Alumni – Manon Gruaz: Combining design and mental health
Share
What happens to Intuit Lab alumni? Product Design Lead in Montreal, Manon Gruaz has integrated mental health into her approach to design.
In more than ten years of experience, Manon Gruaz (class of 2008-2009) has developed her approach to the profession by placing compassion at her heart: “My objective is to heal through design. I focus my work on compassion to create deep understanding and connection with all types of users to deliver innovative, caring and inclusive products.” The role of a designer is to serve the understanding of others.
First Brand Designer, Graphic Web Designer, before becoming Product Design Lead, Manon Gruaz has grown her career in Montreal since his exchange at Université Laval during his studies at Intuit Lab. What does she appreciate? “A new way of communicating, benevolence, less hierarchy and constraints”. Working for Haleo Clinique, an application for treating insomnia and poor sleep remotely, Manon takes care of a team of UX designer and collaborates with various profiles (CEO, developer, psychologist, scientist, etc.). In a strategic role, she is interested in the needs of users and does not leave details to chance. The choice of a word or a structure has an impact. By learning to be strategic, Manon shows that we can unite the people around us and convince.
Let his brain rest
At Haelo Clinique, Manon also combining design and mental health. A subject to which she is particularly attached and which she speaks about at conferences. “You have to take care of yourself. When you are creative, you have a 25% greater chance of falling into depression. It's important to let your brain rest. When creativity is too linked to work, it becomes more difficult to appropriate it. To develop mine and find a way to create differently, I do embroidery and pottery, for example,” explains Manon, who also wants to create a healthy environment at her work. "It's important to give encouragement, to celebrate things, to give feedback, to know how the other person is feeling."
His advice for taking your first steps in the profession? “Starting in a business with a mentor who teaches us how to do things well. It's important to be a sponge to acquire the right basics and be productive afterwards.”