I'm Brennen—a designer and researcher based in Vancouver, Canada. I specialize in UX and service design for the public sector.

I run impossible-to-ignore research that shifts conversations and helps teams make better decisions.

I design and write in plain language so people can get things done.

A photo of Brennen standing at a train station in Amsterdam.

I'm currently a Senior UX Designer with the British Columbia Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs. Our team is creating an online permitting service for BC's building industry, local governments, and First Nations.

Prior to this, I worked as a UX Strategist for the City of Vancouver. And before that, I led the design team at the Levantine food and hospitality group mama. Let's just say I can make some pretty good hummus.

Throughout the years, I've worked with some amazing designers and consultancies like Olson Kundig, Inside Outside, Home Studios, and frog.

Education

B.S. Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCI)
University of Washington

Master of Interior Design
University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture

Published research

Map Design for Complex Architecture: a User Study of Maps and Wayfinding. Karen Cheng and Sarah Perez-Kriz. Visible Language, Issue 48.2.

Heuristic Evaluation of Persuasive Health Technologies. Julie A. Kientz, Eun Kyoung Choe, Brennen Birch, et al. ACM International Health Informatics Symposium.

The rest of me:

Storyteller
Ruthless pizza critic
Longhorn 🤘
Strategic thinker
Vice skip of my curling team
Pen-and-paper loyalist
HCDE alum
Service designer
Later-in-life Canadian
Chilaquiles enthusiast
Black coffee drinker
INTP
KEXP Pacific Notions listener
Taurus
Kitchen gadget collector
Interior architect
At-home karaoke host

I lead research and design to make public services less painful. In past lives, I've been a hospitality designer in Brooklyn, a curtain designer in Amsterdam, and part of the pond at the design consultancy frog in Austin 🤠.

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