I'm Ryan Kimball, a Chicago-based designer. For ten years at Motorola I've designed the visual system behind its mobile software: the typeface, icons, colors, and components. I also lead the team that maintains it. Before that I designed interfaces and brands at CNN, Turner Broadcasting, and tastytrade.

I can draw a typeface, make a logo, animate a transition, and design an interface, while also structuring the variables, components, and documentation that keep them consistent across a product line. The two feed each other. Because I've made the pieces, I know which details matter, and I can distill them into principles a team can apply without me in the room.

Consistency is the point of a design system, but it’s also a risk. Too much of it and you end up with a lifeless product. I build systems around principles rather than rigid rules, so teams know when to break a pattern and why, and I fold what they learn back into the system.

Outside work, I make music, play basketball, and design elaborate Halloween costumes for my kids.

If you want to make something together, reach out.