I'm a Creative Strategist helping founders turn business friction & chaos into a clear strategy & creative flow.
Hi, I’m Carrie Mah, a Workshop Facilitator, Creative Strategist, and Staff UX Designer.
I collaborate with purpose-driven creatives and people-first brands.
Design work
About me
After earning a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Calgary, I spent a decade fitting into rigid, neurotypical boxes, experiencing multiple burnout and a failed business.
I’m now exploring ways to help you sustain a career and turn business friction to creative flow. I’m a firm believer that the best solutions come from the messy middle.
Known for my holistic design approach, I do my best to bring clarity, enthusiasm, and encouraging words to help you feel safe to collaborate, explore & iterate!
Teaching & coaching
Teaching & coaching
UX research & design prototyping
Creative strategy & storytelling
Systems thinking
Front-end coding
I’m a firm believer that the best solutions come from the messy middle. My design approach is inspired by Newman’s Design Squiggle and Yamashita’s WIP article.
Primarily based in Alberta, I partner with teams around the world. My recipe of success includes:
- A pinch of curiosity
- A dash of connection
- A ton of chuckles
- Bubble tea and trying new food
- Traveling the world
- Playing indie & board games
- Hiking, bouldering, and climbing walls
Kind words
Carrie can take a systematic approach to UX and UI design, champion best practices and educate the client. Carrie is always such a delight to work with, and we were very fortunate to have her on our team.
Carrie has been an integral member of our team. Not only does she bring a lot of foresight to how and what we should be solving but she has also dedicated a lot of her time, energy and effort to establishing the foundational needs for our team to work effectively and efficiently.
Carrie's collaborative style and interest in the client's and users’ experiences really helped the project team to work better as one team, despite many challenges. She managed to influence the client with actions and active participation beyond her design role - she was the glue that kept the diverse teams on the project together!
From the beginning, Carrie has been very available at all steps. No matter what requests or questions I had, she would find me the answer or lead me to the right place. Her good humor and quick-wittedness will charm you, in addition to her efficiency in meeting our business needs.
I was very impressed with Carrie’s ability to facilitate Design Thinking. She was very comfortable and led her group well. Carrie is a very reliable team member - and does so with a smile on her face and great demeanour.
Community
Cultivated a community of 4k+ followers by leading teams to execute social media strategies, generate engaging content, and design infographics.
Carrie is an amazing and inspiring leader in design. Her ability to see the whole project from concept to completion and the way she responded to competing needs turned ... into a stress-free collaborative process.
Carrie’s work leading the Bee Green design team was a big achievement, demonstrating her strong visual design and leadership skills.
Coaching
I got to know Carrie as a super transparent, insightful, and empathetic mentor. She listens carefully to my needs before she unreservedly provides actionable, insightful feedback and advices. I walk away from our session with clarity on goals and plans.
Joyce Lu
•
•
Mentee
Carrie’s definitely that person on the team that makes everyone feel valued, heard, and included. She does an awesome job at creating an inclusive environment, creating connections between team members, ideating new initiatives to evolve our practice, creating opportunities for team members to contribute, and giving kudos/appreciation to others.
Nicole Hammond
•
IBM iX
•
Team Member
Carrie’s workshops were a complete hit, her method of presenting was always clear, interactive, and interesting. Her passion for design is admirable as is her ability to support all her peers.
Partik Dullat
•
IBM
•
Workshop Organizer
Design work
Community
Cultivated a community of 4k+ followers by leading teams to execute social media strategies, generate engaging content, and design infographics.
Carrie is an amazing and inspiring leader in design. Her ability to see the whole project from concept to completion and the way she responded to competing needs turned ... into a stress-free collaborative process.
Anna Kravchik
•
SAIT polytechnic
•
Client
Carrie’s work leading the Bee Green design team was a big achievement, demonstrating her strong visual design and leadership skills.
Amy Lewis
•
IBM iX
•
Design Manager
Coaching
I got to know Carrie as a super transparent, insightful, and empathetic mentor. She listens carefully to my needs before she unreservedly provides actionable, insightful feedback and advices. I walk away from our session with clarity on goals and plans.
Joyce Lu
•
•
Mentee
Carrie’s definitely that person on the team that makes everyone feel valued, heard, and included. She does an awesome job at creating an inclusive environment, creating connections between team members, ideating new initiatives to evolve our practice, creating opportunities for team members to contribute, and giving kudos/appreciation to others.
Nicole Hammond
•
IBM iX
•
Team Member
Carrie’s workshops were a complete hit, her method of presenting was always clear, interactive, and interesting. Her passion for design is admirable as is her ability to support all her peers.
Partik Dullat
•
IBM
•
Workshop Organizer
Kind words
Carrie can take a systematic approach to UX and UI design, champion best practices and educate the client. Carrie is always such a delight to work with, and we were very fortunate to have her on our team.
Huiwen Ji
•
IBM iX
•
Product Designer
Carrie has been an integral member of our team. Not only does she bring a lot of foresight to how and what we should be solving but she has also dedicated a lot of her time, energy and effort to establishing the foundational needs for our team to work effectively and efficiently.
Josephine Tse
•
Clearco
•
Product Manager
Carrie's collaborative style and interest in the client's and users’ experiences really helped the project team to work better as one team, despite many challenges. She managed to influence the client with actions and active participation beyond her design role - she was the glue that kept the diverse teams on the project together!
Elmien Dicker
•
IBM iX
•
Account Partner
From the beginning, Carrie has been very available at all steps. No matter what requests or questions I had, she would find me the answer or lead me to the right place. Her good humor and quick-wittedness will charm you, in addition to her efficiency in meeting our business needs.
Noémie Gaudreau
•
LGS
•
Client Lead
I was very impressed with Carrie’s ability to facilitate Design Thinking. She was very comfortable and led her group well. Carrie is a very reliable team member - and does so with a smile on her face and great demeanour.
Alison Cox
•
IBM iX
•
CX Team Lead
Coaching
I got to know Carrie as a super transparent, insightful, and empathetic mentor. She listens carefully to my needs before she unreservedly provides actionable, insightful feedback and advices. I walk away from our session with clarity on goals and plans.
Joyce Lu
•
•
Mentee
Carrie’s definitely that person on the team that makes everyone feel valued, heard, and included. She does an awesome job at creating an inclusive environment, creating connections between team members, ideating new initiatives to evolve our practice, creating opportunities for team members to contribute, and giving kudos/appreciation to others.
Nicole Hammond
•
IBM iX
•
Team Member
Carrie’s workshops were a complete hit, her method of presenting was always clear, interactive, and interesting. Her passion for design is admirable as is her ability to support all her peers.
Partik Dullat
•
IBM
•
Workshop Organizer