Roll Call: Gabi + Scott + Clara
Yelp’s Product Design team consists of 22 talented folks who work on all facets of Yelp products. Each month, we’re sharing their stories.
Scott Tusk
Favorite businesses on Yelp:
Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco, California
Dusty Grooves in Chicago, Illinois
Where do you look for motivation / inspiration?
Music! All kinds of music. I am a big vinyl collector, I also have a fairly large iTunes library and, of course, a subscription to Spotify, you should give my playlists a follow! Photography is huge for me as well; I stink with a camera but I love looking at other people’s work on sites like Flickr and Instagram, or from photography books I own.
If you weren’t a designer, what would you be doing?
Definitely working in or owning a pizzeria. Pizza is by far my favorite food, so I think I’d really enjoy being around it all day.
Who do you look up to as a mentor in your life?
A teacher in school, Thomas Beattie. He was a super focused and intense person, but more importantly, I’ve never met anyone that attacks a problem or a challenge like he did. I think about that a lot, and it’s something that I’ve tried to let seep into many areas of my life.
What is your design process like?
My design process is a total mess, and I try to not adhere to process or a set routine when I start a project large or small. But I do always start as lo-fi as possible: a Muji pen, a dot grid Field Notes book, and a bunch of little thumbnails drawn as quickly as possible. Once I have a handful of sketches, I begin drawing some of the stronger ones a with a little more care. Then, I take a third pass at the strongest one or two options with pen and paper, really starting to solve as many problems as I can. Once I have something on paper I feel pretty good about, I move to the computer and start building the elements, experimenting with things like color, mood, stroke weight and looking for areas to add a surprise or two.
Gabi Dumaguin
Favorite business on Yelp:
Chengdu Style Restaurant in Berkeley, California
How did you end up here?
I studied Computer Science in school, but I always had an interest in graphic design as a hobby since I was a kid. When I got to college, I joined a club called Innovative Design where I met some friends who introduced me to product design. I took the only class on UI design at Berkeley at the time, and since then I was hooked! Instead of pursuing software engineering, I ended up taking on a UI/UX design internship the summer between my junior and senior year before working full time at Yelp as a product designer after graduation.
What product do you work on? What challenges is your team up against?
I’m on the Contributions team, which is responsible for promoting and enriching user generated content on Yelp. So if you’ve ever written a review, uploaded a photo, checked into a business, or asked a question on Yelp, chances are I’ve had a hand in crafting that experience!
A recurring challenge we face is getting people to contribute their own content (specifically reviews) to Yelp. Since the majority of users are content browsers, it’s always a struggle trying to get people to form review-writing habits without pestering them so much that it gets in the way of the browsing experience. On one hand, Yelp wouldn’t be what it is without its amazing user content, but on the other hand, it’s important that we don’t drive our users away with overly aggressive prompts!
What advice do you have for a younger self?
Don’t take everything at face value. Always question why!
When you’re not designing you are…
Scoping out new places to eat, exploring new music, taking photos…. I’m trying to get better at documenting my experiences!
Clara Nam
Favorite businesses on Yelp:
Pace Gallery in Palo Alto, California
Where were you before Yelp?
Samsung, Isobar, Rhode Island School of Design
What product do you work on? What challenges is your team up against?
I work on the Growth team at Yelp. The main goal of our team is to identify and optimize different parts of the product to help increase the rate of our user acquisition and retention. One of the biggest challenges that I face as a Growth designer is viewing our product through the lens of a new user and coming up with designs that could maximize our impact, but doing so without hurting the user’s holistic experience.
Where do you look for motivation or inspiration?
I’m always motivated and inspired by my friends who specialize in different areas of design such as industrial design, motion design, and graphic design. Every day I learn something new and interesting from them and they help me see design from different perspectives, always reminding me that design is more than just metrics and styleguides. Talking to them and being able to both relate and disagree on design inspires me more than when I just browse through Dribbble and blogs to see what others have already created.
Most memorable Yelp memory?
The time I was first on the leaderboard for receiving the most ‘Yelp Love’ (it’s an internal thing) after launching a check-in photo feature … until another team launched a “Pokéstop” filter the day before the announcement and stole the title from me. Unforgettable.
Feeling inspired to get to know us a little better? Look us up on Dribbble, and if you’ve got the design chops and are passionate about local businesses, check out current openings for the Yelp Product Design team at yelp.com/careers.
