Axel — design, code & growth

Since December 2025, I've worked full-time as Axel's Founding Design Engineer, reporting directly to the CEO. I take product problems from early exploration through interface design, frontend implementation, testing and engineering review. My remit also covers the brand and the creative work that brings people into the product.

Axel grew from 0 to 30M GMV and 0 to 100K+ users. My contribution spans the experience people discover, the product they use and the communications they receive: product design, frontend PRs, brand, campaigns and email. I work with the team to turn growth priorities into changes we can ship, test and refine.

My primary deliverable is a reviewable PR. I work in the frontend codebase, building the components, layouts, states and interactions needed to carry an experience into production. On helloaxel.com, that includes the landing experience, conversational interface and motion. A working preview lets the team review the actual behavior alongside the code.

I connect design and engineering in both directions. Design → engineering: I turn intent into components, interaction states and PRs that engineers can review. Engineering → design: I bring implementation feedback, real data and technical constraints back into the experience. Working with the lead engineer, I help keep the design and the running product aligned as both evolve.

I use AI coding tools throughout prototyping and implementation to move quickly from a design decision to a working change. The shared workflow with engineering gives that speed structure: focused PRs, clear review context and checks appropriate to the change. I stay responsible for the experience, the code I submit and the testing behind it.

I work across branding, visual identity and core advertising campaigns, carrying the same visual direction into landing pages and the product. That scope connects acquisition creative to what a traveler sees next. Within the product, my work includes booking and membership experiences, with attention to how people understand membership value and savings.

I design and maintain 28 transactional email templates in Customer.io and Liquid, from onboarding to cancellation. The work combines visual design with implementation: using real event data, handling missing values and checking how messages render. Email carries the same care as the interface because it is often where people learn what happened and what to do next.