Tristan Plank, Senior Product Designer

Available for new projects or full-time work

Hi! 👋 I’m a senior product designer and design leader with 13+ years of experience across healthcare, utilities, B2B SaaS, finance, and defense. My experience may look agency-heavy, but I’ve been fortunate with several long-term projects that included embedding with design and engineering teams as an in-house designer.

I lead product design from strategy through launch, using research insights and AI-assisted prototyping to bring clarity to messy design problems.

Get in touch
LinkedIntristan-plankX@the_tristanpResumeView PDF
LinkedInTristan PlankX@the_tristanp

Selected work

Some projects are under NDA and cannot be shared online.

BombBombB2BWeb app2025 – PresentOnly designer on a platform rebuild months from launch. I triaged the riskiest experiences, and the new platform launched on schedule.
NASAResponsive web2020 – 2021Case study coming soon: Reimagining NASA.gov. I was on the small design team tasked with consolidating and reimagining the space agency’s website.

Other projects

  • Defense clientDesigner, human factors engineer

    Confidential

    2024 – 2026
  • Scott IPCProduct designer

    Aero Charting App Design

    2025
  • NASAProduct designer

    Ground Control Station Design

    2023
  • SoCalGasDesign director

    MyAccount Redesign

    2023
  • AvangridDesign director

    New Connections Redesign

    2023
  • AvangridDesign director

    Outages Journey Redesign

    2023
  • AmazonDesign director, product designer

    Alexa Shopping Envisioning

    2022
  • GoogleDesign director

    Auto Buying Journey Mapping

    2022
  • GesaLead designer

    Website & Education Center Design

    2021
  • AmazonResearcher, designer

    AWS Sales Funnel

    2020
  • MicrosoftResearcher, designer

    Surface and Office Out of Box User Testing

    2019
  • WellSkyLead designer

    CareTend Redesign

    2018 – 2019
  • AmazonUX designer

    Prime TV App UX Audit

    2017
  • Farm CreditLead UX designer

    Loan Origination System Redesign

    2015 – 2017
  • MicrosoftResearcher

    Office 365 Usability Testing

    2016
  • MicrosoftResearcher

    Account Planning Strategy

    2015
  • Swedish Cancer InstituteUX designer

    Website Redesign

    2015
  • SMGUX designer, researcher

    Mobile App Redesign

    2015
  • FlukeUX designer

    Fluke Connect System Design

    2015
  • Houston MethodistUX designer, researcher

    Website Design and Testing

    2014
  • LogRhythmUX designer

    Case Management Design

    2014
  • StarbucksUX designer

    Partner Hub Design

    2014
  • ViveraeUX designer

    Member Health Dashboard Design

    2014
  • AlacerUX designer

    Money Laundering Dashboard Design

    2013

Playground

Passion projects and experiments with AI

About

Designing and improving products and systems for 13+ years.

I’ve spent more than 13 years helping teams make complex products, services, and systems safer and easier to use. I’m most at home in ambiguous, messy spaces where understanding the people, workflows, and systems behind the product matters.

My work spans product design, research, systems thinking, and human factors. I’ve led interdisciplinary teams and end-to-end engagements across healthcare, utilities, B2B SaaS, finance, and defense.

MS, Human Centered Design & Engineering, University of Washington

Experience

  • Director of Product DesignHF Designworks
    2024 – Present
  • Independent Product DesignerSelected clients, including BombBomb
    2016 – Present
  • Design DirectorBlink UX
    2022 – 2024
  • Principal DesignerBlink UX
    2020 – 2022
  • DesignerBlink UX
    2013 – 2020
  • Designer and ResearcherHF Designworks
    2008 – 2014

Expertise

  • Product design for complex workflowsInformation architecture, interaction design, and product strategy for workflows where clarity and trust matter.
  • Systems thinkingConnecting people, processes, policies, data, and technology to improve the end-to-end experience, not just the interface.
  • Research and human factorsCustomer research, concept and usability testing, and human factors assessments that ground decisions in evidence.
  • Design leadershipAligning teams and stakeholders around ambiguous problems and guiding the work through delivery.
  • Design systemsReusable components, patterns, and documentation that help teams design and build consistently.
  • Rapid prototypingHigh-fidelity and AI-assisted prototypes that clarify ideas, reduce ambiguity, and accelerate decisions.

