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Danny Papageorge

Product Designer · 15+ years · Travel · Energy · Fintech

I draw the system before I design the screen.

I’m Danny, a product designer who came up through graphic design and illustration. For 15+ years I’ve turned complex platforms into clear products that ship continuously. I still sketch every system by hand before a single pixel exists.

See the workHire me →Open to Senior / Staff / Lead / Manager
FIG. 01ANATOMY OF A CLEAR PRODUCT01Strategythe decision02Systemthe model03Flowthe path04Interfacethe screen
The proof is right below

15+

Years shipping digital products

IC → Lead

Promoted twice in 5 years at Switchfly

5+

Industries, global leaders to startups

10+

Named brands shipped for

Selected clients & employers

  • American Express
  • JetBlue
  • American Airlines
  • Carvana
  • Credit Suisse
  • The Michael J. Fox Foundation
  • Comcast
  • Specialized
  • Brewers Association
  • Switchfly
  • Uplight
  • Pellucid Analytics
  • Mondo Robot
01Selected work
All projects →

A platform I led, an app I built, and the range around them.

Switchfly is the deep one: five years, three roles, a team and a system I built. Moody is the one I designed, built, and deployed solo as a live web app. The rest span energy, fintech, nonprofit, and consumer, from the Michael J. Fox Foundation to Specialized.

01Travel platform · 5 years
Fig. 01Travel · Commerce platform

Switchfly

Leading design on a living travel platform

Product Designer on a deeply customizable travel commerce platform, booking flights, hotels, cars, and activities with points and cash for clients like American Express and JetBlue, across many markets, cobrands, and devices.

Travel · Commerce platform·Product Designer
Product strategyDesign leadershipDesign systems
02Self-initiated · 0→1
Live
Fig. 02Consumer · Wellbeing

Moody

A calmer way to notice how you feel

A self-initiated mood-tracking app I designed and built on my own, sketching in Figma and deploying a real, working web app with Claude, GitHub, and Supabase.

Consumer · Wellbeing·Solo designer & maker
0→1 productProduct designPrototyping
03White-label design system
Fig. 03Energy · SaaS

Uplight

A marketplace any utility can make its own

Designed the configurable system that lets any utility brand Uplight’s Marketplace as its own store, and authored the onboarding guide that turned a bespoke setup into a repeatable, accessible launch.

Energy · SaaS·Product Designer
Design systemsWhite-label configAccessibility
04Discovery → delivery
Fig. 04Nonprofit · Healthcare

Michael J. Fox Foundation

From discovery to delivery for a Parkinson’s leader

Co-built the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s website at Mondo Robot: UX discovery at scale, a value-exchange strategy for two very different audiences, and the interactions and motion that brought it to life.

Nonprofit · Healthcare·Interaction Designer · Mondo Robot
UX researchProduct strategyInformation architecture
05iOS + Android · React Native
Fig. 05Consumer · Mobile app

Brew Guru

A homebrewer’s app, refocused

Redesigned and rebuilt the American Homebrewers Association’s Brew Guru app in React Native, refocusing it around member deals and shipping a 4.0★ experience across iOS and Android.

Consumer · Mobile app·Interaction Designer · Mondo Robot
Mobile designUX researchDesign systems
06Brand identity · Logo
Fig. 06Hospitality · Brand identity

Heady Coffee Co.

Branding a coffee shop into an existing family

Created the brand identity and logo for Heady Coffee Co., a Boulder coffee shop and sister company to McDevitt Taco Supply, building a fresh mark that still reads as part of the same family.

Hospitality · Brand identity·Brand & Logo Designer
Brand identityLogo designVisual systems
07iOS + Android · 0→1
Fig. 07Consumer · Mobile app

Specialized

Power Cranks, setting up a new ride sensor

Designed the Power Cranks app for Specialized, the setup experience for a new power-and-cadence sensor, built for both riders and Independent Bike Dealers, and handed off as iOS and Android prototypes.

Consumer · Mobile app·Interaction Designer · Mondo Robot
Mobile designUX flowsWireframing
08Tablet + browser · Data viz
Fig. 08Fintech · Financial analytics

Pellucid Analytics

From raw data to a credible chart, fast

Designed core product UI and data visualizations for a tablet and browser platform that helped advisory professionals turn raw financial data into credible charts and decks in a fraction of the usual time.

Fintech · Financial analytics·Product Designer
Data visualizationSystems thinkingWireframing
02How I actually work

Four opinions I’ll bring to your team.

Not a tasteful list of values, the actual stances I’ll argue for in your roadmap meeting.

  1. 01

    Delete before you design

    The most valuable thing I shipped at Switchfly was often the step I removed. I hunt for what can disappear before I polish what’s left. It’s faster, cheaper, and kinder to the person using it.

  2. 02

    If you can’t draw it, you don’t get it

    Fifteen years in, I still sketch every system by hand before I open Figma. A pen finds the gaps in your thinking that pixels are happy to paper over.

  3. 03

    A design system is a settled argument

    On a platform that ships continuously, the system is the only thing keeping a thousand small decisions from drifting apart. I build the agreement, not just the components.

  4. 04

    Research is how you stop being wrong in public

    Wireframes and opinions get a team moving; testing keeps it honest. I’d rather be corrected by five users in a room than by the whole market after launch.

03Fifteen years, abbreviated

Freelance

2025-Present

Independent Product Designer & Brand Consultant · Product & brand

Independent product and brand design since 2025, partnering with founders and teams from concept through shipped work.

Switchfly

2020-2025

Product Designer · Travel

Led product design for a travel commerce platform, managing a team of designers while staying hands-on as an individual contributor. Promoted from UX/UI Designer to Senior to Lead across five years.

Uplight

2019-2020

Product Designer · Energy

Designed, implemented, and tested new features across multiple product lines in the clean-energy space, working alongside product owners, engineers, and scrum masters.

Mondo Robot

2015-2019

Interaction Designer · Agency · Various

Designed digital products, from websites and mobile apps to platforms, for clients ranging from global industry leaders to startups at a Boulder creative agency.

Pellucid Analytics

2013-2015

Designer · Financial analytics

Worked with product owners and development teams to solve complex problems in the financial analytics space.

Full resume →

Currently open to new roles

Let’s make somethingclear.

Senior, Staff, Lead, or Design Manager, if you’re untangling something complicated and want a designer who thinks in systems, I’d love to hear about it.