With multi-year experience shipping SaaS, B2B, B2C, and enterprise designs including admin and content management portals, employee experience products, data visualization, dashboards, and consumer facing web pages
Ryan Curtis
Product Designer, previously @ Microsoft
Some of my projects
With work ranging from ground-up designs to brainstorming workshops, there's something for everyone
Putting the fun in cross-functional
From PMs to engineers to designers, see what people have to say about collaborating with me
Jen J.
Senior PM
Ryan and I worked together at Microsoft Viva, where we worked closely with engineering and research to build admin capabilities into a greenfield enterprise surveying app. This was an area of the product that was identified as critical for promoting increased adoption and retention, but in which there was also a lot of ambiguity and competing priorities. Ryan navigated these challenges with grace and an open mind, helping the team arrive at a streamlined and forward-thinking experience which directly contributed to increased use and customer retention. Ryan is a great partner, able to balance business goals with customer needs, and I hope to work with him again in the future!
Sheriff J.
Senior Product Designer
I worked with Ryan @ Microsoft on our product design team, where he played an important role in improving our design system and defining the admin feature set of our product. Ryan's a great collaborator and has a great bias-to-action. He often sought and integrated feedback and up-skilled himself on the job, always looking for ways to enhance his craft. His primary focus was on the administrative features of our SaaS workplace experience app, where he delivered user-friendly, intuitive designs that aligned with product goals. He has a strong design sensibility, growth mindset, and ability to simplify complex workflows.
Mrudula C.
Engineering Manager
I had the pleasure of working with Ryan for several admin components of Pulse. He is detail-oriented, adept at managing trade-offs, and extremely responsive. His quick adjustments after multiple rounds of product iterations kept our projects on track. I highly recommend Ryan as a UX Designer. Ryan’s dedication and high-quality designs make him an invaluable asset to any team.
Irene S.
Senior Product Designer
I have had the pleasure of working with Ryan on both Viva Horizontals and Pulse projects.
Ryan is a self-starter who takes initiative and ownership of his work. He is a collaborative team member, always willing to share his ideas and incorporate feedback. Ryan quickly became a valued contributor, taking on the UX of the complex Pulse content admin area. He demonstrated a strong ability to understand design systems, create his own, and integrate them into his work.
Beyond his technical skills, Ryan is a positive and enthusiastic team member. Ryan has a bright future in UX, and I am confident he will be a valuable asset to any team.
Justin S.
Principal Design Manager
I had the privilege of managing Ryan from 2022 to 2025, and I was consistently impressed with his performance and impact during this period. Ryan possesses an innate understanding of design and business needs, and he is a pleasure to work with, bringing positivity and enthusiasm to every project.
From the very beginning, Ryan demonstrated an exceptional ability to identify gaps and flaws in products, features, and business decisions. He quickly mastered the use of design to highlight these issues and propose effective solutions. He would be a welcome addition to any team, offering unique perspectives and fostering inclusive partnerships across job functions to anticipate customer needs while meeting core business objectives.
Yvonne C.
Senior Product Designer
Ryan and I worked together on the same design team. It was a pleasure collaborating with him—he's not only an exceptional team member but also someone who actively seeks growth opportunities and new challenges. Additionally, Ryan made significant contributions to our toolkit team by expanding our design resources beyond our immediate group, which benefited Microsoft's broader design team. His collaborative nature and deep commitment to his craft make him a valuable asset to any team.
The right tools for the job
Experience with a multitude of design tools that help me build successful products
Skills that pay the bills
A wide-ranging skillset developed over my multi-year design career
Design on my mind
I believe great design emerges from cross-collaboration, data-driven decisions, adaptability, and knowing when to push a project forward, or when to keep pushing for research.
Balancing user and business needs while recognizing stakeholders as not just team members, but users with goals and motivations, allows me to craft thoughtful solutions that grow products and factor in constraints.