Minh Dao is a multidisciplinary Canadian designer behind such products as Shopify, Element AI, IBM Watson Analytics and Amazon. He was former co-founder of Tattoo Hero Inc. and CPO, investment in by Real Venture (FounderFuel) and BDC Capital.
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“Minh pertains to a rare style of designers, the one who are true problem solvers. Insightful, efficient, relentless as much as empathetic and dedicated, he puts in all his skills when it comes to serving his team and his company, because he really wants to make a difference. At Element AI, acting as the Product Design Lead in a design group of 25 people, he was setting the design direction for our lines of Machine Learning based products and himself was designing the insurance, banking and finance industry lines. He handled this responsibility with immense leadership, carefully onboarding his fellow designers, making sure everyone was set for success and happy at work. Minh is not just an excellent “full stack” designer; he showed to be very resourceful and did not hesitate to do what was needed to deliver: during a project where we were asked to design an in-store experience for a major telecom in Japan, he immediately reached out to his personal contacts in this country to set up, in a guerilla research mode, a pilot group of users that came up giving us a pile of precious insights to elaborate a very slick concept. During our journey working together I saw him writing blogs, defining the company’s narrative, leading design thinking workshops, supporting the consulting services with precious visual assets and so much more. Minh was always ready to help, and everyone enjoyed working with him. He also supported my idea to develop a Design Ops org in the company, demonstrating another side of his leadership at orchestrating the process of building the design system. Minh has been one of the most surprising encounters in my career, I am glad we were put in contact, because working at his side has been a pure joy. I surely miss working with him, but I also wish more people can have this chance too.”
Chrystel Black, Director of Design, CDPQ (Former head of design at Element AI)
“Minh has a rare mix of intelligence, grit and creativity. He quickly becomes a thought partner and translates complex ideas and concepts into simple to understand workflows, relevant user narratives and crisp design. He showcased this with me on a project spanning four teams in three continents, where he worked around the clock to deliver an AI-powered store of the future design spanning from the front end design of customer apps, the in store experience and the full visual identity of the concept (omni-channel interactions to store layout). He always has the bigger picture in the back of his mind and often enabled other teams in the organization by recycling visual assets he built in external engagements into templates that could be used for internal or external purposes. As Element AI grew exponentially quickly, he always took the time to onboard new members of the team and ensured that they had the tools to be successful. He is a natural leader that people respect not only for the quality of his output but also for his attention to teammates, his guidance on work and his ability to push people to the best versions of themselves. I was continuously impressed by his willingness to go above and beyond with every project he worked on. I highly recommend Minh.”
Alex Shee, Head of Partnerships, Element AI
“It was a pleasure working with Minh. His dedication to making the right things happen while optimizing the ROI is only equaled by his flexibility and adaptability. In addition to taking the leadership and management of the Design System team, Minh was key in mitigating the silos between different development groups by executing on the product design strategy he developed. Working with Minh was a great learning experience.”
Gabriel Duford, SVP Platform and Technology, Element AI
”From the minute I saw the branding on Tattoo Hero, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. Minh's ability to take a problem and solve it with minimalist, clear and beautiful design is unparalleled.
Minh is always listening and asking the right product questions and can properly manage user/business needs.
His attitude and humility are refreshing. He is always open to criticism and delivers a well polished end product."
Brandon Reti, Former Vice President Product at Breather
"Minh is an incredibly talented designer. He has an innate sense of what it appropriate for each product and market that his clients are targeting. Although he is often in high-demand, when he makes time for you he is 110% present and focussed on delivering on his commitments. I would work with 100 Minh's if I could! "
Tanya Woods, Vice-President, Policy and Legal Affairs at Entertainment Software Association of Canada
"Minh brings his passion and enthusiasm into any situation. Consciousness and empathetic, he knows how to always keep his parties engaged. At the same time he is very detail oriented and can assess any given situation with accurate response.
Minh was instrumental in getting my artwork to deadmau5 which was seen by over a million viewers (Thank you!) He would always be the first one to give advice and share his ideas / strategies with me.
As I have observed, people who are well skilled in their particular trade is not enough to make an impact into this world. You must operate at many levels, observe the world with your senses and through different lenses. Minh is one of those few people who I believe has this ability. That to me is talent."
Eric Chan, Founder and CEO of Eepmon
References can be found on LinkedIn profile Click here
Born: Ottawa, Canada
Hobbies: Baseball, Basketball, Volleyball, Art collecting, Shoe dog
Tunes: Progressive house (EDM), Jazz, Classic/orchestral
Films: The Departed, Blade Runner 2049, Interstellar, Dark Knight, Spirited Away
Quote: It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
- Invictus
Eats: Sushi
Drinks: Japanese Whiskey, old fashioned
Most people don't know...
I played baseball for Team Canada (U-18) at the Little League World of Baseball