United States

Industrial Design

UX Design

UI/ Visual Design

Branding and Identity Design

3D Design

Product Design

Alvaro Uribe

Proffessor for Industrial Design

Medium

Prototyping

Problem-solving

Critical-thinking

Empathy

Presentation skills

Project management

Brand positioning

CAD design

Solidworks

Figma

Adobe Creative Suite

Introduce yourself, define mentoring expectations and goals. Learn and grow together.

General mentorship

Strategies for maximizing your design internship or co-op program.

Getting the most out of my internship

How to think about design career paths and what progression looks like for designers?

Design career path

Get actionable feedback on your resume or portfolio.

Resume and portfolio review

Best practices for running productive design critiques.

Running effective design critiques

Methods of prototyping and solution validation. When to use which kind of prototype (eg. Webflow, Notion, etc)

Prototyping methods and tips

Methods and models of exploring, deciding and delivering design.

Building a design process

Managing being the only designer at your company and working with non-designers.

Being the only designer

Navigating the working relationship with PM's and engineers as a designer.

Working with product and engineering

As Head of Design at Outpave, I spearheaded the transformation of the company’s digital platforms, elevating user experiences for a groundbreaking expense management app tailored to the construction industry. By leading the redesign of core products and introducing user-centric innovations, I played a pivotal role in optimizing workflows and driving engagement across desktop, mobile, and web platforms.

Key Achievements & Responsibilities:

Directed a comprehensive redesign of Outpave’s desktop application, improving usability by streamlining navigation, simplifying complex workflows, and modernizing the visual interface.
Conceptualized and developed high-fidelity prototypes, leveraging early user feedback to iterate and refine designs throughout the development lifecycle.
Conducted regular usability testing sessions to gather actionable insights, leading to iterative enhancements that aligned with user needs.
Refined and optimized user flows to support seamless interactions with multiple users, transactions, and credit card management.
Led the end-to-end design and development of Outpave’s mobile app, creating wireframes, prototypes, and conducting rigorous user testing to deliver an intuitive mobile experience.
Applied data analytics and A/B testing to inform design decisions, resulting in measurable improvements to user satisfaction and engagement.
Supervised Outpave’s website design and content strategy, ensuring alignment with brand goals while implementing data-driven enhancements to boost conversion rates.
Continuously monitored user behavior through analytics tools, iterating on designs to refine the overall user journey and optimize performance.

Taught a range of undergraduate courses with a strong emphasis on developing a solid design foundation, fostering critical problem-solving skills, and emphasizing the importance of storytelling in design. Courses included:

- Design Studio 3: Product Design, Manufacturing, and New Technologies (Undergraduate)
- Computer-Aided Industrial Design (Undergraduate)
- Problem Framing (Graduate)
- Human Factors (Undergraduate)

Developed and implemented innovative design strategies that enhanced user experiences and streamlined complex systems across digital platforms for Toronto based Digital agency. My approach focused on understanding consumer behavior and driving impactful solutions that aligned with business and user needs.

Key Achievements & Responsibilities:

-Developed a holistic strategy to analyze consumer behavior, driving design innovation and contributing to product success across desktop and mobile applications.
-Identified opportunities to simplify complex systems for all stakeholders, resulting in streamlined processes and enhanced user satisfaction.
-Collaborated with clients’ sales and marketing teams to deliver digital solutions tailored to diverse stakeholder needs.
- Designed and tested interactive Figma prototypes with users and developers, ensuring alignment with design goals and user expectations.
- Established comprehensive visual guidelines, including color palettes, styles, and typography, to maintain brand consistency and elevate user engagement.
- Created kinetic transitions between content, guiding users through digital experiences with artistic precision and clarity.
- Fostered a dynamic, collaborative environment among cross-functional teams, ensuring seamless communication and efficient workflows.

As the founder of Aztro Marketplace, an online platform dedicated to connecting design-driven brands from around the world with retailers and interior designers, I am passionate about creating a one-stop shop for design products where quality and user experience thrive above all. Our platform represented over 100 brands, carried over 3,000 products, and sold to over 4,000 retailers and interior designers.

