Kyle Jutte jumps on board as Director of Product Design
We are excited to announce that Kyle will join the Origin team, bringing a wealth of product design knowledge and leadership experience. Kyle will play a key role in helping us create a best-in-class experience for travelers and curators alike.
Kyle joins from Uber, where he led the product design team responsible for global payments and financial products across Uber’s different lines of business. Before that, Kyle led product design at Enjoy, where he joined as the first product designer and helped build a design team and practice that saw the company grow from a pre-seed startup to 1000+ employees with operations across the US, UK, and Canada. Kyle also previously worked at Google, where he spent several years leading design efforts on the ‘directions’ & ‘navigation’ experiences for Google Maps. At frog design, he designed product and service experiences for Disney Parks, The San Francisco 49ers (Levi’s Stadium), Telstra, and others.
One of Kyle’s most memorable moments as a product designer was when Google Maps for iPhone narrowly edged out the Epsilon Rocket to receive Japan’s prestigious “Good Design Grand Award” in 2013. In an unprecedented move, the Japanese government refused to give the award to Google Maps, prompting speculation about geopolitical dissent. A special award was created so the Google Maps team could receive the top honor despite the government’s refusal, and he and the team celebrated the achievement in Tokyo nonetheless.
Kyle’s experience and passion for solving complex problems with the end-user front of mind will help take Origin to the next level. As he grows his team they will tackle challenges at various stages of the company’s growth to make the best UX for our travelers.
Having traveled to over 40 countries, Kyle is thrilled to be working in the travel space at Origin, where he’ll have an opportunity to blend his personal passions and professional experience. Some of his favorite travel experiences have been lying awake through the night as a pride of lions hunted Cape buffalo through his tented camp in Tanzania, scuba diving cage-free with bull sharks in Fiji, and hanging out with a couple of local students in Vietnam for a great introduction to Hanoi and all sorts of fantastic food & drink.
In Kyle’s own words, “I could not be more excited to be joining Origin at this stage! Travel for me is a way to grow, to challenge what I know, and to add to the collection of lenses I see life through. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to take so much of what I’ve learned in the world of product design and blend that with a space that I’m so passionate about.”
