About

Colorado, July 2021. Photo by Jen Schuetz.

Personal

Identity

A map of where I've lived and grown up, comprising of London, United Kindom from 1978-1988, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 1988-1998, Chicago, USA from 1998-2009, and San Francisco, USA from 2009-present.

I’m Malaysian-American and a third culture kid. I spent the first decade of my life in London, United Kingdom, the second decade in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the last 24 years in the United States — the first 11 in Chicago and the last 14 in San Francisco. This is important to my identity, how I see the world, and how I approach all aspects of my life — diversity has broadened my worldview. I became a US citizen in 2012.

Balance

I strive for a life well-lived. I firmly believe in a holistic life — one that optimizes mind, body, and soul. While I am proud of and have enjoyed designing digital products, I also prioritize travel, cycling, and rock climbing. I encourage people to take care of themselves, both mentally and physically, and I’m an advocate for doing things that truly matter and give energy.

Music

I occasionally dabble in music under the moniker Murders&Mysteries (Bandcamp, Music), and used to scream-shout and play bass with three other friends in the band Dolorous Canter (Music, YouTube).

Bedrock

I live in San Francisco with my wife, Jen Schuetz, and our dog, a senior rescue Chihuahua named Barbara from Muttville.

Professional

Clients & Collaborators

Weightshift

I’ve been a designer for over 24 years. I founded the acclaimed design studio Weightshift in 2000, and for over 17 years serviced clients such as About.me, Adobe, Dropbox, Google Ventures, Intercom, Obvious, One Medical, True Ventures, Twitter, Xero, and many others.

VSCO

From 2016-2018, I joined the design team at VSCO to help build their product design team. I helped redesign the app, launch VSCO Membership, and design VSCO Connect.

Consulting

I returned to independent life and have since engaged in providing product design, creative direction, and strategy to early-stage and Series A companies such as Abstract (acquired by Adobe), Atoms (the shoe company), Honeycomb (co-parenting app), and TRASH (acquired by VSCO).

Currently, I'm a Creative Director and product designer at True Ventures.

You can visit a list of work over the years at Weightshift.

Speaking

    L: CreativeWorks 2018, photo by Zach McNair.
    R: New Adventures 2019, photo by Jan-Paul Koudstaal.

  • New Adventures
    Diverse Design: How We Build for People
    January 2019, Nottingham, United Kingdom
  • CreativeWorks
    Talk: Hard Work & Hard Living
    Workshop: The Full-Stack Designer
    October 2018, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
  • Brooklyn Beta 5
    Hard Work & Hard Living
    October 2014, Brooklyn, New York, USA
  • Designer Fund
    The Space Between the Notes
    October 2013, San Francisco, California, USA
  • Asana & Designer Fund
    Skeuomorphism vs. Simplicity: A Town Hall
    October 2012, San Francisco, California, USA
  • SXSW Interactive
    Design from the Gut: Dangerous or Differentiator
    March 2012, Austin, Texas, USA
  • SXSW Interactive
    Built: Online Communities, Offline Relationships
    March 2011, Austin, Texas, USA
  • AIGA Chicago
    Tools of the Trade: Creative Content for the Web
    April 2008, Chicago, Illinois, USA
  • SXSW Interactive
    Design is in the Details
    March 2008, Austin, Texas, USA
  • Making Media Connections
    Emerging Online News Outlets
    July 2006, Chicago, Illinois, USA
  • UnderConsideration’s Speak Up
    SeriouSeries 3
    April 2004, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Published

Influences

Colophon

The site is handcoded by me and built with Eleventy. Typography is Manuka Condensed, Pitch Sans, and Tiempos Text by Klim Type Foundry. Photographs are managed and edited in Adobe Lightroom for export. They are then optimized with ImageOptim, a tool I love dearly. The site is generated and served up via Netlify via a GitHub repo sync. This version was launched in March 2023.

I acknowledge that I live on the unceded lands of the Muwekma, Ohlone, and Ramaytush indigenous peoples.