Clients

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
  • Avangrid
  • BombBomb
  • NASA
  • Microsoft
  • Google
  • Amazon
  • Anduril
  • Cisco
  • Starbucks
  • First American
  • Gesa Credit Union
  • Farm Credit Mid-America
  • LogRhythm
  • WellSky
  • DataTrace

Testimonials

“Tristan is a strategic Design leader and his knack for identifying opportunities and navigating complex challenges is second to none. He knows how to work effectively with executives and not only understands their unique needs and priorities but also has the finesse to influence change at the highest levels of an organization. Tristan’s insights and recommendations have consistently made a significant impact on our clients strategic design decisions.”
Brett C.VP of Revenue Growth1/10
“Tristan is one of the most talented and thoughtful designers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. From the moment he joined our account, I felt reassured that our redesign work was in good hands. Tristan knows how to handle a room filled with stakeholders and subject matter experts at various levels and he has a delicate approach to challenging existing processes and addressing opportunities for improvement. He organized the team to ensure that the full, end-to-end, and behind-the-scenes journey was designed to truly deliver the best customer experience.”
Samantha S.Head of Marketing & Customer Journey2/10
“Tristan led our team effortlessly in our work to redesign a complex, technical title search product. He aligned a team of stakeholders on a vision and helped define a product strategy that went hand-in-hand with streamlined, user-centric designs. As a designer, I felt supported and empowered to do my best work as Tristan guided the project through twists and turns. He is calm under pressure, can read situations well, and knows how to be an advocate for design that respects clients’ processes while pushing them in forward-thinking directions”
Alex P.UX Designer3/10
“I had the pleasure of working with Tristan as part of a multi-year initiative to reimagine our flagship product. Tristan keenly understands the balance of time and resources when determining which UX / UI activities and deliverables will provide the most value. He has a remarkable aptitude to quickly assimilate information and new concepts, and synthesize those into efficient workflows. On top of providing next-level design, he is extremely personable and fun, and my team thoroughly enjoyed our collaboration with him.”
Chris N.Director, Solution Management4/10
“Tristan was an invaluable resource on a very complex healthcare project where we required UI/UX resources to assist in the design of a new and innovative approach to our platforms. Not only did Tristan bring a level of professionalism and standard methodology in the realm of UI/UX to our team, he became a large contributor in innovating our platform overall. His approach also created a level of loyalty and trust on the team that is rarely experienced with a third party consultant.”
Kim C.Chief of Product5/10
“Tristan was the first employee I hired for my then-fledgling company back in 2008. To this day, no other candidate has done the research on the company, the products, or the customers like he did. This innate skillset and attention to detail carries over to everything he does. Tristan is my go-to designer but also my thought partner when working with a variety of clients across industries. He can initiate a project, plan it out and maintain time and budget, create brilliant designs that meet both client and user needs, and most of all he builds wonderful relationships with clients and team members. Tristan has been an instrumental part of my company and our projects for years and I am proud to have his support professionally and personally.”
Scott S.Founder and CEO6/10
“Working alongside Tristan it was evident how thoughtful, detail-oriented, and professional he is. In addition to his drive to deliver high-quality, evidence-based designs, he brings an exceptional level of partnership to all of his projects. That relationship building is critical to the success he brings to every project. For me personally, Tristan was a designer I always looked up to and a key person that sparked my journey to becoming a UX Researcher.”
Tim B.Senior UX Researcher7/10
“Tristan brought a unique collection of skills to our organization. Certainly, he’s a great designer, but his ability to communicate product vision and empathy for the customer to executive stakeholders and delivery teams alike made him a very valuable part of our team. Working with Tristan never felt like working with a third party, it felt like working with a fellow team member, collaborator and friend. He always checked pride of ownership at the door on his ideas and took feedback willingly to influence his decisions.”
Daniel B.Vice President of Enterprise Applications8/10
“Working with Tristan was a delight from start to finish. His expertise in design thinking made him an excellent partner when working on redesigning a highly complex user journey that impacted a variety of both internal stakeholders and end customers. Tristan approached each day of the project and it’s challenges with equal parts professionalism and inspiration — always able to think critically, creatively and innovate whenever pivoting was required. He led workshops with executives and traveled for stakeholder interviews, always willing to do what was needed to accomplish the goals for his client and the project.”
Meyrav L.Senior Project Manager, Customer Journey9/10
“I had a great experience as a researcher working under Tristan’s design direction. I appreciated his knowledge and understanding of the research process, where it best fit, and what questions it best helped answer throughout the human-centered design project we partnered together on. His expertise in design, navigating client communication and project management made an impression not just on the clients themselves but certainly on me – I’d love an opportunity to work with Tristan again!”
Angie M.Principal Researcher10/10

Philosophy

  1. Design is a team sport

    The strongest products come from diverse, low-ego teams that respect each discipline and challenge one another’s assumptions.

  2. Evidence over opinion

    Research, behavioral data, and market context keep decisions grounded in the people and problems the product serves.

  3. Communication is part of the design

    From Figma comments during design to microcopy in the product, communication is part of the experience.

  4. Prototype, always

    If a picture is worth a thousand words, a prototype is worth a thousand meetings (IDEO).

  5. Ship, learn, improve

    Good teams ship, learn, and refine. Deadlines matter, but so does creating a clear path for the next iteration.