I consider myself extremely lucky to have been able to work with Braden. His passion for design and the user, natural talent, and desire to always be improving is apparent in every project he works on. He's a team player in every sense with a total respect for everyone he works with. I think the design community could use more people like Braden who are the increasingly rare combination of a great designer and a great person.
Spencer Syfrig
Interaction Designer, Google
Braden is a great designer and partner to product and engineering teams. He works well in complex problem spaces, thinking at the system level and with disparate requirements while always putting the user first.
Christina Melas-Kyriazi
Partner, Bain Capital Ventures
Braden is a very valuable member of the safety team. He is an excellent collaborator and one of the chief people whom I rely on to discuss difficult and complicated topics as well as provide in-depth, highly strategic feedback. One of Braden’s strengths is his ability to quickly become immersed in a new problem space and use his instincts to provide actionable, and empowering next steps and ideas to consider.
Braden has cultivated a unique perspective on personal safety and is able to guide the team in interrogating an idea. In my interactions with him, Braden has earned my deep trust as a peer designer and team member. There have been countless times that I’ve called on Braden to help me think through a problem space or to help get unstuck in a pattern of cyclical thinking.
Agatha Kielczewski
Design, Lyft
Braden rises to the challenge of solving complex problems quickly & efficiently delivers both short term MVP & north star vision all while fostering a collaborative environment. His projects regularly require working across marketing, legal, and impact multiple teams.
He is also highly skilled at creating frameworks, diagrams and visual aids to illustrate complex, nuanced systems and concepts.
Naomi Yarin
Product, Lyft
I had the pleasure of working with Braden across many different projects at GoFundMe. He is a terrific designer who was always pushing his individual craft, but at the same time staying involved in the overall product development process as well as the higher level strategic direction. Braden is also a lot of fun to work with. He manages to strike that fine balance between staying professional while also keeping the mood light and joyful.
Andrew Chase
Engineering Manager, Instagram
Braden is an outstanding designer and leader. It was a pleasure for me to work with Braden in the last 2 years and see him grow into GoFundMe's head of design. He cares deeply about our customers and his team. He is passionate about user research to truly understand the needs of our campaign organizers and donors in order to design the right experience for them. He is an excellent UX and visual designer who can effortlessly flex between managing a team and taking on projects and tasks himself.
He leads by example with his deep empathy for our users, strong work ethic and collaborative attitude. In the last 4 years, Braden built strong relationships across the company, from our customer happiness team to engineering, product and the executive team. I have no doubt that Braden will be an asset to any product design team and highly recommend him as a senior designer and/or design manager at any consumer internet company.
Ran Chen
Product, Dropbox
Braden is a very skilled designer, problem-solver, and coach. He has loads of talent and experience, but his drive to learn and continuously improve himself is what makes him exceptional. I would trust him with any initiative, knowing that even if it was not in his wheelhouse, he would figure out a way to solve it and overdeliver. He's a joy to work with and makes everyone around him better. I would jump at the opportunity to work with Braden again if given the chance.
Vickie Chiang
Head of Design, Quizlet
I had the distinct pleasure of collaborating with Braden for almost two years at GoFundMe. He is a consummate design leader, always developing a deep understanding of key user pain points, business goals, timelines, and engineering constraints, all while working cross-functionally to bring impactful experiences to life. Braden is incredibly resourceful and has an admirable work ethic, often stepping in to run point on critical projects with short notice. I have frequently been impressed by his ability to cut through confusion by posing thought-provoking questions at the right moments and to drive an entire room of designers, engineers, product managers, and senior executives to consensus around the best path forward.
His guidance is sought out by our CEO and other C-level executives as much as it is by his peers and the more junior members of the team he leads. Furthermore, he is just as comfortable leading a strategy discussion with senior executives, as he is speaking about insights from user researchers, or providing feedback to other designers, product managers, and engineers. Braden has been a powerful and tireless advocate for the contributions that user research and the design discipline have made to GoFundMe's success. I have no doubt that his value and impact will be positively felt in any organization fortunate enough to land him. On a personal note, I thoroughly look forward to working with Braden again in the future.
Ronojoy Chakrabarti
Director of Product, Wish
Braden is a joy to work with. Since joining the safety team he has become one of my most trusted work partners and advisors, and an integral part of my research process. He routinely provides a safe space for ideas to marinate, and a thoughtful, ethical perspective.
It’s been inspiring to see how he’s used the findings to advocate for significant, holistic solutions.
He’s a safety subject matter expert, and uses that knowledge to provide feedback on other team’s work and push design safety standards and accountability.
Alex Michaelides
User Research, Lyft
Braden cares deeply about the quality of the work and has a high bar for himself. He tirelessly does several iterations and incorporates feedback until he and teammates are satisfied. He is also thoughtful about the design process - how his work is shared, how he receives and follows up on feedback, and how he collaborates with teammates.
Aswath Krishnan
Director of Product, Noom
Braden is a great partner. On one hand, he can give very honest and even challenging feedback, while on the other, he recognizes and honors all the different sets of skills that conform our team. He’s also very dedicated at building relationships with his peers, setting the tone for all his interactions at work.
On every project I’ve worked with Braden, I’ve observed that he proactively adopts a leading role, serving as the glue that keeps all the pieces together, helping coordinate with cross-functional partners, educating others about the project’s background, following up on pending matters, and keeping his peers up to date with progress.
Ernesto Lucar
Content Design, Spotify