I'm Menar (rhymes with guitar). I design for the user, the business, and anyone who thinks those two are at odds.
Menar Irwin | Lead Product Designer
Philosophy
Great products are easier to sell, market, support, and grow. That’s why I work where user needs and business outcomes meet.
I design outcomes before interfaces, shaping how problems are framed, how evidence is weighed, and how trade-offs are made so design thinking becomes part of the organization’s DNA. I equip teams with the principles, guardrails, and shared language they need to make confident design decisions without me in the room. Simplicity isn’t the starting point — it’s the result of mapping the messy reality first, then removing what doesn’t serve the user or the business.
I think in strategic bets rather than isolated projects, using storytelling to rally teams, unlock resources, and connect user needs to business outcomes. I focus on improving the quality of decisions, knowing that better choices upstream lead to better outcomes downstream. What matters most is leaving behind a culture and a team capable of doing their best work well into the future.
What I'm known for
Making complexity simple
I can take a sprawling, messy flow and turn it into something you don’t need a manual for.
Bridging disciplines
I speak engineering, product, and research fluently, and I’m at my best when all three are in the room.
Delivering results
I’ve helped teams boost campaign activation, speed up publishing, and double multi-channel adoption.
Outside the office
When I’m not designing, I’m probably building something — a project-o-holic at heart. At home, life revolves around my infant, my wife, and our dog, Spaghetti. Evenings often mean a movie or a board game with my wife, sometimes while I’m tinkering in my DAW (digital audio workstation), messing with my guitar, or randomly picking up new hobbies like skateboarding. I’m also known to wear track jackets just to annoy my wife — a design choice she has yet to endorse.