About

Hi, I’m Devin.

I lead design teams to solve hard problems and ship products that work, fifteen years across startups and the Fortune 500. I don’t bulldoze. I align, then raise the bar, and I still build it myself.

Devin Pickering

What I can do for you.

Lead your design org
Build, coach, and keep strong teams. Clear vision, honest critique, senior talent that grows instead of leaving.
Make it AI-first
I run an AI-native company and lead an AI-first team today. I move AI from novelty to the default way design works.
Raise the craft bar
Org-wide design systems, evidence over opinion, and taste. Communicate, don’t decorate.

How I got here.

2008
Founded iceDive Creative Solutions. My first company: a full-service design and web studio, grown over eight years and acquired in 2016.
2017
The Mysterious Package Company. Web Director in Toronto. Rebuilt the flagship store, conversion up 15%+. Learned that story sells.
2018
Enverus, Creative Director. One creative voice across 10+ international brands at a multi-billion-dollar energy data-analytics company.
2019
Supply Drop, Design Director. Made a prediction engine feel simple enough to trust. Twelve months of shipped homepage iterations.
2020
Founded Surf Studios. Big-name brands, no handoffs: Permatex, Evercoat, Fast Orange, and more, designed and built end to end.
2021
Kinjo, Design Director. Two iOS apps launched, CAC down from ~$20 to $8. Learned to make growth a design problem.
2022
SanMar, Sr Manager of UX Product Design. Took a Fortune 500 design org AI-first. Still leading it today.
2023
Founded Story Genie. An AI-native company where agents produce and humans direct. Live and shipping hardcovers.
Now
All three at once. The Fortune 500 org, the studio, the startup. Different scales, same bar.

Proof.

30+major product launches across B2B and B2C
20+designers mentored into lead and principal roles
40%design-to-dev churn cut through shared systems
$8customer acquisition cost, down from ~$20, at Kinjo
“The most talented and innovative creative director I have ever worked with. Any team would be so lucky to have Devin leading the charge.”

Martha Aviles · VP Marketing, managed Devin directly

Shipped, end to end

storygeniebooks.com · permatex.com · fastorangeclean.com · spraynine.com · versachem.com · training.evercoat.com · kinjo.com · speednotes.app · supplydrop.com · enverus.com. All designed and built by me. No cookie cutters.

Tools

Figma, Adobe Suite, HTML/CSS, WordPress, Shopify, plus the AI design and prototyping stack my teams run on. I take the work seriously, not myself. I ask good questions, coach without ego, and still think a well-timed GIF is sometimes the best UX.