Matthew Nazarian
A designer, maker & researcher
I'm a product designer based in Toronto who works across the full end-to-end process: research, strategy, and prototyping. Most recently I was the sole designer at a health-tech startup, taking the product from prototype to its first paying customers.
Selected work
Took a neuroscience platform from prototype to 10+ paying organizations, as sole designer.
Sole designer at a fifteen-person neuroscience startup, taking a clunky prototype to a production iOS and Android app with a self-serve growth engine.
Lead Product Designer · 2026
Turned a UofT-backed AI startup's outdated site into a platform the client credits with real sales impact.
Full website redesign and custom-theme build for Reviewer.ly, an AI peer-review platform for journals, publishers, and research institutions.
Designer & Frontend Developer · 2025
Replaced 119 fragmented reports with OCAD University's first centralized analytics platform.
Four Power BI dashboards giving university leadership real-time visibility into enrolment, demographics, and funding, adopted on the spot by the Vice Provost and CTO.
UX Researcher & Dashboard Designer · 2023–2025
Made local LLMs tell a coherent story: a thesis platform that turns books into playable text adventures.
M.Des thesis at OCAD University: four prototypes and seven benchmarked models, shipped as a locally hosted web app inside a custom-built arcade cabinet.
Designer, Researcher & Developer · 2024–2025
How I work
- 01
Research
Starting with questions
I start every project by talking to people: user interviews, contextual inquiry, and a close look at what already exists. My science background means I like to have real evidence in hand before forming opinions about what to build.
- 02
Strategy
Understanding before proposing
Before jumping into screens, I take time to understand where a problem actually comes from and what's worth solving first. The goal is to turn an ambiguous brief into a clear, prioritized plan everyone can get behind.
- 03
Prototype
Testing early and often
I work from rough sketches toward polished mockups in small steps, putting ideas in front of real people along the way. Early drafts stay quick and disposable, which leaves more time to refine the parts that matter most.
- 04
Build
Comfortable building through to production
My involvement doesn't end at handoff. Sometimes the fastest path to shipping is building it myself; when engineering takes over instead, I write specs detailed enough that they aren't left guessing.
- 05
Ship
Following through
I stay involved through launch and afterwards, paying attention to whether the design is actually helping the people it was made for. Polish matters, but how it performs in real hands matters more.
About
Hi, I'm Matthew. I'm a designer, maker and researcher.
I'm currently building Ourus, a decision intelligence startup.
I approach design problems through an analytical lens shaped by a multidisciplinary background. I hold an HBSc in Life Sciences from McMaster University and an MDes in Human Computer Interaction from OCAD University, and I completed a design residency at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
That mix of human computer interaction and life sciences is why I feel at home in health tech, research heavy environments, and complex problem spaces.
Outside of work, I have a keen interest in history. I fence, play volleyball, and play music. I'm learning Japanese (よろしく!), and I spend a good amount of time on 3D printing and model making. I've recently taken up sailing, and I love going on picnics.
Currently building
I'm building Ourus, a venture of my own focused on decision intelligence through optimization and simulation.