Roll Call: Eric + Justin + Amy
Yelp’s Product Design team consists of 24 talented folks who work on all facets of Yelp products. Each month, we’re sharing their stories.
Eric Maguire
Favorite Businesses on Yelp
Foreign Cinema, Lone Palm, Beretta, Shotwell’s, all in San Francisco, CA
Where were you before Yelp?
Before joining Yelp, I was a product designer at Twitter, where I worked on both the Revenue and Growth teams. Before Twitter, I started and worked for various startups in San Francisco, and was also a part of the Y Combinator class of summer 2011.
Who do you look up to as a mentor in your life?
When I first moved to San Francisco, I was fortunate enough to work for a great startup called Mochi Media. It was my first experience as an “in-house” designer, since my prior experience was all doing client work at small agencies. At Mochi, I worked closely with Ryan Nichols, the Head of Product and Design. Ryan taught me so much during my time at Mochi. He was always an inspiration, an advocate, and a leader not only to me, but to everyone at the company. Ryan is a great designer and product thinker, and also very patient and kind to others — which always amazed me given the stress of a fast-paced startup. Whether he knows it or not, I would not have accomplished what I have if it weren’t for his influence early in my career.
If you weren’t a product designer, what would you be doing?
I really like the intersection of engineering and design, so I’d imagine something that mixes both those disciplines (much like product design). I really enjoyed my technical drawing classes in school, so maybe I’d be a draftsperson or an architect. I also have a fondness for cars and working on them. At one point in my life I considered going into a technician program for Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz.
How did you end up here?
After some much needed time off, it was time to figure out what I was going to do next. I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted out of my next role. I did know that I still wanted to work on a product that had a large and passionate user base. I also wanted to be a user of the product myself. It was also important for me to be on a smaller team where I had a little more ownership of features I was working on. Yelp seemed to be checking off all the boxes for me. On top of that I really had a great feeling about the people I had met on the design team and felt that given my prior experience I could be of some help growing a smaller team.
Justin Salsburey
Favorite Business on Yelp
Cafe Franco in San Francisco, CA
Where were you before Yelp?
I am a self-taught designer from Indiana. After spending a few years in college, I decided it wasn’t for me and taught myself design. I spent three years in the newspaper business and another two years in the publishing business at Penguin Books before teaching myself the foundations of product design and coming to San Francisco. Here, I worked for Expedia for three years on their mobile team, and finally made the move to Yelp this past year!
What jobs have you not loved?
I supported myself through college, so I’ve had my fair share of jobs that weren’t quite as amazing as Yelp. Everything from food service and washing cars to twelve-hour shifts in 100°F factories in the humidity of Indiana summers.
How did you decide to become a designer?
I decided I wanted to be a designer when I was about fifteen years old, although it wasn’t a straight path from there to here. Along the way, I thought I was going to be a nurse for three years and then potentially in video editing for another couple years. Ultimately I ended up where I’d envisioned though!
If you weren’t a Product Designer, what would you be doing?
It’s hard to imagine, but I suppose I would want to run a non-profit of some variety, or some sort of business endeavored to bring people together.
Amy Ton
Favorite Businesses on Yelp
ENRGi Fitness in Chicago, IL
Phnom Penh Noodle Shack in Long Beach, CA
Where were you before Yelp?
I was a front-end dev at a small marketing agency in Orange County. One of my favorite pastimes at my old job was refactoring CSS, but it wasn’t long until I decided I wanted to pursue design.
What product do you work on? What challenges is your team up against?
I’m on the Reservations team, working primarily on the restaurant iPad app. We are a fairly small design team of three working on a complex product for businesses. Every single restaurant operates differently, so one of the biggest challenges is figuring out how to design an effective restaurant management platform for many restaurants with many use cases. That is why research — no matter how big or small — is vital to our design process. I’m glad to have opportunities to meet with our restaurant owners, managers, and front-of-house staff to learn about their businesses and observe how they use our software. I’ve learned a lot just by observing people at work in their natural habitat.
What’s a day in the life like for you at Yelp?
Every day except “No-meetings Thursday,” my entire team (Product, Design, and Engineering) have standup. My day-to-day varies, but it’s typical for me to meet with my product managers to discuss the scope for a new project and brainstorm ideas, or roll my chair over to my fellow designers to get feedback on my work. Once a week, I meet with a group of designers from all over Yelp for critique, which I’ve found to be one of the best tools for learning and improvement. Since I only work on the Reservations product, I look forward to our weekly critique because it gives me better insight into what other teams are working on.
If you weren’t a Product Designer, what would you be doing?
I wouldn’t want to ever leave the creative field. The easy answer would probably be creative director. But I’d also love to be a set/production designer. Oooh, or a stand-up comic!
When you’re not designing, you are…
…in the pottery studio, or curled up on my couch working on too many DIY projects to count.
Feeling inspired to get to know us a little better? Look us up on Dribbble, and if you’ve got the design chops and are passionate about local businesses, check out current openings for the Yelp Product Design team at yelp.com/careers.
