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Paul Banks

Paul Banks

Lead product designer & design engineer + artist

Open to senior & lead roles. paulbankss@gmail.com

Selected work2017–2026

ISelected work

  1. Pl. 1Credit Karma2021–2024
  2. Pl. 2Peloton2023–2024
  3. Pl. 3Iron Link Intel2025–2026
  4. Pl. 4DigiCred2025–2026
  5. Pl. 5MustWants2024–2025
  6. Pl. 6iHeartJane2017–2020
  1. IIHow I work with your team
  2. IIIBuilding
  3. IVColophon

720

Credit Score

Pl. 1Credit Karma, 2021–2024. Fintech.

Credit Karma

77%

under money stress · Dscout n=300

Problem
The first thing to break is the ability to set a goal.
Move
Goal-setting as the intervention: a named goal first, with progress as control.
Result
Goal-setting as a first-class flow for 140M+ members.
Role
Sr / Lead product designer · Growth & Research
Read the case
Intermediate
20 - 56
Expert
Resistance0
30 - 66
Advanced
24 - 60
Pl. 2Peloton, 2023–2024. Connected fitness.

Peloton

3 surfaces

one ride on bike, tread, and app

Problem
The ride ended when the class ended.
Move
Moments as reusable components across bike, tread, and app.
Result
A post-ride global rank by difficulty is why the next class happens.
Role
Product designer · Lanebreak UX/UI
Read the case
Pl. 3Iron Link Intel, 2025–2026. Defense intelligence.

Iron Link Intel

47 → 86

heuristic score, audited then rebuilt

Problem
Twelve tabs per analyst, context rebuilt by hand at every switch.
Move
A Nielsen heuristic audit became an operator-terminal rebuild and a new brand voice.
Result
One operational cycle (ingest, correlate, report) replaced a twelve-tab analyst stack.
Role
Lead product designer · Brand & Product
Read the case
Pl. 4DigiCred, 2025–2026. EdTech · Crypto.

DigiCred

2 × 0→1

an institutional wallet and a student identity

Problem
Proof lives in too many places, and none of it is checkable.
Move
A wallet to hold, match, and apply with verified credentials.
Result
QR or API import to a verified card, then apply with a KanonVDR audit trail.
Role
Lead product designer · 0→1
Read the case
A dark modern home at night, front porch lit
0Match
A wood-clad A-frame set in tall summer trees
A backyard with a curved pool, gazebo, and pavers
A single-story ranch house catching golden-hour light
A backyard with a curved pool, gazebo, and pavers
Pl. 5MustWants, 2024–2025. Real estate.

MustWants

198

agents tested, with 14 buyers over nine months

Problem
The company was named MustWants. The feed still scored everything 100%.
Move
Lifestyle compatibility before tours, designed in Figma and Cursor.
Result
Tested over nine months. Not shipped.
Role
Lead product designer · Founding
Read the case
  • Unwind
  • Creative
  • Sleep
  • $44 • Wedding Cake
  • $48 • Gelato

98% Match for Evening

Pl. 6iHeartJane, 2017–2020. Cannabis e-commerce.

iHeartJane

3,567

products across 17 shops

Problem
The product card made Add to Cart hard to find.
Move
A denser menu, a visible add-to-cart, then a Jane AI budtender that recommends by feel.
Result
Ranked products, local availability, and a clear pickup or delivery choice.
Role
Founding product designer · Marketplace
Read the case

Full client roster

  • CompanyYears activeRole
  • Iron Link Intel2025-2026Lead Product Designer
  • DigiCred2025-2026Founding Product Designer
  • MustWants2024-2025Founding Product Designer
  • Credit Karma2021-2024Lead / Senior Product Designer
  • Peloton2023-2024Senior Product Designer
  • frog2021-2021Senior Interaction Designer
  • Ancestry2020-2021Senior Designer
  • iHeartJane2017-2020Founding Product Designer
  • Walmart2017-2018Senior Art Director
  • Sony PlayStation2015-2017Lead Product Designer
  • Samsung2013-2015Senior Concept Designer
  • Advertising2011-2013Associate Creative Director
  • Advertising2009-2011Art Director

IIHow I work with your team

I partner with product and engineering from discovery through ship, and I still build the interfaces in code.

Now designing
Interfaces for agentic systems where a person makes the critical decision: confidence scores, agent states, and human-in-the-loop checkpoints as core product primitives.
The team
Alongside your product and engineering partners, I bring a sprint team of specialist agents, one per stage: Observe, Frame, System, Prototype, Decide, Release.
The rules
Every stage has one it never breaks. No insight without real behavior behind it. No launch without a return path.
Open to
Senior & lead roles. Charlotte, NC (Remote).paulbankss@gmail.comRésumé (PDF)

My Design Studio

  1. 01 / Direct

    Paul Banks

    Director

    Sets direction. Receives handoffs. Makes the call.

  2. 02 / Observe

    UX Researcher

    Turns signals from people into a decision the team can use.

    NeverNo insight without real behavior behind it.

    Playwright · Mixpanel · Claude

  3. 03 / Frame

    Product Manager

    Holds the problem, the bet, and the decision to move.

    NeverNo roadmap without a problem worth solving.

    Linear · Notion · Claude

  4. 04 / System

    Design Sys Eng

    Turns the direction into rules the product can keep.

    NeverNo component without a contract.

    Figma · Storybook · GitHub

  5. 05 / Prototype

    Design & Motion

    Turns the direction into behavior people can try.

    NeverNo motion that hides the hard part.

    Figma · React · Framer

  6. 06 / Decide

    Design Critic

    Test the concepts with Design Swarm

    NeverNo committee-driven core direction.

    Claude · Figma · Linear

  7. 07 / Release

    Director of Deploy

    Makes the handoff, QA, and release feel intentional.

    NeverNo launch without a return path.

    GitHub · Vercel · Linear

IIIBuilding

Products I build in code and ship in the open.

Color & Noise

Work in progress

A visual studio in progress: compose with image, motion, sound, and signal.

  • WebGL
  • Motion
  • Sound
Visit the live product→
  • Instrument

    Work in progress

    A playable visual-sound experiment. Make a response; I remix what comes back.

  • GiT Design Drops

    Agentic magazine for trending repos, designer picks, and a featured model.

    2.4MSocial Reach

  • Hero Shader StudioLoading live preview

    Hero Shader Studio

    A live pixel-art shader, connected directly to the homepage.

    0hero swapspaulbanks.design/lab/studio

  • Brand Voice EngineLoading live preview

    Brand Voice Engine

    Brand-voice rules and an audit tool, built into this portfolio.

    900Kengagement

IVColophon

Type
Tanker for titles and figures, by Indian Type Foundry. Source Sans 3 for text. The name in the header is set in Endless.
Inks
  • Stock--hero-base
  • Parchment--hero-text
  • Apricot, the second ink--hero-apricot
  • Velocity, for links--signal-velocity
  • Logic Pulse, for actions--cta-fill
Plates
Every cover is drawn in code: vector, voxel and three.js. No generated images.

Printed from DESIGN.md, which compiles to the CSS variables this page reads. The same rules guide collaborators and the agents I use.

Open the design system→
paulbankss@gmail.comLinkedIn
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