I built the platform from the ground up, working closely with programmers, sales, and marketing to achieve the highest success for the brands we represented. I defined the platform's experience, creating journeys for each stakeholder, including outreach, capture, onboarding, discovery, conversion, order management, and fulfillment. I planned strategies for customer funnels, engagement, and conversion and created customer programs to increase sales, loyalty, and engagement.

As a leader, I led the onboarding and relationships with brands and performed regular surveys and interviews with retailers and decorators to improve our offering and increase the website's performance. I worked closely with brands to best display their products and value. Additionally, I coached and directed a team of seven members including designers, programmers, and marketers to deliver our platform's vision and brand messages across our multiple customer bases.

With a focus on creating a seamless experience for our users, I am proud to have developed a platform that has become a trusted resource for retailers and interior designers to find good design.

As the founder of Modum Design, a Brooklyn-based Product Design and Engineering consultancy, I led a team of skilled designers and engineers to deliver innovative solutions across the Housewares, Consumer Packaged Goods, and Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) markets. Our collaborative approach enabled us to successfully partner with Fortune 500 companies to transform their concepts into market-ready products.

Key Achievements & Responsibilities:

Founded and grew Modum Design into a trusted partner for industry-leading clients such as Glade, Camelbak, Chobani, Robinson Home Products, Copco, and Built NY, among others.
Directed a talented team through every stage of product development, from ideation and concept design to prototyping and final production, ensuring seamless execution and high-quality outcomes.
Focused on creating functional, visually stunning, and intuitive products that exceeded client expectations and stood out in the market.
Collaborated closely with clients to understand their unique needs and provided tailored solutions that met both aesthetic and performance requirements.
Maintained hands-on involvement in all aspects of design, ensuring that client vision and technical specifications were fully realized in final products.
Our team is passionate about creating products that are not only functional and efficient but also visually stunning and intuitive to use. We worked closely with our clients to understand their needs and provide customized solutions that meet their unique requirements. From ideation to prototyping to final production, we are with our clients every step of the way, ensuring that their vision is realized to the fullest.

Founded and led Alvaro Uribe Design, an internationally recognized studio specializing in storytelling through Industrial Design, UX/UI, and Branding. With a passion for innovation and a focus on delivering meaningful design solutions, the studio has partnered with esteemed global brands to develop over 100 market-launched products in various categories. Our work has earned prestigious accolades, including four Red Dot Design Awards, six Good Design Awards, and the IDEA Award, while being featured in prominent publications like Architectural Digest, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle Décor, Interior Design, and Surface.

Key Achievements & Responsibilities:

-Built and developed partnerships with global clients such as BMW, Camelbak, Chobani, Gantri, Glade, Farberware, Lemanoosh, Mightymug, Nambe, Nachtmann, Oneida,Quench, Reo, Rosenthal, Slide, Steelform, Vista Alegre and Wooda, among others.
-Directed and mentored a multidisciplinary team in delivering creative, strategic, and manufacturable designs for the luxury and decorative markets.
-Conducted comprehensive market and competitive research to inform design strategy and product positioning.
-Facilitated workshops and brainstorming sessions to foster creativity and generate forward-thinking solutions.
-Designed and engineered innovative, production-ready products that merged aesthetic appeal with functional excellence.
- Guided clients’ marketing and branding efforts to effectively communicate design intent and elevate market presence.
- Supported client's manufacturing needs by working or partnering with suppliers locally or overseas.

As a design consultant, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with renowned design studios including Ecco Design, Pollen Design, Force Majeure, and Pensa. Through these partnerships, I contributed to the development of innovative, market-leading products for prestigious brands such as LG, Prepara, Dove, and Motorola.

Key Achievements & Responsibilities:
- Developed a versatile skill set by working with a variety of agencies, refining my ability to approach design problems from multiple perspectives and adapt to different project needs.
- Played a hands-on role in product development, from initial concepting and prototyping to final execution, ensuring quality and innovation at every stage.

Assisted in the development of a new cleaning line for OXO, a multi-grating tool, and a baking utensil. Responsibilities included: developing and conducting user research, 3D modeling, sketching, and prototyping.

Alvaro Uribe🇺🇸

About Alvaro Uribe

Expertise

Sessions with Alvaro Uribe

What mentees say