Team Q&A: Bryan Zivich – Senior Product Designer

Whether designing or enhancing Virtual Peaker’s cloud-based software solutions or spending a quiet night with his wife and dog, our Senior Product Designer Bryan Zivich wants to make a difference. Join us in welcoming Bryan to the Virtual Peaker team!

How did your previous life prepare you for Virtual Peaker?

I’ve been designing software experiences for around 15 years, and I have always had a great appreciation for optimization and efficiency. I think that the software solution that Virtual Peaker has created offers a much higher impact than a single individual can make, which is exciting to be a part of. Prior to this, I worked in construction accounting software, but I’ve found my time at Virtual Peaker to be much more fulfilling.

Tell us about your role at Virtual Peaker.

I am a product designer, so my focus is generally to ensure that the experience we deliver to our customers is streamlined and intuitive and that the interface is clean, modern, and a pleasure to use. Many of the problems that I help solve are parallel to problems that exist in almost every software solution. The context will be different, but often the core issues such as navigation, user flows, and jobs to be done are often quite similar in nature. The nuances of the details are where the finesse happens, to ensure we are providing the proper tools our users need. We believe that iteration is the key to progress, so incremental change is married closely to a feedback loop with our users.

How do you personally engage in sustainability efforts?

I’ve always believed that taking care of our planet is similar to taking care of your own body. You only get one, so treat it as best you can at all times. I was always taught not to litter, to recycle whenever possible, and try not to be wasteful. I find it’s pretty easy to build sustainability into your daily habits, and contributing to a better world for future generations seems like an easy ‘W’ to me.

What can you tell us about yourself?

I’m from the greater Cleveland area originally. I went to the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning and obtained a degree in Digital Design. I currently live just south of Cincinnati, but I still like to visit my family up in Cleveland frequently. I was married late last year, and enjoy spending time with my beautiful wife and our dog ‘Toast’ as much as possible. My wife says I’m obsessed with our dog – and in fairness – she’s probably right. I also enjoy playing video games, fantasy football, and honing my cooking skills.

About The Author

Bill is a serial entrepreneur with a PhD from UC Berkeley in Controls and Artificial Intelligence and 10 years of experience with high performance residential energy management and connected appliances. He was previously at GE as an Advanced Systems Engineer in the Connected Home Software Group, but left that role in May 2014 to pursue entrepreneurship full time.

Bill grew up in Louisville and returned with his family in 2010 after a long stint in the San Francisco Bay Area. He loves Louisville and is working to make it a better and more attractive city for high tech startups.

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