🚧 Designers never finish their own portfolio. This one ships rough on purpose and gets better in public. If something looks half-done, it probably is, and I'm on it.🚧 Designers never finish their own portfolio. This one ships rough on purpose and gets better in public. If something looks half-done, it probably is, and I'm on it.🚧 Designers never finish their own portfolio. This one ships rough on purpose and gets better in public. If something looks half-done, it probably is, and I'm on it.🚧 Designers never finish their own portfolio. This one ships rough on purpose and gets better in public. If something looks half-done, it probably is, and I'm on it.🚧 Designers never finish their own portfolio. This one ships rough on purpose and gets better in public. If something looks half-done, it probably is, and I'm on it.🚧 Designers never finish their own portfolio. This one ships rough on purpose and gets better in public. If something looks half-done, it probably is, and I'm on it.
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Principal Product Designer

Alex Zapadenko

Product design leader with 15+ years across enterprise platforms, B2B SaaS, and 0→1 products. Currently directing AI-driven design at Banyan Software, shaping both the AI-assisted pipeline and the next-generation experiences it ships across a portfolio of 50+ vertical SaaS products. Recently led the design for re-platforming Intuit Mailchimp Transactional — a developer-focused email API — into the unified Mailchimp experience. Earlier, scaled TheoremOne's design team from 10 to 50+ and integrated a 200-person global design practice at Monks. Open to select fractional and advisory engagements where I can set strategy, ship complex products, and build the teams behind them.

Get in touchDownload resumeLinkedIn

Years of experience

0

In design leadership

0

Largest team led

0

Designers hired

0

Projects delivered

0

Industries served

0

Cases

Selected work

A selection of work spanning enterprise platforms, B2B SaaS, and 0→1 products.

A 0→1 marketplace for fine-mineral collectors, built on trust

EarthWonders

A 0→1 marketplace for fine-mineral collectors, built on trust

Modernizing an enterprise platform that can never stop running

BlackLine

Modernizing an enterprise platform that can never stop running

An enterprise AI workspace, and what it becomes once the model runs locally

DocRobot

An enterprise AI workspace, and what it becomes once the model runs locally

A member portal, and the system that lets it keep growing

The Osage Nation

A member portal, and the system that lets it keep growing

A native Mac app for running multi-angle voice-assistant studies

Apple

A native Mac app for running multi-angle voice-assistant studies

Intuit MailchimpLocked

Mailchimp Transactional

Unifying two Mailchimp products built and run as separate apps

Products

Tentaplex

An old project, brought back. Years ago I led design on a workspace with a graph database hidden under it. The product wrapped up; the idea stuck. Now I'm rebuilding it from scratch, on my own, as a native Mac app, and this time the graph is the front door.

Tentanote

A Mac app that reads what your Mac already holds, mail, calendar, notes, files and tabs, and sorts it into the projects of your life.Native Mac app · Waitlist open

Tentabase

The database under Tentanote. Records go in, it works out what relates to what from what they say, and it can tell you why.Graph database · Not open yet
A walk through the app, on a made-up life.
How it works3 short films of the app, with sound

Products

YumLog

A voice-first calorie tracker. The Apple Watch is the main way in, and the iPhone app is the full companion: the day at a glance, chat, photo logging, progress, usuals and recipes.

Coming soon to the App Store7-day free trial
1,280 of 2,100820kcal left
“200 g salmon”“my usual rice”“I weigh 82.1”

Code

Experiments

Side projects I build to test how AI changes product design, prototyping, and delivery.

3,380 contributions since January 2025

@product-llc
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Every token, component and screen in this site, derived from source and drawn as one graph you can point atEvery token, component and screen in this site, derived from source and drawn as one graph you can point at — the code behind it

Usage Graph

Every token, component and screen in this site, derived from source and drawn as one graph you can point at

Static analysisNode + SVGDesign systems
A live fleet-tracking map with AI-generated telemetry, streamed from PostgresA live fleet-tracking map with AI-generated telemetry, streamed from Postgres — the code behind it

Motive

A live fleet-tracking map with AI-generated telemetry, streamed from Postgres

Next.jsRealtimeGeospatial
A Pathfinder 2e character builder with AI portraits that restyle every time you re-equipA Pathfinder 2e character builder with AI portraits that restyle every time you re-equip — the code behind it

Pathfinder

A Pathfinder 2e character builder with AI portraits that restyle every time you re-equip

React + AIImage genTTRPG
A voice-first AI assistant for teachers — lesson plans, parent notes, quizzesA voice-first AI assistant for teachers — lesson plans, parent notes, quizzes — the code behind it

Poppy

A voice-first AI assistant for teachers — lesson plans, parent notes, quizzes

Next.js + GPTVoiceEdTech

Misc

Other client work

Notes

The longer arguments

All notes

Essays on design leadership, hiring, and building with AI.

AIUX

Patterns for AI products

All patterns

The recurring problems in products whose output is generated rather than retrieved.

Resume

The path so far

Download resume

  1. Tentaplex

    1. Founder

      Sep 2026 – Present · 2 mos

      Building Tentanote, a Mac app where everything you save stays findable, and Tentabase, the graph database under it.

  2. Banyan Software logo

    Banyan Software

    1. Principal Architect, AI Product Design

      May 2026 – Present · 6 mos

      Direct AI-driven design for an internal Software Modernization Factory retooling a portfolio of 50+ vertical SaaS products across the group. Shape both the AI-assisted pipeline that does the work and the next generation of experiences it ships — embedding intelligent workflows into products where legacy interfaces stood.

  3. product.inc

    1. Principal Product Designer

      Dec 2022 – Present · 3 yrs 11 mos

      Run a fractional design practice for early-stage founders, from product strategy through launch. Anchor ongoing engagements at EarthWonders (e-commerce) and Edvo (B2C SaaS), and ship 0→1 concepts, marketing sites, and investor materials for Cracken AGI, Journify, UnboxAI, and other emerging startups.

Work together

Find the mode that fits

AI transformation for design teams

Three modes depending on where your team is. Currently taking on fractional work.

Fractional (1–3 days/wk)

Open

Best for: Growing teams that need senior leadership without adding a full headcount.

  • Player-coach support for designers
  • Tighter design/eng handoffs
  • Hands-on design where it matters
Start a conversationRates and how it works

Full-time Director

Not available

Best for: Teams that need a long-term design leader to scale people, systems, and delivery.

  • Org design, hiring, leveling and coaching
  • Design ops and governance
  • Hands-on high-leverage work

Full-time Principal

Not available

Best for: Hands-on execution in complex areas where an expert IC leads by doing.

  • Ownership of critical product surfaces
  • Deep discovery, design and prototyping
  • Close pairing with engineering and PM
A 1950s roadside pole sign reading “Pushok's Emporium”, with Pushok's face in a round medallion, a starburst on top, an arrow of bulbs pointing down, and a plate that says “Coming soon”

Shop

Exit through the gift shop

See the shop

Pushok is a good boy, but good boys still owe rent, and it is hard to hold down a job without thumbs. Every figure sold goes to his college fund.