Design Strategy
A Little BitAbout Me
Over the last fifteen years, my work has sat at the intersection of systems, design, and emerging technology. I've helped build and shape products across fintech, education, crypto, and AI, often stepping in where things are complex, loosely defined, or evolving quickly, and making them usable, durable, and understandable.
I'm drawn to work where precedent is thin and the rules aren't fully written yet. Where tools, incentives, and norms are still being defined, and early decisions meaningfully shape how systems evolve.
Along the way, I've worked with organizations like The Ethereum Foundation and Optimism on public goods funding, and worked on products like Safe and Gnosis Pay, where the goal was to make self-custody and crypto payments feel obvious rather than intimidating. I've also helped rebuild Typing.com, a free platform that helps tens of millions of students and teachers across the world, and contributed to causes and movements I believe in, from Yang 2020 to work with Amnesty International.
My interest in new organizational models, particularly DAOs, eventually led to a conversation with TIME Magazine about what it's actually like to work inside them.
DJing for many years led me to co-found Night Vision, an underground electronic music project that shaped how I think about communal experience and participation.
Being a parent of two has been a reliable way to stay grounded, especially when deciding what actually needs to be complicated and what doesn't.
Today, I focus on building systems that can handle real-world complexity, scale responsibly, and continue to work long after the initial excitement wears off.
MyExperience
Download My CV
Colin Spence
Product Designer
I’m a product designer and creative leader with 15+ years of design experience, building system level UX across SaaS, AI, and decentralized products. I’m skilled at turning ambiguity into clear interaction patterns, facilitating cross-functional alignment, and delivering production ready designs in fast moving environments.
Proficiencies
Design Leadership
Product Design
Human-Centered Design
Frontend Development
Generative Art
3D Illustration
Communication and Collaboration
Continuous Learning
Passionate and Motivated
Tools
Figma/Figjam
Miro
Adobe Creative Suite
React Typescript
Next.JS
TailwindCSS
Material UI
Framer
WebGL
Three.JS
Education
2006 - 2009
Branding & Illustration
MacEwan University
References
Jordan Ellis
|AITVAndrej Ktitarev
|Deep WorkAuryn MacMillan
|Gnosis GuildOri Shimony
|dOrgReferences are available upon request.
Work Experience
2024 - Present
AITV
|Product DesignerShape the core UX for agent creation, credit systems, and real-time actions, improving clarity across a rapidly evolving product surface.
2021 - 2025
Deep Work
|Creative Director / Product DesignerDirected and delivered rapid UX solutions in a number of "Hyper Sprints", helping early-stage teams define flows and patterns under tight constraints.
2021 - 2024
Gnosis Guild
|Product Designer / Frontend DeveloperDesigned intuitive UX for decentralized governance tools, simplifying complex DAO mechanisms and concepts into clear interaction patterns.
2020 - 2024
Polywrap
|Product Designer / Frontend DeveloperImproved developer experience and brand clarity for Polywrap tooling, translating protocol-level complexity into accessible product surfaces.
2019 - 2024
dOrg
|Product Designer / Frontend DeveloperDesigned and built UX for multiple web3 ecosystem projects, contributing both design and frontend engineering across varied decentralized products.
2017 - 2019
Teaching.com
|Product Designer / Frontend DeveloperDesigned UX/UI for Typing.com, the leading typing education platform, improving core flows and learning interactions for tens of millions of students.
2014 - 2017
Granify
|Design LeadLed a five-person design team, shaping e-commerce UX with in-app nudges, using behavioural psychology, and data-driven optimization while cultivating a culture of trust, exploration, and mastery.
2010 - 2014
Venture Publishing
|Associate Art DirectorDesigned and directed visual design across multiple print and digital publications, delivering consistent editorial layouts and brand systems.
Currently
![Verses GT / Self Titled [2025]](/_next/image?url=%2Factivities%2Fverses-gt.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Listening
Verses GT / Self Titled [2025]
Cooking
Pumpkin ravioli with brown butter and sage
Enjoying
Backyard gradient views #nofilter