Coalesce-draft

CoalesceBuilding Brands, Products, and Design Systems That Scale

Head of Design | Partner

9 years

Digital Agency

Sections

Intro

Coalesce is a New York–based digital agency that partners with high-growth companies to build products, platforms, and experiences people actually want to use. Over the past nine years, I’ve led our design practice—helping shape the vision, the work, and the culture behind it.

Role

As Head of Design, I guide design strategy, mentor designers, and stay deeply involved in execution.

I help teams move from idea to implementation—aligning design with business goals, defining direction, and refining the work through every phase. I’ve also led the development of our internal processes, design systems, and hiring practices.

What I Bring

Design Leadership

I help turn loose ideas into structured, actionable product strategies—balancing user needs, business context, and brand integrity. I stay close to the work and sweat the details.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

I partner with engineering, product, and research to shape and ship cohesive, user-centered solutions. I believe great design happens when trust and open dialogue are baked into the process.

Craft & Culture

I’ve built a strong design culture grounded in clarity, curiosity, and high standards. I value thoughtfulness as much as speed, and ensure that what we make looks great, works beautifully, and solves the right problems.

A few projects

Tarisio Auctions

Reimagined their digital auction and archive platform to deliver a refined, high-end experience for a legacy brand.

Knopman MArks

Overhauled the learning platform’s UX—helping drive company growth from $5M to $21M through a more motivating and efficient user experience.

healthstream

Led two end-of-year campaigns that increased engagement and established a reusable design system for marketing.

Operative

Designed a compliance platform from the ground up, simplifying workflows for campaign finance professionals.

Kasisto

Redesigned a complex CMS for KAI, Kasisto’s conversational AI platform—making it accessible to non-technical users.

Arizent

Audited and redesigned signup and subscription flows for a major financial media network.

Paperchef

Created a custom ERP interface based on real workflows from 30+ employees at their Toronto factory.

Fin News

Led a full redesign of their content platform—doubling traffic in less than six months through improved UX and structure.

LEarnings

My time at Coalesce has reaffirmed some of the values I care most about as a designer and leader. I’ve learned that the best design cultures are built on clarity, consistency, and care

Leading a team across dozens of products taught me how to lead by example, stay grounded in craft, and create space for others to grow. In a fast-paced, client-facing environment, I’ve seen firsthand that determination often outperforms raw talent—especially when the stakes are high and the path forward isn’t obvious. Above all, it reminded me that there’s always more to learn, and the most lasting impact comes from helping others do the best work of their careers.

The Space Pigeon
Timeline

9 years ago Naomi Piercey, Tucker Margulies and I conceived of a mascot that just fit. The Space Pigeon was born out of a differentaion discussion in the process of redesigning the agency website. We had been having deep conversations about who we are and where we want to be and individuals and as an agency. It's hard to remember exactly how it came up, but I remember asking "What bird are we?" And when pigeon was mentioned we unanimously agreed. There's the obvious association with New York City, but the connection runs deeper than that. Pigeons are incredibly smart, and often overlooked. They're excellent navigators and make connections that last a lifetime. Our small team of highly intelligent creative problem solvers could relate. As we discussed the character further, the attributes of innovative and unconventional created the Space Pigeon.

Wednesday, October 28th 2016

Alex 11:45pm

We knew we loved the concept of the space pigeon mascot but weren't sure it would work. What style is appropriate? I was looking through my inspiration folder and I found what appeared to be a photorealistic colored pencil drawing of a humming bird on a grid background. I loved the refined tone of the deeply detailed drawing. I decided to do a test pencil drawing.

Alex 11:45pm

Designing the space helmet to fit the pigeon was the hardest part. In retrospect, I should have abstracted the drawing a bit more. People consitstently belived the image to be a photograph.

Wednesday, July 15th 2016

Alex 11:45pm

The launch of our new website, a project I led design on, felt secondary to the launch of our space pigeon.

Wednesday, July 15th 2016

Alex 11:45pm

https://blog.coalesce.nyc/consider-the-pigeon-eb51748251b2

Medium

What’s a Space Pigeon, Anyway?We found a new muse in an old neighbor.
Reading time3 min read

May 30th, 2018 (52 kB)

Wednesday, July 15th 2016

Alex 11:45pm

but the connection runs deeper than that. Pigeons are incredibly smart, and often overlooked. They're excellent navi

Wednesday, July 15th 2016

Alex 11:45pm

Designing the space helmet to fit the pigeon was the hardest part. In retrospect, I should have abstracted the drawing a bit more. People consitstently belived the image to be a photograph.

Wednesday, July 15th 2016

Alex 11:45pm

The launch of our new website, a project I led design on, felt secondary to the launch of our space pigeon.

Wednesday, July 15th 2016

Alex 11:45pm

but the connection runs deeper than that. Pigeons are incredibly smart, and often overlooked. They're excellent navi

Wednesday, July 15th 2016

Alex 11:45pm

but the connection runs deeper than that. Pigeons are incredibly smart, and often overlooked. They're excellent navi

Operative

Streamlining Complex Workflows with Intuitive Political Compliance Software

Made for and by Alex Severino™