RossPW, Digital Product Design

Background

Ross Popoff-Walker

(pronounced “pah-Puv”)

Mission

Utilize technology to improve the environment, governments and transportation.

Biography

For the past 15 years he’s worked on an array of design projects: lead designer for Google Search and Google Maps, team lead on Google Cloud, and driver of Google's internal data visualization design guidelines.

Before Google, he worked as both a product owner and design lead for early-stage startups and design agencies.

He’s lives in the Pacific Northwest, with his family and dogs.

Core values

Research

Iteration

Research sparks insights

Well-planned user research has the power to uncover unmet needs and ideas that can inspire long-term thinking.

The job is never done

Design is never complete. And design is never done right without iterative feedback from real users.

Design shapes priorities

Design can take many shapes. It can help align stakeholders, or visualize the future. But most important is design's role in helping to prioritize what to build and why.

After all, it’s better to invest in building the right thing, than building the wrong thing the right way.

Work & projects

Currently

Waymo

Designing tools to accelerate the shift to level 5 autonomy.

Google

2019 - 21

Maps

Kick-started a new Maps-as-platform initiative, and launched COVID data visualizations on Maps and Search.

2016 - 19

Cloud

Led design team for Google Cloud's BigQuery, launched a redesigned UI with new features like BigQuery ML, and helped drive multiple cycles of global customer research.

2016 - 17

Material data visualization spec

Initiated and led the creation of a Google-wide internal and external Material data visualization spec.

2015 - 16

Live events in Search

Design lead for 2016 Olympics results in Search. Launched UI improvements globally to mobile search results.

2015

Image Search

Developed a Search-wide bookmarking feature (now called Google Collections), and launched improvements to the mobile image viewer.

2014

Creative Lab

Early concept incubation and design for family-focused products (now Google Family Link).

Startups

2013

Buy With Fetch

Co-founder and designer for new human-powered personal shopper. Pitch to launch in 8 months across iOS, Android, web, and Glass.

2011 - 14

Design consultant

Worked with 14 different early-stage startups in 3 years

Agency life

2011 - 12

UX Manager

Target and MSNBC at Sapient

2009 - 11

Senior interaction designer

Nike, Nokia and Verizon at R/GA

2008 - 09

UX Lead

Palm and Project RED at Modernista!