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Thom Yuill

ux developer

Howdy!

I am a web developer and UX designer based out of Waterloo, Canada, just an hour west of Toronto.

I currently work at Shopify improving Shopify's developer experiences.

I enjoy building dynamic, interactive, accessible, and aesthetic web experiences powered with real-time data.

Shoot me a line on GitHub
or LinkedIn.

Recent Posts

  1. cmyk-mix-blend-mode

    Playing around with CSS' mix blend mode.

    Read more

  2. color-system-design-tool

    A color system design tool.

    Read more

  3. react-network-canvas

    A react component provides a visual canvas and api for creating, editing, importing and exporting directed network graphs.

    Read more

  4. web-audio-experiments

    A playground for web audio experiments

    Read more

See all posts

Experience

  1. 2019 — Now

    Shopify

    1. Shopify

      Learn

      Staff design technologist

      Projects

      1. Design System
        Shopify.dev Redesign
      2. Programmatic References
        Shopify GraphQL Docs

    2. Shopify

      Build

      Staff design technologist

      Projects

      1. Developer Experience
        App Distribution

    3. Shopify Plus

      Automation

      Sr UX developer

      Projects

      1. Visual Programming Tool
        Shopify Flow
  2. 2015 — 2019

    Amazon

    1. Amazon Devices

      Concept lab

      Sr design technologist

      Projects

      1. Visual Programming Tool
        Voice Design WYSIWYG
      2. Prototyping Tool
        VR Home Environment
      3. Concept Device
        Amazon Echo Show 15

    2. Amazon Alexa

      Alexa skills kit

      Sr design technologist

      Projects

      1. Design System
        Alexa Developer Console
      2. Visual Programming Tool
        Alexa Interaction Model Designer

    3. Amazon Advertising

      Concept lab

      Design technologist

      Projects

      1. Alexa
        The Wayne Investigation
      2. Fire TV
        Interactive Ads
      3. Fire Tablet
        Daily Deals App
      4. Fire Tablet
        Interactive Ads
  3. 2012 — 2015

    TheRedPin.ca

    Lead frontend developer

    Projects

    1. TheRedPin.ca
  4. 2010 — 2012

    Critical Mass

    Sr web developer

    Projects

    1. PcFinancial.ca
    2. Infiniti.com
  5. 2009 — 2010

    CBC

    User interface developer

    Projects

    1. Front Page
    2. Media Portal
    3. 2010 FIFA World Cup
    4. 2010 Winter Olympics Vancouver
  6. 2007 — 2009

    henderson bas

    Frontend developer

    Projects

    1. iCoke.ca
    2. Molson.ca
    3. JoeFresh.ca
    4. TimHortons.ca

Skill Tree

  1. No experience
  2. Learning
  3. Comfortable
  4. Confident
  5. Highly competent

Web Development

20+ years

Structure

  • Reusable UI Components
    5
  • Accessibility
    4
  • ARIA roles
    4
  • Semantic HTML
    5
  • Form validation
    5
  • SEO
    3

Presentation

  • Complex layouts
    5
  • Design Tokens
    5
  • Design Systems
    5
  • Animation
    4
  • Transitions
    4
  • 2D Canvas + WebGL
    4

Behavior

  • State management
    5
  • Design Patterns
    5
  • Functional programming
    4
  • MVC architecture
    4
  • Object oriented programming
    5
  • Data Fetching/Persistence
    4

UX Design

10+ years

Concepts

  • Voice design
    5
  • Motion design
    4
  • Responsive design
    5
  • Interaction design
    5
  • Domain modelling
    5
  • Accessibility
    5
  • Wire framing
    5
  • User research
    3

Systems

  • Design systems
    5
  • Design tokens
    5
  • Atomic design
    4
  • Style guides
    4
  • Typography
    5
  • Iconography
    4
  • Color theory
    4
  • Rhythm & spacing
    4

Tools

  • CSS
    5
  • Tailwind
    5
  • Storybook
    5
  • Figma
    4
  • Sketch
    4
  • Blender
    3
  • Procreate
    3
  • Adobe After Effects
    3

Leadership

8+ years

Initiation

  • Doc writing
    5
  • Project briefs
    5
  • Strategic foresight
    3
  • Product research
    4
  • Working backwards
    5

Planning

  • Budgeting
    3
  • Estimating
    4
  • Scheduling
    4
  • Resourcing
    4
  • Risk mitigation
    4

Execution

  • Mentorship
    4
  • Sprint planning
    4
  • Backlog grooming
    4
  • Kanban boards
    4
  • Retrospectives
    4

Comms

  • Presentations
    4
  • Team updates
    4
  • Conflict resolution
    4
  • Stakeholder management
    4
  • Public Relations
    0

Honors,
Awards &
Certifications

  1. December 2022

    Google Project Management Certificate

    6 course series, developed by Google, demonstrating competency in initiating, planning and running both traditional and agile projects.

    View credential

  2. November 2018

    Expert Alexa Skill Developer

    Built and published 5 certified Alexa skills from start to finish in under 2 months as part of an Alexa developer challenge

    Example skill

  3. August 2016

    Top-Ranking Alexa Skill

    In collaboration with Amazon, Warner Bros., the head writers at DC Comics, and Cruel & Unusual Films, I developed the first Alexa skill to utilize compelling music and sound effects to establish an immersive, interactive detective game. It engaged 7x more users than all other skills combined in its first week.

    Read more

  4. August 2016

    Amazon open sources Alexa design tool

    Amazon open sources a visual programming tool I built to create and tune the Alexa game, 'the Wayne Investigation'.

    Read more

  5. June 2013

    Nominated for a 2013 Webby Award

    Lead the UI design and development for TheRedPin.com when to be nominated for a 2013 Webby Award in the real estate category.

    Read more