I love figuring things out. New teams. New industries. New technology.
20+ years designing products means I've built a wide range of skills and ways of working, and I bring all of it to every stage of a product — from discovery to deployment.
Built for Complexity
01. Enterprise UX
Fortune 500 organizations trust me to design solutions that drive measurable impact — uncovering $5M+ revenue recovery opportunities at FedEx and improving JPMorgan Chase customer support and payment experiences at millions-of-user scale.
JPMorganFedExAWSDisneyCisco
End to End Journey
02. Digital Products
Trusted to solve complex product challenges from concept to launch — I combine strategy, research, and design execution to create experiences that scale across organizations.
Product strategyUX researchDesign-to-dev handoff
Building with AI Workflows
03. Designing with AI
AI has changed how I design—not by replacing critical thinking, but by accelerating exploration, prototyping, and iteration. It helps me spend less time producing deliverables and more time solving the right product problems.
I design beyond the interface—bringing structure to complex products through information architecture, scalable design systems, and workflows that help teams build with confidence.
Service DesignDesign SystemsPlatform Thinking
Beyond the System
05. Brand Identity
I build brand systems — identity, illustration, and visual language that give a design system a reason to exist.
Identity systemsBrand strategyVisual language
Small, nimble teams bring out my best work. I see myself as the bass player of the group, there to elevate everyone else's talent, not compete with it.
HOW I WORK
Discovery to Delivery
Work on end-to-end projects is my preference. Especially the early stages, before ambiguity turns into a plan.
But I'm just as comfortable jumping into a project mid-stream, picking up where someone else left off without missing a beat.
Discover
Research, stakeholder interviews, problem framing
Define
Synthesis, strategy, success metrics
Design
Wireframes, AI-assisted prototypes, design systems
AI is changing how products are built, but great products are still built around people.
I'm interested in using AI where it creates speed, insight, and better decision-making, while ensuring every experience remains understandable, trustworthy, and human.
Rapid Prototyping
What used to take me days now takes hours.
AI-Augmented Research
More research, not less. That's the real trade AI offers.
Strategic Product Thinking
Execution moves faster. That just means more time deciding what's worth building.
Cross-Team Alignment
A working prototype convinces a room faster than any deck ever could.
Human-in-the-Loop, by Design
Not every step should run on autopilot. I decide when, where, and how a human needs to step in.
I'm a Product Design Lead based in San Rafael, CA — 15+ years turning complex problems into experiences that actually work.
Recently at Amdocs Studio (fka Stellar Elements), I led UX for FedEx's parcel management overhaul and T-Mobile's AI-powered digital assistant, and worked with Cisco, Globe, and MUFG on enterprise platforms.
For over a decade, I've designed for mission-driven brands including Chase, Disney, and EA, working across brand, product, and enterprise systems. Few designers hold both ends of that spectrum. I do.
AI changed what one person can do. It didn't change judgment, that's still a human call.
1
Who I am
I'm Frank Barnhardt, a Product Design Lead based in San Rafael, CA. Twenty years of turning complex problems into experiences that actually work — from first concept to final deployment.
2
What I do
I work across the full design stack — brand, product, and enterprise systems. With AI in the workflow, one designer can now do what used to require a team. I use that deliberately.
Design Systems + Enterprise UX
AI-assisted Product Design
Digital Products
Brand Identity
3
Who hires me
End-to-end design lead for teams that need strategy and execution in the same person.
Project managers who need high-skill, low-ego delivery
Engineers who need a partner that speaks their language
Creative directors who need ideas that sell before they're built
Stakeholders who need to trust the person in the room
5
How I work with AI
I built a four-level framework for how AI participates in product design — not as a trend, as a practice. Most designers are still figuring out what AI is. I'm already designing systems around what it does and where it breaks.
"AI is a material, like paint or code. Use it when it makes the work better. Put it down when it doesn't. That judgment is the job."
AI as productivity tool
Human in the loop
Agents in systems
Right tool, right job
6
Getting started
If you're building something in healthcare, AI, or anywhere the design stakes are real — I'd like to hear about it. Send me an email and tell me what you're working on.
I'm currently open to full-time roles and select consulting engagements — particularly in healthcare AI, AI-native products, and enterprise UX.
