Ryan Underwood

Ryan Underwood

Design System Lead | Brand in Hampshire, Illinois, He/Him/His

About

I am a non-award-winning (It's all politics and I never submit anyways. I'm not bitter.) designer, leader, and somewhat of a front-end developer.

Right now I work at the convergence of operations, branding, marketing, and systems/operations. That is a few ten-dollar words to just say I help companies build their branding, and organize and operationalize it.

I am a designer with many moons of experience. If I am being honest, I lost count of how many years. Starting with a pirated version of Adobe Photoshop and making materials for various bands I was in during my early 20s, I learned some early on-set soft skills. Some of these skills being client management, and others including learning the hard way about the necessity of a contract in a freelance working relationship.

Throughout my career, I have been fortunate-enough to work for some great companies to help them to grow through design, strategy, and systematic development.

When not plopped down in front of a computer hitting command + k in Figma, or in VSCODE you can typically find me reading, playing guitar, working out, or complaining that my knees are sore (most likely from working out).

I have not hit the "smoking meat" phase of life. Yet. Though... I do have some Aaron Franklin and Matty Matheson cookbooks.

Thanks, Chef.

Work Experience

2022 — Now
Remote

Branding & Design System:

  • Build, maintain, and develop reusable UI components that ensure brand consistency across all digital experiences.

  • Collaborate with designers and developers to define and implement design system standards for colors, typography, imagery, icons, and other branding elements.

  • Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for the design system, including usage guidelines, code snippets, and best practices.

  • Conduct regular audits of the design system to identify areas for improvement and ensure continued alignment with brand guidelines.

    Front-End Development:

  • Develop front-end code for marketing emails and landing pages using the established design system components.

  • Collaborate with designers and copywriters to translate marketing concepts into visually appealing and functional user experiences.

  • Ensure code is optimized for performance, accessibility, and responsiveness across different devices.

    Branding Asset & Template Management:

  • Operationalize branding assets and templates by creating a centralized library with clear version control and usage guidelines.

  • Develop processes for requesting and approving new branding assets to maintain brand consistency.

  • Partner with marketing and design teams to ensure easy access and utilization of branded assets.

    Communication & Collaboration:

  • Proactively communicate design system updates, best practices, and resources to designers, developers, and other stakeholders.

  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams (marketing, product, engineering) to ensure alignment between brand strategy and digital experiences.

  • Foster a culture of design system adoption by providing ongoing support and training to internal teams.

2019 — 2022
Senior Art Director at CrossCountry Mortgage
  • Lead a team of 10 to consistent and cohesive branding

  • Develop internal and external facing design systems

  • Design and develop large scale branding systems

  • Develop large scale SASS-based component system

  • Structure project management system for a department of 40+ people

  • Design and build large scale email campaigns

2021 — 2022
Senior Art Director at Princeton Mortgage
Remote
2016 — 2020
Art Director & Front-End Dev at PERL Mortgage
Chicago
  • Lead a design team to develop and design new branding and marketing systems for Loan Officers

  • Write and design marketing pieces for regionalized marketing

  • Design and develop WordPress Marketing site

  • Design and develop individual Loan Officer and Branch pages

  • Establish brand guidelines for company of 500+ employees

  • Design and build large scale email campaigns

Education

2010 — 2013
Bachelor of Design at Illinois Institute of Art
Chicago

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