About
Hi, my name is Chad. I like to build.
I'm a Visual Designer and Interaction Designer who believes the separation between UX and UI is dead. Outside of accessibility and inclusive design for people with different abilities, almost every digital experience is primarily visual. The "visual experience" IS the damn experience. Act accordingly.
I build design systems that turn any engineer—including myself—into a UI designer. At Docker, I shipped token pipelines, governance models, and component libraries that scaled teams from 23% to 87% adoption. I write the RFC, build the proof-of-concept, and ship production code that makes your team faster.
This portfolio? It's a meta case study. No template. No CMS. I rolled this site with React, Claude Code, and MCP agentic workflows to show how I work: design the system, automate the pipeline, ship at scale.
Form IS function. Build systems that scale, then make them beautiful.
Skills + Expertise
HCI
How people interact with systems. Input methods, cognitive load, interaction patterns, feedback loops. If the interaction sucks, the product sucks.
Visual Design
Typography, color, hierarchy, composition. Making interfaces that don't just work—they're a pleasure to use. The visual experience IS the experience.
Interaction Design
Motion, animation, transitions, micro-interactions. How things move matters as much as how they look. Shimmer hovers, gradient reveals, confetti on success.
Inclusive Design
Accessibility for people with different abilities. WCAG compliance, screen readers, keyboard nav, color contrast. Non-negotiable.
Design Systems
5+ systems built. Token pipelines (Figma → Style Dictionary → MUI/shadcn/Tailwind). Governance that doesn't gatekeep. 23% → 87% adoption at Docker.
Motion & Animation
Framer Motion, CSS animations, Lottie. Transitions that guide attention. Loading states that reduce perceived wait time. Delight without gimmick.
Front-End Code
React, TypeScript, Tailwind, shadcn/ui. I ship to production. This portfolio is proof—no template, no CMS, built with Claude Code + MCP agentic workflows.
Token Pipelines
Automated Figma → code sync. 100% design-code parity. Zero manual audits. Infrastructure beats process every time.
Strategic Influence
RFCs over politics. Working demos over decks. Made it to VP/CTO level at Docker with proof, not persuasion.
Shipping Fast
10 people, 6 sprints, zero trade-offs. Velocity + quality simultaneously. Agents by Docker hit 2k GitHub stars in 5 days.
LLM x Design
v0.dev + Docker design tokens. 7x faster prototyping. 100% PM adoption. Automated compliance through infrastructure.
This Site
No Squarespace sob story. Built with React, Claude Code, MCP workflows. Case study of how I ship: design the system, automate the pipeline, deploy at scale.
Core Competencies
Here's what I bring:
I architect design systems as products. I build token pipelines that keep Figma and code in sync automatically. I write RFCs that unlock teams and ship proof-of-concepts in 24 hours. I influence executives through working demos, not slide decks.
And I make sure the system scales without me—because Staff-level work means making yourself optional.
If your team needs someone who can design the interface, ship the implementation, and scale the team—let's talk.