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Design Director • Individual Contributor

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 semiotics, 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 whatever is currently trending on Dribbble.

❋ 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 sold globally. 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

I believe creativity is the primary mode of human expression. A company is just a structure; creativity is the life it brings. My work is about uncovering the hidden ideas—the "underground" signals—that have the power to change a brand’s trajectory. Whether I'm designing a visual system for global law firm or an identity for a television channel in France, I’m looking for the white space where a brand can finally breathe. Stay curious about the hidden things.

Career Synthesis

Input/Outputs

My foundation was a collision of two worlds: the post-modern experimentalism of Cranbrook and the rigorous discipline of the Bauhaus. It taught me that breakthrough design only happens when you are willing to sit in the tension of the unknown.

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

Bauhaus discipline + Cranbrook post-modernism. Tracing fading 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, Universal) in US & Europe.

The Early Days

Narrative-driven identities that cross cultural borders. Lectures at Harvard on experimental film.

Early-days Razorfish. Translating high-trust finance into digital products.

Digital Frontier

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

The MBA. Researching the bridge between creative intuition and business validation.

The Strategic Pivot

A framework that reduces brand risk by turning strategic "whispers" into validated growth.

Running Creative:Mint (NY/SF). 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.

  • “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

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