Pierre E. Poulin
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Mexico City, Mexico
Toptal member since August 20, 2019
With an early career woven into the rise of the internet, Pierre's experience in digital is vast. Over the last 20 years, he founded one of the first award-winning web shops in Montreal, crafting work for major accounts, such as Burger King. Pierre designed an event app used by Airbnb, Salesforce, and Cisco. He continues to serve on a jury at the prestigious FWA. Typography, smooth interactions, and a glimmer of sassy irony are the driving forces behind his elegant yet highly functional style.
Portfolio
Work Experience
Owner and Product Designer
MyGreedyBot
- Built the company, its concept, and a product from A to Z.
- Developed a digital marketing strategy, including tone of voice, conversion copywriting, landing page optimization, funnel strategy, etc.
- Created a brand and a design system, including style guide, logo, illustration, UI, components, etc.
- Handled marketing campaigns, video editing, and motion graphics for YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
Judge
The FWA
- Served on an exclusive jury judging the best in digital design worldwide.
- Needed to be previously recognized by The FWA to be nominated as a judge.
- Participated in the FWA, which is one of the first, oldest, and most notorious web design awards.
Creative/Art Director, Brand Strategist, UI/UX Designer
Freelance
- Worked with major brands like Cirque du Soleil, Céline Dion, Montreal Canadiens, Bell, Telus, Ford, CBC, Business Development Bank of Canada, Pfizer, Bombardier, etc.
- Collaborated with international ad agencies such as BBDO, Y&R, Sid Lee, Publicis, etc.
- Provided strategy consultancy and strategic planning for small to medium-sized businesses and startups.
- Provided guidance as a creative director to designer teams.
- Designed comprehensive brand systems and style guides.
- Designed countless presentations and pitch decks for big and small clients.
- Supported agencies in brainstorming and conception phases of their digital campaigns.
- Worked on agency pitches that required high-end design and high-definition mockups.
Brand Designer, Art Director, UI/UX Designer
Backtracks, Inc
- Operated a complete brand overhaul, building on their current identity building blocks (logo, colors, typography, etc.).
- Designed a responsive web dashboard/admin platform.
- Provided comprehensive style guides and assets in Figma.
- Designed a set of responsive marketing pages for each of Backtracks products (more than 10).
- Developed visual concepts to explain otherwise complex products such as the Backtracks Switchboard. Those were then handed off as hi-fi prototypes, including scroll animations and micro-interactions, using Webflow and Lottie.
- Illustrated a set of conceptual skeuomorphic icons, 2D animations, and a comprehensive set of flat icons representing key benefits of their offer.
- Redesigned some of their core product UIs like the Backtracks Player and the Backtracks Marketplace.
- Designed a set of client-facing pages. Unlike the marketing pages, the client-facing pages are tools users can use to search podcasts, find relevant data and analytics on shows, and buy ads/media space.
- Developed concepts and designed all related social media assets (video and static), physical advertising, trade show assets (rollup banners, floor stickers, media backdrops, t-shirts, etc.), and PDF data sheets of their products.
- Designed presentation decks and report templates in Google Slide and Microsoft PowerPoint.
Creative/Art Director, Brand Strategist, UI/UX Designer
e180, Braindate by e180
- Led a 2-year rebranding project for the mother brand e180 and its flagship product, Braindate, now used by hundreds of thousands. Airbnb, TED, GE, Cannes Lions, Salesforce, and Cisco use Braindate to foster meaningful connections at their events.
- Defined the brand strategy that would lead to the new positioning of the mother brand and its sub-brands.
- Acted as the lead designer of the collaborative learning app Braindate.
- Worked as the lead designer of the native iOS app Braindate.
- Developed assets and brand guidelines for e180 and Braindate, respectively—and ensured those were respected by the team.
- Built various marketing landing pages in Webflow and other high-fidelity prototypes.
- Designed Braindate's set of engagement emails (welcome email, user stats throughout the event, days 1-5, follow-up emails, etc.).
