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DesignMeets ARCTRN

Your world made
better by design.

Great design informs. It inspires. It’s meaningful and sustainable. Ultimately, great design delivers great experiences. At Pivot – a vibrant and forward-looking experience design studio – we take pride in delivering great design for our clients. Design that is anchored by research and our Informed Design process. Design that reflects both human and natural systems. Design that positively impacts people and their communities.

Featured Work

The University of Toronto
A Dashboard for Family Physicians to Identify Gaps in Patient Care
UX Design, Data Visualization, Apps & Software, UI Design, Design Research, Identity Design
SickKids HJHS
Digitizing a Paper-based Tool to Improve Hemophilia Assessments
Qualitative research, UX Design, Software Design, Visual Design, Identity Design, High-Fidelity Prototyping, Usability Testing, Algorithm Design, Development
Unity Health Toronto
A Virtual Counselling Experience for those Undergoing Genetic Testing
UX Design, Apps & Software, UI Design, Design Research, Identity Design, Responsive Web Design, Video Design
Ausenco
A Mining Organization Finds a Better Way with UXD
Brand Identity Design, Logo Design, Qualitative Research, Design Research, UX Design, Responsive Web Design
Modern Niagara Group
A Unified Brand System for a Growing Organization
Identity Design, Logo Design, UX Design, Qualitative Research Design Research, Communications Design, Responsive Web Design
See more of our work

Curiosity informs our Design Research process.

Anybody who spends time in the Pivot office or with someone who works at or with Pivot will hear the term Design Research… a lot. So what is it? To start, Design Research – driven by our insatiable curiosity – is at the root of every project. Because before we can provide solutions, we need to learn… learn about you. Learn about your audience. We need to understand your business objectives, brand values, long-term goals, and pain points. We need to know the audience's perspectives, their motivations, and the context in which these exist. By taking the guesswork out, we drive business value and client success. We call this Informed Design.

More on Informed Design

User Experience Design (UXD)

At PIVOT, we've been practicing UXD for over 20 years. Through our Informed Design process, we combine systems thinking with user experience and design research to create valuable solutions that lead to rewarding interactions and service experiences with your brand.

User Experience Design (UXD)
We design products and services with the complete user experience in mind, using empathy to look beyond usability and function to consider all the relevant contexts of each individual interaction.

We design exceptional user experiences by taking the time to understand real people in real-world scenarios. Before we think about aesthetics, we seek to understand the humans in front of a product. We ask you the right questions; questions that enable us to get a clear look at your audience and the contexts in which they interact with your product. Understanding users’ behaviours and motivations can make the critical difference between success and failure.

Pivot translates research insights into digital products that delight users and provide a solid ROI for our clients. See how Pivot can take you down the path to inspired design and quality design solutions realized through a user-centric approach with the ability to take your user experience to the next level.

Tactics & Outcomes
  • Website Design
  • Web & Mobile Applications
  • Native Software Applications
  • Interactive Prototypes
  • Wireframes
  • Information Architecture
  • User Research & Validation
  • User Flows & Journey Maps
  • Experience Maps
  • Usability Testing & Reports
  • Competitive Analysis
  • Analytics Audit
More on UXD with PIVOT

Service Design

We employ a wide range of methods, tools and techniques to understand and visualize how users experience a service, alongside all of the interconnected components and complexities that make up and impact the service delivery. This strategy allows us to uncover new insights and co-create superior service experiences.

Service Design
Service Design identifies areas of friction and opportunity in your service flow to inform program development, service and interaction design upgrades, improve employee and customer experience, and more.

The most fundamental difference between Service Design and UX Design is the nature of the design problem that we are trying to solve. A service is typically made up of many different touch points, such as a website or a mobile app. While UX Designers are typically tasked with solving problems that are confined to these individual touch points, Service Designers look at the entire end-to-end service experience. They focus on understanding and shaping how all touch points work together, and what a user is thinking, feeling, and experiencing at each stage of the journey. Service designers don’t just consider the perspective of the end user, but also those responsible for delivering the service.

Tactics & Outcomes
  • Service Blueprints
  • Journey Maps
  • Future State Mapping
  • Ecosystem Diagrams
  • Stakeholder Worksessions
  • Concept Design
  • Field Research & Observation
  • Concept Testing & Validation
More on Service Design with PIVOT

Brand Design

Digital experiences and services must be backed by brands that people recognize, love, and — most importantly — trust. PIVOT’s Informed Design process ensures the visual representation of your brand instills trust and aligns with your organizational goals, while accurately reflecting your brand's positioning.

Brand Design
PIVOT’s Informed Design process ensures the visual design of your brand is an accurate representation of what you stand for and resonates with your audience.

A brand is not a logo. Your brand exists beyond any visual or communication vehicle. It is both a tangible and emotional experience that encompasses a broader perception of your brand as a whole. A brand is what people think of you.

We leverage a user-centered approach to brand experience design that combines elements of design research, user experience (UX), customer experience (CX), and brand identity design all in one. Instead of jumping to assumptions about what a brand should be, we prioritize an understanding of real people and how they perceive you. This is the key to creating meaningful connections, cultivating trust and long-term customer relationships, and inspiring people who positively experience your Brand to tell their story to others.

