Hello! I'm Alaa Mendili, a Design Director based in Seattle.

Over the past 18 years, I've driven innovation and creative excellence, turning ideas into meaningful products and experiences people love. With hands-on experience, an approach rooted in research, and a love for bridging new technology and culture, I have led and inspired teams to create across various mediums for some of the world's most influential brands.

My experience includes building a product design team from the ground up at Dapper Labs, cofounding and bootstrapping a fitness startup called Dance Church GO, and developing bold new shopping experiences for Amazon's Concept Lab. Earlier on, I spent several years leading teams at agencies in Stockholm, Montréal, and New York. Currently, I am consulting, advising, and providing fractional leadership to brands of diverse sizes—from early-stage startups to big corporations. Most recently, I helped Yuga Labs and Bored Ape Yacht Club define a vision for new products that build culture on the blockchain.

Over the years, I have worn many hats and worked on various projects for brands across many verticals. Below is a summary of my expertise.

Product Design

Product design has been at the center of my career for many years. I'm a player-coach design leader, who values creative rigor, with a process rooted in research and experimentation. As a practicing designer who can code, I manage and lead by example to drive creative excellence and inspire my team. My experience includes: defining vision; implementing design thinking processes and best practices; conducting research and usability testing; defining flows, architectures, and wireframes; designing and prototyping products; and developing scalable design systems.

Innovation and Strategy

One of my superpowers is my ability to move seamlessly from big thinking and strategy to execution and iteration. Having taken numerous projects from 0 to 1, I bring a wealth of expertise in leading greenfield innovation, from co-founding startups to advising several early-stage companies on their product strategy. Additionally, I led design at Amazon's Concept Lab, a team that defines future opportunities and big bets at Amazon, typically looking 3 to 5 years ahead.

Storytelling and Experience Design

I have a holistic approach to design, rooted in the idea that stories connect people. I leverage my experience with brand, marketing, content, events, and visual design to deliver products that are intuitive and impactful, in ways that support people and communities and enhance their every day.