Ask the question behind the request
The thing someone asks for is not always the thing they need. I like getting close enough to the work to understand the difference.
Outside the resume
Hey, I'm Erik.
I am a product designer and design engineer, Denver based and Chicago raised. I have always been happiest where creativity and technology overlap, turning complicated ideas into something people can understand, use, and maybe even enjoy.
Art lover, wannabe musician, and a firm believer that good ideas get better when you make them tangible.
How I work
Curious by default, a little restless around obvious answers.
I sketch in Figma, build with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and React, and change direction when the work proves me wrong. The tools help me move faster, but the part I care about is still deeply human: understanding what someone is trying to do and removing everything that gets in the way.
Figma
Claude
ChatGPT
Cursor
React
Framer
Photoshop
Illustrator
Make it real early
A working prototype ends vague debates quickly. It gives people something honest to react to and usually exposes the difficult questions hiding behind the happy path.
Care about the tiny stuff
The animation that confirms an action, the sentence that prevents a mistake, and the state everyone forgot are not polish. That is where trust lives.
Leave the team stronger
I enjoy making the product better, but I also want the next problem to be easier for everyone around me. That can mean a reusable component, clearer reasoning, or time spent mentoring someone through the work.
My journey
There was never a clean line between designer and builder.
01
Learning both sides
I started with design fundamentals in college, but I did not want to stop at making screens. I joined an unusual apprenticeship that became agency work, learned front-end development on real products, jumped between industries, and eventually helped mentor new cohorts in both design and code.
02
Leaving the nest
From there I moved through agency teams, startups, and larger product organizations. Sometimes I joined an established team. Other times I was the founding or only designer. Most of the job was creating order from chaos, testing what we thought we knew, and helping design and engineering understand each other. I learned as much from mentoring younger designers as I did from the generous people who mentored me.
03
The chapter I am in now
Today I design aviation products and use AI and code to get ideas out of my head and into people's hands quickly. The tools keep changing, which is part of the fun. What has not changed is my interest in research, psychology, and making technology feel more human. This chapter is still being written.
Along the way
A few of the teams and people who shaped the work.
The list spans direct product roles, startup chaos, agency engagements, enterprise teams, generous mentors, and people I had the privilege to mentor in return.
Creating has always come naturally to me. Where technology meets design, I thrive.
Ten years in, I still love the moment when a messy idea starts to make sense.