Founder Foundry

Founder Foundry is a community site designed to help service business entrepreneurs build a foundation for their business. Get access to an online resource jam-packed with helpful content and a private community where you can ask questions, get feedback, and create meaningful relationships.

Founder & CEO

Uptime Media

Investor & Advisor

Raw Studio

Founder - Non-Executive Director

Note.co

Working on something interesting! Join our Beta! https://note.co

WDX (Web & Digital Experience) - f.k.a Sydney Designers

Sydney Designers Meetup is a meetup of Sydney-based designers enthusiasts. We share and talk about design and everything related. More infos: https://sydneydesigners.org 

My role: 
I'm genuinely passionate about sharing and connecting with people. I organise the meetup every month and bring on amazing speakers for people to learn but most importantly to connect and network.

Main Organizer

KeyPay Cloud Payroll & Workforce Management

Disrupting payroll via design. Leading the design team to shape the future of cloud payroll.

Lead Designer

Leading the Design in KeyPay. Redesigning every part of the app. Product, and Visual.

Senior Product Designer

vyte.in

Vyte.in is the best way to plan an event with a group of people. From a business meeting to a nigtht out with friends, vyte.in will make the process of organizing much smoother. Forget endless email threads and doodle, and sign up for the beta: http://vyte.in

Product Designer & Co-Founder

Philippe HONG

Freelance Creative Designer UI/UX & Front-end Developer. Clients: Snappr, Apptimize, BETC, Popsy, Sanofi, Badoit, Schneider Electric, etc..

Freelance

Airtasker

Product Designer in charge of the Mobile Product (Web, iOS and Android). User experience and Front-dev

Product Designer

Coeurs et arts

Art Director

After five intense years of running my successful million-dollar design agency, I hit a major roadblock. Burnout didn't just knock on my door—it barged right in and left me bedridden for three days straight. I didn't want to get up or face the world. Lying there, I thought to myself, "Okay, this is enough."

The next day, I made the tough decision to let go of all my employees. I knew I needed a break—a real one—to rethink my priorities and figure out what I truly wanted in life.

It felt like I slammed a giant reset button, letting out a big sigh that carried away years of stress and unspoken worries.

Growing up in France as a shy Asian kid in a mostly Western culture, I often felt like I didn't quite fit in. I was quiet and kept to myself. Design became my safe space—a way to express my creativity without having to say a word. But deep down, I was super ambitious, always juggling side projects and trying to "build something" meaningful.

That constant drive helped me achieve a lot, but it also led me straight into burnout.

As I lay there, I couldn't help but wonder: How does our mind work? How can I bounce back? How can I make sure this never happens again?
Those questions sparked an inward journey—a deep dive into understanding the mind and all its amazing potential. I realised that overcoming burnout wasn't just about resting; it was about transforming my mindset. I learned tools and techniques to not only help me get back but also be a better version of myself—stronger, wiser, and happier.

I believe everyone deserves to know how to utilise their mind to its fullest.
If you are like me, you want to be YOUR best self.
You want to unlock a new level of effectiveness and fulfilment.
You want to feel motivated and excited every day.
You want to feel confident and smart.
You want to prioritise what matters, manage your emotions like a boss, and build habits that support your professional and personal growth.

Join me in this journey.

This is the reason I created The Effective Mindset, a community-based hub where we share science-based resources, techniques, and habits for being our most effective selves.

We all deserve to be at our peak and to live without regrets. Because we all deserve to thrive, not just survive.

Philippe Hong

frog

🏫 Education Sector - Website Uplift - Aug 2024 -  Sept 2024
• Lead the visual design of the clickable prototype.
• Successfully incorporated the client’s expectations and exceeded their expectations of the prototype, by making it visually striking whilst ensuring that the design met industry brand guidelines.
• Successful collaboration with members of the team, and much appreciation from them in bringing ideas to life.
• Directed assignment tasks with junior designers and provided feedback, ran meetings, clarified areas of confusion, and shared creative freedom with key components.
• Worked through ambiguity with a strict deadline.

🏥 Public Sector - Salesforce CRM Implementation - Mar 2024 - Aug 2024
• Owned the experience and UI design for the Member cohort, delivering approx. 30 wireframes and a clickable prototype..
• Proactive and led several tech review sessions, explaining context and rationale of UX designs, asking for targeted feedback in order to progress the work.
• Ensured all my work is clear and concise, including annotations and comments when provided to internal and external stakeholders.
• Presented and organising work, consulting and worked with others by arranging regular sync-ups and contacting teams on clarification points.

UX/UI Designer

Acoustic Dynamics Pty Ltd

Project Consultant/Engineer

Factory AI

I took ownership in developing Factory AI's main dashboard and was pivotal in bridging the gap between users in the manufacturing space and the product. Additioanlly, I also contributed to the business and product vision by participating in regular brainstorming sessions on Friday as the sole UX/UI designer.
I also had the privilege of running several user interviews and testing sessions for three months.

ℹ️ Context - Predictive maintenance for manufacturers
Factory AI helps manufacturers reduce their unplanned downtime with AI predictive maintenance. With rising costs and increased focus on OPEX efficiency, 80% of manufacturing leaders we speak with say that reducing unplanned downtime is a priority. I worked with the two co-founders.

