I’m James Hobbs — a seasoned design leader and team builder who believes the best user experiences are born from deeply supported and nurtured teams.
My Belief
Skilled individuals that are provided the right balance of guidance, support, and exposure will challenge themselves and those around them to produce better design solutions.
This cycle is fundamental in creating strong design cultures, which keeps talent attracted, retained, and (most importantly) growing in skill to push the quality of the work forward.
areas of Expertise
Building Design Teams
I have broad experience building product design teams that produce world-class work. From small co-located studios, to large remote agencies, I pride myself on my ability to recognize the right talent for the right roles and create balanced, supportive, and diverse teams that can scale well over time.
Directing Product Design
I have advised on and actively designed hundreds of products over my career — from Fortune 10 platform redesigns, to conceptual prototypes for early-stage product companies. I’m a product designer at heart and enjoy staying close to the work — guiding product decisions and visual design directions.
Nurturing Designers
I get a great deal of my professional fulfillment from nurturing people’s individual career growth. I draw on my own experience as a designer-turned-leader to help others navigate similar progressions — whether they move towards people management or continue to develop in their area of the craft.
The last 10 years of my career have been spent leading teams — working alongside some of the best product designers, and client-side product teams in the world.
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is the agency behind many of the most successful apps of the last ten years.
I was honored to join the MetaLab team in 2018 as a Design Director and humbled that within less than a year I was asked to step into the VP of Design role. I grew the design team double in size, refined product design and research processes, and added capabilities such as brand and motion design.
I created a remote-first culture that allowed designers from across the globe to collaborate in order to build experiences for some of the world’s best product teams — from established companies like Instacart and Headspace, to future stars like Pitch.
Most fulfilling for me has been leaving a legacy of designer growth at the company. This included tools and structures to help individuals understand and measure their own growth, and working models that help more junior designers gain experience quickly.
highlights
Lululemon Community
I led a multiple-year engagement that helped Lululemon take their internal community values to consumers both online and in-store through digital experiences.
Key outcomes
- Redesign of the Community section of iOS and web platforms
- Redesign of the in-store digital touchscreen experience
- Creation of the in-store motion design system
- Redesign of the Lululemon iconographic system
MetaLab Growth Framework
I managed the creation of a proprietary growth framework, Pinnacle. The goal — to provide a structured yet flexible system for designers to understand their growth and progression. Specific focus was put on balancing individual contributor and leadership growth opportunities.
VICE Future Mobile
Directed a short project to concept the future of VICE's mobile platform for an audience at CES in 2019.
We pushed the boundaries of interaction and motion design to create new UI patterns that would express VICE’s unique angle and build excitement at the show.
This was translated into a useable prototype of the app that the audience could demo on-site to get a feeling for the experience.
DEI Advocacy
I advocated for and provided executive sponsorship for several internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity initiatives. Results included a revised design hiring process, focused mentorship opportunities, and a record-breaking survey completion rate due to a certain TikTok video.
with immense vulnerability, showing the team how this trait could be an asset and a strength.”
TripAdvisor Platform
I spearheaded the agency-side redesign of the TripAdvisor platform in 2020. The multi-year engagement was a deep collaboration with their in-house design and engineering teams, with a focus on bringing more ease and delight to the trip planning and traveling process.
Key outcomes
- Redesign of the iOS, Android, and web platforms
- Creation and iteration of a design system in Figma
- Ongoing quality assurance and feature additions
Global Team Growth
I focused on team growth outside of North America — both to open up the talent pool, as well as create a more diverse team in skill and background. I prototyped various ways of working asynchronously, finding a process that worked best for the team across both timezones and cultural backgrounds.
Nelson Cash had a rich history in brand but wanted to solidify its place in digital product.
In 2017 the partners at Nelson Cash brought me on board to help build a product-focused design team in Portland, OR. Over the course of a year and a half I supported them in developing a strong foundational design team of eight as well as establishing design processes and team culture.
I directed several of the agency's larger client relationships, working with executives at some of the world's largest product organizations — creating new products and refining existing platforms.
Because this role allowed me to be closer to the work and designers, it gave me the opportunity to deepen my 1:1 management and coaching skills — bringing more of myself to these relationships. This formed a lot of the basis for my work at MetaLab and current leadership philosophies.
highlights
Mercari Platform Design
I acted as a player-coach on the Mercari account — simultaneously directing a small team of designers on product and marketing work, while establishing a foundational design language for the soon-to-be retail giant.
Key outcomes
- Refined design of the web platform
- Creation of a foundational design system
- Creation of motion design guidelines
Design Team Growth
I managed the hiring of the core design team of eight. I am particularly proud of the strength of this team as Nelson Cash was relatively unknown in the Portland area and therefore didn't have the reputation to hire senior talent right out of the gate.
I now hold leaders to the standard James set early in my career."
Google Fiber
I led the charge as a Design Director on the largest account at Nelson Cash — working with the team at Google Fiber. This included their flagship website, account tooling, and the Fiber brand itself.
Key outcomes
- Redesign of the marketing website and sign up flow
- Redesign of account platform on web and mobile
- Design of Speed Checker app for tablet and TV
- Creation of a foundational design system
Octopus designed products for early-stage companies and industry giants alike.
Octopus was founded in 2011 to meet the increasing demands of the Bay Area tech scene. I co-founded the studio, running it solo for four of the seven years it was business. Over that time, I hired and nurtured a small but mighty team of designers and engineers from across the US and made impactful work for some of the world's top companies.
From fintech start-ups like Coin, to retail platforms like eBay, our team excelled at adapting to the different requirements needed across products and industries. This largely iterative and research-based approach to problem solving is still the backbone of my working methodology to this day.
Aside from the work that we put out, I'm most proud of the culture of growth that was created. This was the role that I learnt the value of putting trust in designers and leading from beside rather than in front. I'm proud to say that all of these folks have gone on to be wonderfully successful in their design careers.
highlights
Discors Platform
I led the design of the Discors iOS app in 2014. The goal was to create a platform that provided a way for readers to easily digest top news stories while pairing them with expert analysis.
Key outcomes
- Design of v1.0 iOS app
- Design of marketing website
Youth Mentorship Program
I ran a design mentorship program working with a local youth organization in Watsonville, CA. Our team would meet with the students monthly to give them 1:1 skills training and career advice in their chosen area of design or development.
Google UX Best Practices
Directed a project with Google in 2015 to define UX best practices for mobile UX. These guidelines were showcased at Google I/O that year and are still referenced to this day to help companies design experiences that are as easy to use as possible.
Remote Working Model
Transitioned the team to working fully remotely. We leveraged existing technology and built new tools to allow us to collaborate well even though we weren't together.
PayPal
Directed a project in conjunction with the team at PayPal to redesign their company intranet — TheHub. Over the course of three months, myself and a small team of designers and researchers prototyped and refined a platform that was used by over 45,000 employees.
Key outcomes
- Redesign of web and mobile platform
- Design of an internal-facing design system
After a year with Cometeer, I’ll be looking for new opportunities in early 2023.
I am particularly interested in the following areas:
- Leading and growing a small product design team
- A founding design role for an interesting product
- Design leadership opportunities in the mental health and wellness space
