The Faces of Kigo: Meet Brian Whitson

We created the Faces of Kigo series to showcase our talented employees, tell their stories, and share why they love being a part of the Kigo team.

Meet Brian Whitson, Senior UX/UI designer based in Richardson, Texas. Brian is an artist, athlete and avid traveler. He regularly seeks out opportunities for adventure, and looks for new ways to channel his gifts in his role at Kigo. This involves helping our team deliver simplified solutions for complex problems, and providing our clients a stress-free property management experience.

Learn more about Brian:

Tell us about yourself!

Hi, I’m Brian Whitson and i'm a Senior UX/UI designer for the Kigo team. Some of my hobbies include wake boarding, scuba diving, tennis, fishing, photography, illustration, playing bass guitar, and spending time with my one-year-old son. I’m originally from South Carolina but moved to Dallas in 2000, so I’m an honorary Texan.

What is your role at Kigo?

I use my user experience and user interface design skillset to help our team deliver simplified solutions for complex problems. My goal is to provide our clients a stress-free property management experience. As an advocate for our users I try to simplify our product suite by updating older designs and experiences. I help visualize our apps and sites and I work with developers to get them coded to the right design specs.

I love my job because I work with leaders in this industry and top UX talent in a fun environment. This helps me deliver solutions that work for our clients while taking away the headache that can come with a bad user experience.

What makes Kigo stand out from the competition?

We have an end-to-end solution for rental booking and a team of individuals who are dedicated to creating a meaningful experience for both clients and their guests.

The Kigo team is always innovating and working together to improve on our suite of products to better the process for our clients.

What is your favorite feature of Kigo?

I am excited about all of our products, but Kigo Marketplace is groundbreaking and will take our clients to new levels of success. It cuts out unneeded steps and gives our clients an all-encompassing software platform which will shorten and simplify the booking experience.

How is Kigo changing the vacation rental industry?

Kigo is changing the industry by leading the charge in innovation and client satisfaction.  Our products will allow PMCs to deliver a better rental experience to their customers while easing headaches usually associated with the process.

How does your hobby/passion translate into your role at Kigo?

I’ve been drawing and painting my entire life and I’ve been in the graphic/UI design field since 1998, so I feel very much in tune with design and end-user satisfaction. My UX training taught me to be an advocate for the user, so I try to weave that into every project I tackle. Without happy clients we have nothing, and I try to reinforce that to our team every day.  I enjoy keeping up with design trends and new code technology in the UI/UX realm and I try to share with our group so we can ‘ABI’ (Always Be Innovating!).

How do you approach finding places to stay when you travel?

Earlier in my life I would strictly search for the best deal, but now that I’m older I want comfort, cleanliness, and an easy process. So sometimes paying a little more is fine if I know I’m going to be happier with my stay.

What do you look for in a vacation rental?  What do you avoid?

I tend to look for places that are located closest to points of interest and offer the amenities I need. I avoid places that are out-of-the-way or that don’t offer easy access to the things I want to do during my stay.

How can property owners make their vacation rentals more appealing to travelers like yourself?

By simplifying the process for booking, keeping in close contact with renters (see our new Guest App!), and by listening to reviews and ratings.

As we continue to explore the Faces of Kigo, you will meet more members of our global team working every day to create the best products in travel. Stay tuned!