🤝🏽 Design Leader
I was the go-to design expert on the team where I collated Figma designs and variations to improve the current dashboard before going live.

🔧 Tools - Figma, FigJam, Teams, MS Office, Google Meets, AWS Amplify, Heroicons

Equus Partners

Key Responsibilites:
•  Led a team of 17 as lead through the design process by understanding visual design foundations.
• Coordinated experimental user research studies including guerilla interviews by assigning a task board for the team which led to richer data to synth about painpoints.
•  Delivered a service design solution that conveyed an end-to-end experience for a business owner becoming a client and a referral system that exceeded the client's expectations in the final presentation.

Lead UX/UI Designer

Macquarie University

Key Responsibilites:
• Synthesised data from desktop research on innovative learning practices and interview scripts from Macquarie University staff and managers which led to insights that defined the new problem statement.
• Improved the prototype after user testing through backed iterations by data-driven insights which made the design more usable and accessible.
• Facilitated several ideation workshops with users on Miro using a 'train station' concept that provided engagement and conceptualisation of 3 core MVP features in the prototype.
• Crafted the 'Infographic' module on Figma using the set MQ design system through mid-fidelity to high-fidelity prototype, adapting the situations.

JHA Consulting Engineers

• Designed noise performance for wall partitions in primary and high school buildings.
• Performed on-site noise measurements through data logging and calibrating equipment for use such as sound level meters and microphones.
• Wrote reports for the development approval of projects through defining the project scope, analysis of measurements, and assessment of results.
• Currently one of the founding members of the JHA Young Engineers Committee.
• Led the presentation design for JHA's first ever Young Engineers Night.

Junior Acoustics Engineer

• Designed utilities and HVAC systems for facilities including learning spaces, recreational centres, commercial, and high-rise residential buildings.
• Led two successful site inspections, noting faulty and defective equipment and structures, and designed mechanical/HVAC system solutions for a maintenance centre refurbishment and a train station.
•	Wrote several summaries of findings and recommendations to external stakeholders from non-engineering backgrounds, with 100% on-time completion of markup submittals.
•Managed interactions with engineers across several disciplines, encouraged active co-ordination, and made modifications to mechanical based on continuous feedback.

Graduate Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical Engineer Intern

UNSW

• Contributed as a key writer to the Moodle student platform documentation, which was officially published for academic use by the Educational Team to efficiently perform tasks design assignment components.
•	Adapted 14 online Smart Sparrow tutorials for the MECH9720 Solar Thermal Energy Design course through creating new source code.
• Conducted assessment mapping of 80 Term 3 2019 core courses for determining which course deadlines clash in the Faculty of Engineering. This was vital for academics in the implementation of the new third-trimester schedule on campus.

Student Assistant

• Led an investigation that allowed more than 800 Panadol Suspension products to be shipped out on time during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Maintained the inventory disposal system that allowed for data retention in the factory; this led to an increase of 20% warehouse space so that more products can be stored to keep up with Panadol supply.
• Award the winning logo design for Team Sydney placed on nationwide marketing material, including the newsletter, bottles, bags, and work equipment.

Operational Quality IBL

Robogals Global

• Led the partnerships and sponsorships team for the Robogals Asia Pacific Region.
• Provided Robogals chapters and their respective partnership managers with an opportunity to access our regional partners.
• Transformed the Partnerships portfolio from only myself to 4 team players that liaised with industry leaders and acquired sponsors with a shared mission to empower young women in STEM through diversity. 
• This was accomplished through negotiations about the contract revisions, which led to an outstanding outcome in securing a critical $20,000 sponsorship for funding and school resources to this day.
• Additionally, I won the national T-shirt design competition for the annual Seminar Inducting New Executives event held in Brisbane. This was worn by 80 new team members.

Partnership Lead

Arc @ UNSW

• Work within the store, serving customers and organise closing time procedures.
• Assist with graduation gown sales throughout the year and to the 9 faculties art UNSW.

The UNSW Grad Shop

📅 A quick timeline of what I've accomplished
At uni
• Studied engineering → enjoyed problem-solving.
• Got involved in student societies → enjoyed fostering experiences.
At work
• Worked in HVAC design → enjoyed cross-collaboration.
• Worked in acoustics → enjoyed client-facing and custom solutions.
And now
• I’m a UX/UI designer and it is everything I have enjoyed and more!

✨ I am
• A team player and culture builder.
• A curious thinker that always asks questions.
• A data-driven researcher - digging for gold is key!
These are what I do and do well; I also DJ *record scratch* 

❓What else makes me ABE
Active listener! to users and my team.
Brainstormer! which comes in handy in approaching challenges differently.
Ex-engineer! equipped with technical prowess and a problem-solving skillset.

🏆 A couple of achievements
• Successfully presented the final product/services twice to clients through emotional storytelling.
• Led 3 ideation workshops directly with users identifying their pain points and clearly communicating goals.

🧑🏽‍💻 I wish to join a company 
• That has a supportive culture to learn.
• Values and shows diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
• With a dynamic team structure that allows continuous learning and collaboration.

☕ Please feel free to reach out for a chat or coffee! 

I can best be contacted via email: abraham.irhia@gmail.com

taplio

The Battle

Philippe Hong

Abraham Irhia

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