Product Mastery Now for Product Managers, Leaders, and Innovators 557: How Umbra designs beautiful products that delight customers – with Matt Carr
Winning product portfolios in physical product development
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TLDR
In this episode, Matt Carr, VP of Design at Umbra, joins us to discuss the intersection of design leadership, product strategy, and innovation in physical product development. Matt shares practical frameworks Umbra uses to balance creative vision and business reality, offers insights into managing a global product portfolio, discusses approaches to cross-functional collaboration, and highlights how direct customer interaction (especially via e-commerce and social media) drives rapid product iteration. Product managers will find actionable tactics for portfolio balancing, design decision-making, and fostering a design-led culture.
Introduction
What does it take to design products that delight consumers while hitting profit targets? We are examining design leadership and product strategy with someone who has mastered both. If you’ve ever struggled to balance creative vision with commercial reality, or wondered how to scale design across global teams, this episode will give you frameworks you can use immediately.
Matt Carr is VP of Design at Umbra, the Canadian-based company that designs products for every room of the home. He’s spent 25 years at Umbra, from junior designer to leading their global design operations. He’s created products that have been featured in The New York Times, Surface Magazine, and Met Home. More importantly, he’s built systems for “balancing business and imagination” that keep Umbra at the front of innovation.
Summary of Concepts Discussed for Product Managers
Umbra’s Global Design DNA:
Matt explains how Umbra crafts products “for every room in your home.” Their five core values guide design: modern aesthetic, originality, casual sensibility, accessibility (price), and functionality.
Product Portfolio Management:
Umbra maintains long-standing lines (the maintenance bucket), continually innovates with blue sky ideas, and expands on successes through thoughtful derivatives, all while staying globally relevant.
Case Study: Bellwood Photo Frame:
As part of Umbra’s long-standing commitment to picture frames—a core “maintenance” product category—Matt Carr and his team recognized the need to innovate in a saturated market. Unlike traditional frames, the Bellwood features a single, continuous curve around the corners, giving it a modern, sculptural feel. It’s designed to look attractive from all angles, not just the front—a key differentiator from standard frames with plain or unsightly backs. The price-point allows Umbra to deliver premium feel at a price accessible to their global customer base.
Practical Design Process:
Matt outlines the design journey from early sketch and cardboard prototypes to iterative 3D models and tooling, emphasizing early, low-cost experimentation and the importance of cross-functional team input. The process involves:
- Identifying the Need or Opportunity
- Cross-Functional Brainstorming
- Early Concept Development
- Iterative Refinement and Prototyping
- Continuous Cross-Departmental Input
- Alignment with Brand DNA
- Customer Feedback and Iteration
- Final Development and Launch
Consumer-Driven Innovation:
Umbra’s internal team members often represent the target customer, but rapid feedback loops with end users—especially via e-commerce and social media—now accelerate product refinement, color choices, and new category opportunities.
Ensuring Design Consistency at Scale:
Matt explains how Umbra collaborates with external designers worldwide while maintaining brand DNA. Matt shares how great ideas are adapted through internal “design massage” to align with company ethos.
Useful Links
Innovation Quote
“Your last impression is your lasting impression.” – Matt Carr
Application Questions
- How can you adopt Umbra’s approach of balancing “blue sky” innovation and “maintenance” portfolio projects in your own product line?
- What are ways to involve cross-functional teams (manufacturing, sales, marketing) early and meaningfully in your design and development process?
- In what ways are you soliciting and incorporating direct customer feedback into product iteration, and how might you leverage newer channels like social media more effectively?
- How do you ensure that new product ideas—whether internal or external—consistently align with and reinforce your brand’s design principles?
- What prototyping strategies could you use to rapidly test and improve product concepts before significant investment in tooling or development?
Bio
Matt’s passion for design was first sparked when he interned at Douglas Cardinal Architects. He went on to study at Humber School of Industrial Design, where he received an ‘All-Canadian Academic’ award for scholastic and varsity achievements. An integral part of the Umbra design team since 2001, Matt has contributed countless designs to their product line. His work has been featured multiple times in The New York Times, The Daily Telegraph, Surface Magazine, I.D Magazine, Met Home, Monocle, and Living Etc. Matt is compelled to create product that balances business and imagination. Subtle details, an appreciation for imperfection, and the reinvention of traditional objects are distinguishing features of his designs. As VP of Design, Matt oversees a global design department headquartered in Toronto.
Thanks!
Thank you for taking the journey to product mastery and learning with me from the successes and failures of product innovators, managers, and developers. If you enjoyed the discussion, help out a fellow product manager by sharing it using the social media buttons you see below.