Tactics & Outcomes
  • Logo Design
  • Identity Design
  • Brand Guidelines
  • Communication Design
  • Brand Strategy
  • Visual Assets
  • Competitive Brand Analysis
  • Brand Stakeholder Research
More on Brand Design with PIVOT
User Experience Design (UXD)
We design products and services with the complete user experience in mind, using empathy to look beyond usability and function to consider all the relevant contexts of each individual interaction.

We design exceptional user experiences by taking the time to understand real people in real-world scenarios. Before we think about aesthetics, we seek to understand the humans in front of a product. We ask you the right questions; questions that enable us to get a clear look at your audience and the contexts in which they interact with your product. Understanding users’ behaviours and motivations can make the critical difference between success and failure.

Pivot translates research insights into digital products that delight users and provide a solid ROI for our clients. See how Pivot can take you down the path to inspired design and quality design solutions realized through a user-centric approach with the ability to take your user experience to the next level.

Tactics & Outcomes
  • Website Design
  • Web & Mobile Applications
  • Native Software Applications
  • Interactive Prototypes
  • Wireframes
  • Information Architecture
  • User Research & Validation
  • User Flows & Journey Maps
  • Experience Maps
  • Usability Testing & Reports
  • Competitive Analysis
  • Analytics Audit
More on UXD with PIVOT
Service Design
Service Design identifies areas of friction and opportunity in your service flow to inform program development, service and interaction design upgrades, improve employee and customer experience, and more.

The most fundamental difference between Service Design and UX Design is the nature of the design problem that we are trying to solve. A service is typically made up of many different touch points, such as a website or a mobile app. While UX Designers are typically tasked with solving problems that are confined to these individual touch points, Service Designers look at the entire end-to-end service experience. They focus on understanding and shaping how all touch points work together, and what a user is thinking, feeling, and experiencing at each stage of the journey. Service designers don’t just consider the perspective of the end user, but also those responsible for delivering the service.

Tactics & Outcomes
  • Service Blueprints
  • Journey Maps
  • Future State Mapping
  • Ecosystem Diagrams
  • Stakeholder Worksessions
  • Concept Design
  • Field Research & Observation
  • Concept Testing & Validation
More on Service Design with PIVOT
Brand Design
PIVOT’s Informed Design process ensures the visual design of your brand is an accurate representation of what you stand for and resonates with your audience.

A brand is not a logo. Your brand exists beyond any visual or communication vehicle. It is both a tangible and emotional experience that encompasses a broader perception of your brand as a whole. A brand is what people think of you.

We leverage a user-centered approach to brand experience design that combines elements of design research, user experience (UX), customer experience (CX), and brand identity design all in one. Instead of jumping to assumptions about what a brand should be, we prioritize an understanding of real people and how they perceive you. This is the key to creating meaningful connections, cultivating trust and long-term customer relationships, and inspiring people who positively experience your Brand to tell their story to others.

Tactics & Outcomes
  • Logo Design
  • Identity Design
  • Brand Guidelines
  • Communication Design
  • Brand Strategy
  • Visual Assets
  • Competitive Brand Analysis
  • Brand Stakeholder Research
More on Brand Design with PIVOT

The Company We Keep

Interested in learning more?

Listening is a skill we take pride in, so let’s chat!

We’d love to hear about what you’re working on and discuss how we might apply our Informed Design process to create meaningful solutions together!

Let's connect
“

It was an absolute pleasure to work with the Pivot team. You are smart, strategic, flexible and strike a great balance between meeting client needs while staying grounded in informed design.”

VP Marketing & Public Affairs, ALS Canada

What's Important to Us

Diversity, Equity & Inclusiveness

DEI is our centerpiece. We place high value on the roles different cultures and ethnicity play in our work. Just as we recognize the distinctive individual contributions and collaborative group dynamics that define the creative process.

Circularity in Design

Circularity and circular design powers the growth of the circular economy. Perpetually regenerative by design, it’s a totally circular system where waste is “designed out” by intelligent design and its affinity to nature.

Community

PIVOT is a proud member of the community where we live and work. We’re dedicated to looking out for our neighbours and for promoting the local organizations, causes and activities that have a nurturing influence on everything that happens here.

More on PIVOT's values

Partnership

Bringing the community together to empower and enhance the influence of design.

This Pivot initiative is a thought leadership event platform for diverse design professionals looking to share experiences, express points of view and explore new avenues for design solutions to improve the quality of our everyday life. 
 

Upcoming Event
Cafe Talks 01: Designing the Future, the Future of Design
January 30, 2025, 6:00-7:00 P.M. EST
Guest Speakers:
  • Lesley-Ann Noel: Dean of Design, OCAD University
Learn more

Insights

More Insights on our blog
Pivot Etc.
Happy Holidays From the Pivot Team!
The Pivot Point
From One Client to Many: Evolving a Digital Decision Aid
Pivot Etc.
Reflecting on 25 years: Oxford Recycles App
The Pivot Point
Moving Narratives
Pivot Etc.
Reflecting on 25 years: Abused & Brain Injured (ABI) Toolkit
Pivot Etc.
Reflecting on 25 years: Improving Pain Management for Paediatric Cancer Patients