Brian Wen Email & Phone Number

Aura, a venture design firm with a focus on early stage consumer-facing startups. We partner with founders to create juicy and memorable brand experiences while accelerating growth through product management and org design. We primarily partner with tier-1 venture capital firms to accelerate their portfolio brands and grow initial market.

上海, Cn

Reporting to CEO, directly responsible for Jidu's overall brand strategy, brand design, brand communication & marketing, customer experience design and J-Life merchandise.

Chengdu, Sichuan, Cn

- Partnered with FITURE during Pre-A round as Design Acceleration Partner at the dawn of the first product launch- Joined as FITURE’s first Design Executive as Chief Design Officer at A round- As a Design Chief, responsible for product design, digital experience design, store design, service and communication design to deliver a holistic FITURE branded experience to increase our brand value and attraction.- Built and scaled the experience design team across Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, and New York to 70+ design staff.- Worked alongside with CEO and President on product strategy from Day 1 and continue throughout my post.- Advocated and coached the organization on an insight-driven approach to product planning. Led the organization on consumer research and uncovered pivotal insights that drove product innovation- Launched key experience upgrades such as VIS 2.0, App 3.0 (with continuous revs including onboarding, badges, the community tab, voice assistant experience, member PK, workout group, digital scale integration, weather forecast, QQ music etc.)- Led the design and development of FITURE 3 and 3Plus, including ambient mood lighting, Harman Kardon integrated speaker, Bluetooth music motion art and full size mirror form factor that broke away from the traditional industry assumption.- As a designer, led a multidisciplinary team to win the championship title for the first annual FITURE Hackathon, which turned into a key function for next-gen flagship product- Represented as C-Suite leadership at the point of B and B+ round fundraising which closed at $300M.- Tasked by co-founders to start XLAB for innovation and secret projects.- Involved in/led several top secret projects including hardware, software, and space projects (will update as they launch)

San Francisco, California, Us

- Headhunted by then CEO Harry West- Arrived at frog in Jan 2018 to turn around frog APAC, at the point of 6 yrs continuous business decline.- Set the frog APAC three-year strategy as Brand Activation Specialists through helping our clients win by superb and holistic customer experience, and functioning as venture partner for our clients.- Started turn around in first quarter and from then on continuous profitable quarters until my departure (Pipeline grew by 34%, Gross Margin grew by 240% on first year. Revenue grew consistently between 14-20% YoY during my post) - Team Utilization maintained at 75-81% which was doubled from previous years, Also rejuvenated frog team culture by higher win rate and client satisfactions.- Partnered with top local venture clients at the time and launched New ventures such as Luckin Coffee, Xurface by Beauty Farm, INRYU by Shiseido Innovation Lab, Colmo by Midea and FITURE etc.- Functioned as Innovation acceleration partner and helped launch innovation for local market such as Smart Car Wash Bots for YGL, Aeropex Bone Conducting Headphones for Aftershokz, Digital Ordering Experience for KFC, New Digital Class Experience for Benesse China, New Dining Experience for Haidilao.- As a Keynote Speaker along with Naoto Fukasawa, spoke at UCAN in Alibaba, As a Keynote Speaker for Tencent Design Week- Built a highly disciplined team that delivered weather proof business results: In 2020 Q1-Q2 alone (when Covid 19 Pandemic hit hardest) we delivered profits higher than previous two years combined, with continued client satisfaction and business referrals.

Shanghai, Shanghai, Cn

During my tenure at Continuum, I was invited frequently to teach design and innovation at D&I College of Design & Innovation.

Boston, Ma, Us

Brian previously led Continuum’s efforts toward serving the ever-growing Greater China market. With Brian’s focused efforts, Continuum tripled its business in China with unparalleled strength and reputation. Brian's strategy in localization brought tremendous impact to Continuum's business transformation, and hence built closer relationship with top tier local clients and got seat at the table in important local KOL conversations. Brian is a renowned innovation consultant in China, his work include helping UCAR grow from a seed funded startup to a $5 billion company in 18 months, and helping Citic Bank create a customer-centric flagship branch that generated 1940% of sales increase. Brian is also passionate about leadership development, and is a frequent lecturer in top colleges and leading organizations such as Alibaba Inc. Brian graduated from Art Center College of Design with a B.S. in Product Design. His mission is to cultivate organizational leadership through design. Before joining Continuum's multidisciplinary strategy team in 2005, Brian was an award-winning animator and product designer. His clients include American Express, Avery Dennison. Bank of China, Careland, China Merchants Bank, Education First, Fidelity Investments, P&G, Samsung, Sony, Sun Microsystems, Tetra Pak, and UCAR Technology. Lectures: UCLA Anderson School of Management, USC Stevens Center for Innovation, California College of Arts, Tongji University, Fudan University, Alibaba Inc, C-trip etc.. Public Speaking: China Industrial Expo 2014, UXPA User Friendly 2014, IXDC Service Design Summit 2015, Touchstone Financial Services Design 2014, 2015, Alibaba UCAN Conference Keynote 2016, World Design Capital Taipei Keynote 2016

Boston, Ma, Us

in 2010 I was asked to join the Shanghai office as practice lead to help build up the offering for greater China region. Having the experience growing up in a developing economy, and working with clients in emerging markets. My role here was to help establish successful cases, build and train a world-class, locally recruited customer experience innovation team, actively find ways to collaborate with our global offices, and to expand our services beyond the traditional areas. My clients during this period included Samsung, SC Johnson, P&G, Citic Bank, EF etc.

Boston, Ma, Us

As part of a core team that was appointed to help launch the west coast studio, My focus in LA studio was on refining my POV for the field of brand experience innovation, as well as continue to serve my clients with unparalleled passion to drive business success. In Continuum LA, I expanded my leadership skills from project-centric to business-centric, and successfully cultivated relationship with key clients. During my time in LA, I also guest lectured in USC, UCLA, CalArts and Art Center on Design Strategy. My clients during this period included Sony, CCL, SC Johnson, Vivendi, Abbot Nutrition etc.

Boston, Ma, Us

In Continuum's Design Strategy Group, I focused on helping our clients uncover deep insights that drove the development of meaningful products, services, and experiences. via retail strategy, web UX strategy and design, CPG, and product development roadmap strategies that drive bigger overall impacts in the organization. My clients during this period included American Greetings, Fidelity Investments, Tetra Pak, American Express, Sun Microsystems, SC Johnson, P&G, etc.

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Nl

Collaborated with Philips design team on advanced concept exploration and development. Participated in various 2005 Audio, Personal Infotainment, Audio Accessories designs. Contributed 2005 packaging design for buyers such as Wal-Mart & Best Buy. Communicated with Chinese manufacturers and worked with factories in China

Burbank, Ca, Us

Maya 3D Character modeling & setup for a feature animation

Collaborated with senior software programmers to create graphical user interface for a surveillance software.

B.S., Product Design

A.S., Animation (Traditional & Digital)