Product Designer

I design
products
people trust.

I turn complex systems into experiences people actually trust, from first click to daily habit.
9+ Years of
experience
8+ Products
shipped
5+ Industries
served
Epic MegaGrant recipient · Shipped to DoD · 4 design systems built
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Selected Work

Work that shows
how I think.

Each project is a real problem, a clear process, and a measurable outcome.

More Work

Ricardo E Vargas
Ricardo E. Vargas New York City
About

Designing with intention.

Pratt-trained graphic designer and art director, postgrad in Information Experience Design. Epic MegaGrant recipient. Nine years across B2B and B2C SaaS, defense tech, and XR — with a strong opinion about type and a gouache habit on the side.

I do my best work where the problem isn't fully defined yet — partnering with founders and engineers to shape vision, build systems, and ship things that hold up. Fast environments, high ambiguity, real stakes.

Design

  • Product & UX Design
  • Design Systems
  • Interaction Design
  • Visual Design
  • Product Motion Design
  • Prototyping with Cursor and Claude code

Tools

  • Figma / MPC
  • Claude Code
  • Cursor
  • Webflow
  • Adobe Cloud
  • Jitter Video/Canva

Domain

  • B2B & B2C SaaS
  • Data Heavy Workflows
  • Design Ops

Awards

  • Epic Games MegaGrant
  • Rosenfeld Media Advancing Research Scholarship
  • Pratt Institute Circle Award
Download Resume ↗
What people say
"
Ricardo has a rare ability to bridge design and engineering seamlessly. He thinks in systems, collaborates deeply with developers, and always brings clarity to both the visual and structural aspects of the product.
Ross S.
Senior Frontend Engineer
Dynepic, Inc.
"
Ricardo was able to work without a product manager and often had to perform the duties of one. The UI developed was clean and appealing — helpful and professional with our front-end development team.
Justin LaBroad
Head of Engineering
Sequin.app
"
Ricardo led our design work across UX/UI and marketing, setting our direction and delivering under challenging timelines across multiple simultaneous projects.
Robert DeFranco
CEO
Sequin AR
"
Ricardo excels as a communicator and collaborator, actively engaging with stakeholders to align design solutions with project goals. His openness to critique fosters a truly collaborative experience.
Siera Smith-Vargas
Transformation & Ops Executive
Goodwill NYNJ
"
He's a deft and thoughtful collaborator, quickly adapting to stakeholder feedback and always conscious of balancing business goals with HCI principles. Any company would be lucky to have him.
Kennon Hulett
Product Lead
include.io
How I Work

Built on curiosity.

01

Discover

I start by listening — to users, stakeholders, and data. Good design begins with the right questions, not assumptions.

02

Define

Research becomes direction. I map journeys, identify friction, and frame the real problem worth solving.

03

Design

From rough sketches to polished prototypes, I iterate fast and stay close to feedback throughout.

04

Deliver

Handoff is a checkpoint, not a finish line. I stay close to engineering to make sure intent survives implementation.

Let's build
something great.