Design Director • Individual Contributor

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I decode the subtext of brands to build systems that resonate.

View my work

I’m a synthesizer. I spend my time at the intersection of culture, strategy, and design systems—turning the "knobs" of culture and design to find the signal in the noise.

Whether I’m designing a global brand identity for a Fortune 500 or coding a custom AI engine to decode visual meaning, I am looking for the same thing: Aurum. It is the gold that becomes the brand proof—animating purpose and driving resonance through creative ideas.

But who is Haig, really?

❋ The Radio Shack Kid

My career started in elementary school, when I used a microprocessor and a handful of electronic components to build a sound synthesizer. I’ve always been obsessed with taking things apart to see how they work. I learned early on how signals were made.

❋ Taste over Trends

In the kitchen, I’m a cook, not a baker. I prefer the spontaneity of a new ingredient over the rigidness of a recipe. I bring that same philosophy to design—prioritizing "taste" and soul over trends.

❋ The Underground Musician

When I’m not building design systems, I’m building worlds. I’ve released 4 albums of electronic music—cold wave, ambient, and electro-beats—using synthesis to create textures that didn't exist before.

❋ The "Rock" in the Chaos

People who work with me find me grounded. I’m an observer. I read a room like a film, decoding the subtext and non-verbal language that others miss. I filter out the noise so we can focus on the reality.

❋ The Type Nerd

I once spent my days tracing the fading, vintage lettering in the Toronto Subway (TTC) to preserve its history. I turned those forms into fonts that are now protected by the TTC. I believe the soul of a system is in its smallest details.

❋ The Analog/Digital Bridge

I am tech-agnostic. You’ll find me building computational semiotic engines with AI one hour, and writing in a leather-bound notebook with a fountain pen the next. I just love tools that are brilliantly simple and incredibly effective.

“Problems are just old answers that have drifted in effectiveness. My job is to find the new answer that resonates today.”
— Me

My Perspective on Brand
I believe the era of rigid, polished branding is over. Creativity is no longer about projecting a controlled image; it is about facilitating honest connection. My work strips away the corporate spin to reveal the human truth underneath. Whether I'm designing for a global law firm or a consumer product, I’m not looking to target an audience. I’m building tools for participation, questioning the frame, and creating flexible systems where active communities can co-create meaning rather than just consume it.

  • “Haig’s human-centered approach and systems-thinking mindset helped bring our Johnson & Johnson brand expression to life across a myriad of digital and physical touchpoints. His expansive knowledge and care for how ecosystems worked led to an enterprise-wide brand asset management system, bringing consistency and accessibility to a fragmented portfolio.”

    — Ernesto Quinteros, ex-Chief Design Officer at J&J and Belkin, CXO at Korrus

  • “Haig is a standout Design Director who is a master at creating efficiencies in complex systems. He is a great systems thinker who not only considers the final output but also the management and implementation needed to sustain it.”

    — Ashley Stevens, Kenvue, Global Brand Design Director

  • “Haig is a stellar example of a brand champion and design advocate who can manage exacting details of craft across multiple channels while collaborating with a broad array of internal and external partners, from executives to implementors and agencies.”

    — Somi Kim, Design Leader for Culture and Experience Transformation

 
Career Synthesis

Input/Outputs

Mentored by Cranbrook and Bauhaus alumni at OCAD, I built a foundation in disciplined experimentalism. I further specialized this at the graduate level in England, earning an MBA in Design Management that integrated the business of design with RISD semiotic studies. This allows me to leverage culture and strategy to move beyond the known into truly innovative territory.

The Era
The Input (The Signal)
The Output (The Synthesis)

Design school with Bauhaus discipline + Cranbrook post-modernism. Tracing TTC subway typography.

Foundation

A mastery of "comfortable discomfort." Fonts that preserve history and build identity.

Super 8 film, motion graphics, and launching TV channels Oxygen, 13th Street. My work featured in books.

The Early Days

Narrative-driven identities that cross cultural borders. Guest lectures at Harvard on media studies.

Early-days Razorfish. Translating Ford, Fila consumer brands, high-trust finance into digital products.

Digital Frontier

UI/UX systems that proved "dry" industries could be premium, intuitive, and human.

MBA Design Mgmt + RISD semiotics. Bridging intuition and business logic.

The Strategic Pivot

Frameworks that translate features into meaning, turning cultural signals into validated growth.

Running Creative:Mint (NY). Wearing every hat—from Managing Partner to Designer.

Agency Grit

Radical empathy for team synergy. The realization that "fun" is the secret ingredient to world-class work.

Leading Global Brand for J&J. Fighting for "Magenta" in a world of corporate gray.

Corporate Scale

Scalable design systems that maintain a "soul" across thousands of global touchpoints.

Big Law growth at Ropes & Gray. Building marketing engines for aggressive growth.

Strategic Engine

High-performance design systems that treat brand as a driver of business trajectory.

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