- Created a B2B website and designed/edited a promotional video for Braindate.
- Designed the UI/UX of Braindate's own videoconferencing platform, Braindate Virtual.
Creative/Art Director and Co-founder
Mecano
- Received international praise for our work, winning many recognitions at Cannes (Cyber Lions), the One Show, the Webby Awards, the FWA, May 1st Reboot, and many more.
- Got featured in design publications like Taschen, Applied Arts, and Communication Arts.
- Supported traditional ad agencies in their early digital efforts, creating a viral campaign for Burger King, Ford, Dermtek Pharma (Reversa), Bell, Just for Laughs, etc.
- Led projects in the industries of youth marketing, fashion, sports, entertainment, and government public-service announcements (PSA).
- Acted as spokesman for various panels and conferences about social media, youth marketing, and digital advertising.
Education
Master's Degree in Advertising and Marketing
Université de Montréal | HEC Montréal - Montreal, Canada
College Degree in Graphic Design
CEGEP de Sainte-Foy - Quebec City, Canada
Skills
Tools
Figma, Adobe After Effects, Adobe CC, InVision, Google Slides, Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC, Adobe Photoshop
Platforms
Webflow, Mobile, Web, WordPress, Shopify
Industry Expertise
Marketing, Education Technology (Edtech), Healthcare
Other
Typography, Design Guidelines, Responsive Design, Interactive Design, Web Design, Brand Guidelines, Mobile App Design, Art Direction, UI Design, UI Animation, Branding, Mobile UI, Digital Branding, Web Dashboards, Music Industry, Digital Brand Identity, High-fidelity Prototypes, Lottie, Visual Design, Email Design, Marketing Design, Social Media, Graphic Design, Digital Marketing Design, Guidelines, Live Entertainment, Learning, E-learning, White Labeling, Concepting, Corporate Websites, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Social Media Design, 3D, Responsive UI, Strategy, Advertising Design, Analysis, Brand Identity, Animation, Design, Ad Design, Creative Direction, Scroll Animations, Web UI Design, Responsive, Responsive Layout, Web UX, Web UX Design, Web UI, UI Motion, Motion & Animation Design, High-fidelity Mockups, Presentations, Presentation Design, PowerPoint Design, Digital Creative Direction, Conceptual Design, Web App UI, Email Signature Design, Landing Pages, Landing Page Design, Event Design, Social Media Kits, UI Branding, Product Branding, Event Branding, Strategy Conception, Event Planning, User Engagement, Responsive Web Apps, Responsive UX Design, Responsive Email Templates, Style Guides, UI Style Guides, Brand Systems, Viral Marketing, Display Advertising, Social Ad Design, Mobile Web Design, Blog Design, Blogs, Brand Strategy, Brand Positioning, User Interface (UI), Pitch Decks, Logo Design, Dashboards, Dashboard Design, Web Components, Template Design, Mobile App UI, Mobile Design, Mobile UI Design, Mobile UX Design, Mockups, Tone of Voice, Interactive Prototypes, Identity Design, Color Palettes, Apps, Logotype, Infographics, Visual Assets, Brand Design, Brand Logos, Prototyping, Web App Design, Design Systems, Lead Generation, Product Strategy, UX Design, Mobile UX, Colleges & Universities, Product Design, Wireframing, Motion Design, Illustration, Research, Planning, UX Wireframes, Web Illustration, WebGL, Web App UX, Video Presentations, User Experience (UX), Motion Graphics, User Flows, Healthcare Services, Landing Page Optimization, Funnel Optimization, Funnel Analysis, Funnel Marketing, Ghost, Blogging, Digital Campaigns, Web Marketing, Edtech Design
Experience
- Creative Direction - 20 years
- UI Design - 20 years
- Interactive Design - 20 years
- Visual Design - 20 years
- Branding - 20 years
- Art Direction - 20 years
- Style Guides - 20 years
- Scroll Animations - 15 years
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