Hi, I’m Ryan Keairns.
A hands-on design leader who bridges pixels, code, and teams.
Using tools like ChatGPT and Cursor,
I turn ideas into working proofs of concept — directly inside the codebase.
Fewer mockups. Faster validation. Real impact.
About Ryan
I'm a Principal Product Designer with deep experience in design systems and complex product UX. Over the years, I've led cross-disciplinary teams of designers, researchers, and engineers, shaped Elastic's platform and EUI system, and built internal tools that help designers move faster with confidence.
My current focus is what I call Proof-of-Concept Design — an AI-augmented approach that blends product insight, technical fluency, and fast iteration. It's hands-on, code-adjacent design driven by working prototypes instead of static mockups.
The result: faster feedback loops, tighter collaboration with engineering, and tangible progress toward better user experiences.
Recent work
From ideas to working code
A few examples of how I use AI-assisted, proof-of-concept design to explore, test, and ship better product experiences.
