Close
Portrait of Oratio West

Oratio West · Senior Product Designer

About

I'm a senior product designer with a background in visual design and creative work, and a deep interest in how thoughtful design shapes real human experiences.

I spent the early part of my career in fast-paced agency environments, developing a broad foundation across branding, graphic design, illustration, iconography, and photography.

That foundation now informs my work in product teams, where I lead the design of features, interaction patterns, and design systems in complex domains. I enjoy working through constraints, collaborating closely with product and engineering, and finding clarity in problems that aren't fully defined.

I care deeply about craft, usability, and coherence, and I'm drawn to teams that value quality, collaboration, and intentional design.

Quick facts

  • jamaican made
  • 18 years of design
  • 6 years of fatherhood
  • honorary ATLien
  • former semi-pro basketball player
  • mechanical keyboard enthusiast
  • photographer ordinaire
  • backwards hat enthusiast
  • cool guy

Experience

  • Senior Product DesignerHaven Energy2026–Present
  • Product DesignerSense2023–2025
  • UX DesignerHuge Inc.2021–2023
  • Lead DesignerSlater Hospitality Concepts2018–2019
  • Senior DesignerSNMD2018

*i might be slightly obsessed with #FFB705 and keyboards.

  • GMK Tribal keyboard on a black woven rattan mat against a yellow background
  • Yellow mechanical keyboard with black keycaps floating against a yellow background
  • Navy mechanical keyboard with Mondrian-style geometric keycaps against a yellow background

Inspiration

A few Pinterest boards (yes, I still use Pinterest, I'm old skool 🫣) I keep coming back to. They pretty much cover my love for abstract art, minimally-designed physical products, and product photography.

Abstract [Untitled]
Pinterest moodboard of abstract sculptural ceramics View full board ↗
Minimal Physical Product Design [Keyboard Design]
Pinterest moodboard of minimal physical products like keyboards, clocks, and notebooks View full board ↗
Conceptual Product Photography [Oh.Type Shot Concepts]
Pinterest moodboard of product photography including perfume bottles and fabric still lifes View full board ↗

did I mention…
I like keyboards?

Conceptual photography

Mechanical keyboards, styled and shot for the fun of it.

  • Black mechanical keyboard on a dark desk surrounded by art books, keycaps, and a red cap
  • Pink mechanical keyboard floating among tan geometric shapes like triangles, cylinders, and spheres
  • White mechanical keyboard with a colorful abstract keycap set on a hot pink background surrounded by fanned Pantone swatch books
  • Black and silver mechanical keyboard tilted on a glossy black reflective surface
  • Neon yellow mechanical keyboard floating among tennis balls against a green background
  • Gray mechanical keyboard with colorful keycaps nestled in a ball pit of red, yellow, teal, and blue balls
  • Clear acrylic mechanical keyboard photographed edge-on, showing its translucent case and side connector
  • Pastel green mechanical keyboard tangled in pink and purple ribbon
  • White mechanical keyboard displayed like art in a black picture frame mounted on a wall
  • Colorful abstract keycap array photographed at an angle against a pink background
  • Dark maroon mechanical keyboard floating in shadow with a dramatic diagonal beam of light
  • Abstract mirrored reflection shot of a black keyboard with Japanese-language keycaps

3D visualizations

Keyboards in rooms that don’t exist, built and lit from scratch in Blender.

  • 3D-rendered keyboard and geometric-pattern poster staged on a concrete plinth against a corrugated backdrop
  • 3D-rendered white keyboard centered on a multicolor patchwork shag rug
  • 3D-rendered green keyboard with tan keycaps resting on a warm sunlit surface
  • 3D-rendered green keyboard on a round pink table below a framed geometric-pattern poster on a red wall
  • Isometric render of colorful abstract keycaps arranged in a grid, floating against a gray background
  • 3D-rendered cream keyboard with abstract keycaps standing upright on a pedestal, shown from a low angle
  • Overhead 3D render of a green keyboard on a round table beside a shag rug and wood flooring
  • 3D-rendered keyboard on a turquoise wood shelf, lit by dramatic window-shadow patterns
  • Close-up 3D render of colorful abstract keycaps on a keyboard set against a multicolor shag rug