round.
Lead Strategic Designer
ANZi New Business Labs
Mar 2019 - Mar 2020 (1 year)
Facilitated C-suite workshops and wrote go-to-market briefs. Produced proof-of-concepts that significantly shaped investment decisions across personal-finance and SMB ventures.
Product Design Director
Yup (acquired by Prenda)
Apr 2015 - Jan 2019 (3 years 9 months)
Scaled on-demand tutoring app from MVP to Series A. Led brand, growth, design systems and video explainers; improved tutor match time 70 % and lifted retention to 45 %.
Lead Creative / Design Director
Yahoo
May 2013 - Jun 2014 (1 year 1 month)
Designed Yahoo! Screen for Android tablets and prototyped a celebrity concept for the CEO. Contributed to the Yahoo brand refresh and supported the Flickr print-book launch.
Head of Design
MileWise (acquired by Yahoo)
Aug 2011 - May 2013 (1 year 9 months)
Was the first design hire, successfully shipping iOS & Android apps. Led the re-brand and grew the user base by 400%, which was instrumental in securing the company's acquisition.
Creative / Design Director
Agency Freelance – R/GA, Wieden+Kennedy, AKQA, Sony Music
Dec 2009 - Feb 2012 (2 years 2 months)
Led digital pitches and product concepts for Nike ID, Calvin Klein, Smirnoff, Geico and others; produced award-winning work and honed rapid ideation skills.
Education
Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework
Joel hasn't added their education
Don't worry, there are 90k+ talented remote workers on Himalayas
Tech stack
Software and tools used professionally
Availability
Location
Authorized to work in
Website
joelwasserman.mePortfolio
pitch.com/v/joel-wasserman-ynz2erSalary expectations
Social media
Job categories
Interested in hiring Joel?
You can contact Joel and 90k+ other talented remote workers on Himalayas.
Message JoelFind your dream job
Sign up now and join over 100,000 remote workers who receive personalized job alerts, curated job matches, and more for free!
