Nick Frühling
Building products people love with design, delight, and dad jokes.
My name is Nick and I’m a design leader in Vancouver, Canada. Over the course of my career I've cofounded three hilarious children and cried at every Pixar movie.
Main gigs
By day I’m in a picture perfect position as Design Director at Pixieset, helping photographers do what they do best.
By night I’m consulting for Doubleknot Works, helping people with career, coaching, creativity, and LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®.
With any time left I’m making dumb stickers for smart phones with my animated iOS app that’s now over 85,000 downloads.
Previously on
Previously I led a crackerjack team of designers and researchers as the Director of Product Design at tech centaur Staffbase.
Progressed through individual contribution and design leadership, transforming the flagship product and elevating the “bananabrand”.
Transitioned from web marketing into product as part of this tech startup’s mission to inspire “everyday philanthropists” through charitable impact.
Founded an independent lifestyle blog with my friend all about our hometown, and ultimately sold the site to its current curator.
A consistent contract culminated in getting to design a new identity for this publicity, marketing, development, and design agency.
Working with the faculty and students in the Graphic Design for Marketing department, handling marketing, events, and fixing printers.
My first non-freelance design job, doing a lot of real estate marketing in addition to agency work like graphic design, print, and packaging.
Tooting my own horn
Designer
From the print world to the world wide web, 20+ years of design industry experience
Leader
Empowering people through pro-d, career development, and actually fun icebreakers
Human
Making technology not feel like technology is a daily adventure that keeps me going.
Creative
Relentless in the pursuit of day-to-day delight, in the product, in the office, and with my teams
Nerd
Equally passionate about typographical nuance, menu bar layout, and Star Wars viewing order
Hireable
A user-centred, people-first, pixel-perfect, lorem ipsum, agile-aligned, coffee-loving colleague
Nice things folks said
Nick is a leader that helps teams grow and deliver quality work while genuinely caring about the people he manages. He ensures we are doing the best work possible by creating a culture of trust, establishing a collaborative environment, and setting a positive and fun atmosphere. He leads by example, and is the perfect representation of the concept of empathy.
Tai Civita Staff Product Designer, Highspot
Recent writings
Our division shutting down. Me and my team losing our jobs. And our manager flying into town for a visit. These were exceptionally weird circumstances for a team building event.
10 years ago I set foot in Pixar wearing the most ridiculous outfit. Find out how the untold tale of my viral job application connects to the breakthrough character in Toy Story 4. Did Keanu Reeves portray me in a Hollywood blockbuster?
My youngest is going through a pivotal moment in life: his first viewing of Star Wars. To track what he's seen and what's left, we worked together to come up with this handy dandy, definitive, and printable Star Wars viewing checklist (and useful map of the timeline too).
Any team would be lucky to have Nick, for his passion and expertise in his craft, for his authentic, people-first approach to leadership, and for his unmatched ability to make Slack emojis to express how everyone is feeling.
Emily Cornett-Ching Senior People Business Partner, ZayZoon
My values
Keep “delights” on
The daily work we do needs to keep the lights on, which means meaningful improvements that keep us in business. But delight is what keeps customers coming back, and keeps us coming into work.
Trust the data / trust your gut
We listen to customers and that data makes our product stronger. But it’s two sides of a coin, and just as often we should trust our own instinct for what’s best.
People 1st
At the end of the day, we are people making products for people. Starting everything with that in mind makes our time together worthwhile and makes the best stuff.
Nick’s superpower is facilitating process creation in a collaborative way that makes sense for both a team’s maturity and trajectory. The ceremonies and people management tools I learned under Nick’s leadership are staples in my team’s process today, and loved by our designers.
Jenny Minke Product Design Manager, Clio
Selected Certifications
Interactive Software Applications & Integrated Media Design
Wilson School of Design
I can wholeheartedly say that Nick exemplifies the type of people-first manager that makes you love working at a company. He lives his values in his every day actions, and always brings a spark of whimsy.
Nicole Tai Associate Director, Product, Muck Rack
Work beyond work
Selections from my visual design and illustration work, both in and outside the office.
Thanks for visiting my roadside attraction on the information superhighway.
My name is Nick and I'm a product designer by day and a sticker designer by night. Over the course of my career I've cofounded three hilarious children and cried at every Pixar movie.