CHRIS HAGAN

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Design lead from Auckland, New Zealand. Stoked to use design & design thinking as problem-solving tools for the wellbeing of the planet. Previously Jefa, Softbank, and Harvard.

Open for collaboration!

WORK

HEAD OF DESIGN (JUNE 2020 - JULY 2021)

Jefa / A digital bank built for the 1.3 billion women globally who don’t have access to a bank account.

Our team sought to build a product that brought equity and financial education to a historically underserved population. In my role as Head of Design I wore many hats: building the brand from scratch, creating our design system, leading the UI/UX efforts for our mobile apps, managing social media content, and everything in between. The process of building Jefa from the ground up has been an exercise in speculative design. It’s a reimagining of the world, asking the question: what would the world look like if it were designed by women?

(go to Jefa website)

PUBLISHED IN MAY 2020

The Systems Thinking & Circular Design Handbook /A practical research project examining the applicability of systems thinking frameworks to sustainable creation & consumption.

What does ‘organic’ actually mean, and is it better? How can we create more effective behaviour change by studying forest fires? How did the bill of a kingfisher inspire the design of the Japanese Shinkansen? The handbook dives into anthropology, linguistics, cybernetics, and more, in an effort to show how cross-disciplinary thinking can help to solve our biggest, hardest problems.

(see the full handbook)

FOUNDER (JUNE 2019 - AUGUST 2019)

Softbank / Built a design-centred startup in a 10-week AI incubator in Tokyo.

Part of the first cohort in Softbank’s Artificial Intelligence Incubator with the challenge to to build a startup that utilised AI to tackle a creative problem. Over three months in Tokyo, we built a platform for freelance creatives that streamlined the feedback process & maximised the time they could spend doing what they love: creating.

DESIGN CONSULTANT (JUNE 2021 - AUGUST 2021)

Yummy / Venezuela-based delivery app on a mission to create the super app for the region.

Yummy is one of the fastest growing startups in Latin America, aiming to be the “super-app” of the region. I was brought on to redesign their visual materials: slide decks, design systems, and general branding.

When I’m not designing, I also dabble in a bit of writing, make films of outdoor adventures, and get out and about for a dash of photography.