Ryszard Szeja - Product Designer

About

I design complex products that don’t make people feel stupid

Ryszard Szeja

Product Designer

Most of my work starts when the brief sounds more certain than the evidence behind it

How I work

I ask questions, make things early and change direction when something doesn’t work. I care about the details too

Looking for

A team that wants a designer while the answer is still open, not after the screens are due

What I want to build

Useful products with enough character to feel like someone actually cared about making them

Some numbers I can actually show

+8–38 pp correct navigation choices

tastytrade · Tree testing

I reorganised Account Management around how customers grouped tasks, then ran a second tree test to check the new hierarchy

≈35% more applications submitted

Stepstone · Application journey

I redesigned the application flow: removed repeated fields, rewrote the copy and reused data candidates had already saved

≈20% more job listings viewed

Stepstone · Search

I simplified the job cards so location, work model and salary were easier to compare while scrolling

≈10% more App Store downloads

Stepstone · App Store

I redesigned and tested the App Store screenshots, then rewrote the product-page copy to explain the app more clearly

Recommendations

What my teammates say I’m useful for

“Ryszard helped establish our first-ever user research practices, coached others on different research methodologies, and provided valuable feedback to his peers about how to improve our experiences. I’m grateful to have had the chance to manage, work with, and learn from Ryszard”

Camille Celone Product Design Manager @ tastytrade

Camille Celone

Product Design Manager @ tastytrade

Camille Celone

Product Design Manager @ tastytrade

Makes sense of the mess

“Ryszard has a great ability to bring together quantitative data, customer interviews, usability research, and platform analytics into insights that are easy to act on.”

Karolina Johnson
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade

Helps decide what to do

“His work went far beyond conducting research. He was often the person identifying opportunities and helping shape the first direction for UX solutions.”

Karolina Johnson
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade

Gets involved where needed

“He’ll dive deep into any area that needs attention, whether it’s copywriting, digging into data to identify opportunities for improvement, or prototyping concepts to get in front of users.”

Camille Celone

Product Design Manager @ tastytrade

Challenges the default answer

“He’s not afraid to ask difficult questions or challenge assumptions, always with the goal of making the user experience stronger.”

Kasia Kołodziej
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade

Research that leaves the repository

“He knows how to translate research into thoughtful, practical design solutions that balance customer needs with business goals.”

Karolina Johnson
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade

Better, not easier

“Ryszard is a collaborative, approachable teammate who’s always focused on finding the best solution rather than the easiest one.”

Kasia Kołodziej
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade

Challenges the default answer

“He’s not afraid to ask difficult questions or challenge assumptions, always with the goal of making the user experience stronger.”

Kasia Kołodziej
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade

Research that leaves the repository

“He knows how to translate research into thoughtful, practical design solutions that balance customer needs with business goals.”

Karolina Johnson
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade

Better, not easier

“Ryszard is a collaborative, approachable teammate who’s always focused on finding the best solution rather than the easiest one.”

Kasia Kołodziej
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade

Makes sense of the mess

“Ryszard has a great ability to bring together quantitative data, customer interviews, usability research, and platform analytics into insights that are easy to act on.”

Karolina Johnson
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade

Helps decide what to do

“His work went far beyond conducting research. He was often the person identifying opportunities and helping shape the first direction for UX solutions.”

Karolina Johnson
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade

Gets involved where needed

“He’ll dive deep into any area that needs attention, whether it’s copywriting, digging into data to identify opportunities for improvement, or prototyping concepts to get in front of users.”

Camille Celone

Product Design Manager @ tastytrade

Selected Case Studies

The two projects I’d start with

An empty roadside landscape with a tumbleweed beneath utility lines.

After Apply

Candidates applied, then waited without clarity. I reframed the gap and tested ways to reassure them, sustain momentum and make the wait more useful.

Native iOS · Recruitment · Journey redesign

Investor Membership

One interview was meant to answer four questions. I reframed the study, split qualitative from quantitative research, and designed the concepts the revised study needed.

Fintech · Product design · Research strategy

After Apply

Candidates applied, then waited without clarity. I reframed the gap and designed experiments to reassure them, sustain momentum, and make the next step feel more useful.

Native iOS · Recruitment · Journey redesign · Shipped

Investor Membership

One interview was meant to answer four questions. I reframed the study, split qualitative from quantitative research, and designed the concepts the revised study needed.

Fintech · Product design · Research strategy

After Apply

Candidates applied, then waited without clarity. I reframed the gap and designed experiments to reassure them, sustain momentum, and make the next step feel more useful.

Native iOS · Recruitment · Journey redesign · Shipped

Investor Membership

One interview was meant to answer four questions. I reframed the study, split qualitative from quantitative research, and designed the concepts the revised study needed.

Fintech · Product design · Research strategy

Additional Work

More things I’ve designed, built, and explored

Lmente

A selection of focused product improvements across the tastytrade, from simplifying complex trading workflows to refining everyday interactions

Native iOS · Recruitment · Journey redesign · Shipped

Lmente

A selection of focused product improvements across the tastytrade, from simplifying complex trading workflows to refining everyday interactions

Fintech · Social · Journey redesign · Shipped

Charging bull sculpture representing financial markets.

Trading Explorations

Trading ideas that didn’t need a full case study — including a few we built, a few we tested and a few we were right not to pursue

Fintech · Product design · 2024–26

Trading Explorations

Trading ideas that didn’t need a full case study — including a few we built, a few we tested and a few we were right not to pursue

Fintech · Product design · Research · 2024–26

Trading Explorations

Trading ideas that didn’t need a full case study — including a few we built, a few we tested and a few we were right not to pursue

Fintech · Product design · Research · 2024–26

Lmente

One interview was meant to answer four questions. I reframed the study, split qualitative from quantitative research, and designed the concepts the revised study needed.

Fintech · Product design · Research strategy

How I Think

Five situations I keep running into in product work

What I check

Is this a real problem, or a feature the team already wants to build?

Where I start

I separate facts from assumptions and check what could change the decision before moving into UI.

Seen in practice

Stepstone and tastytrade · Testing demand before designing requested features.

The solution arrived before the problem

What I check

Is this a problem people actually have, or a feature the team already wants to build? How often does it happen, and what evidence do we have?

Where I start

I write down what we know, what we’re assuming and what could change the decision. Then I check the most important unknowns before moving forward.

Seen in practice

Stepstone and tastytrade · Checking whether requested AI assistants, Live Activities and filters solved a real problem before moving into UI.

The solution arrived before the problem

What I check

Is this a problem people actually have, or a feature the team already wants to build? How often does it happen, and what evidence do we have?

Where I start

I write down what we know, what we’re assuming and what could change the decision. Then I check the most important unknowns before moving forward. The original idea can stay, but it no longer gets a free pass.

Seen in practice

Stepstone and tastytrade · AI assistants, Live Activities and filters that needed evidence before they needed UI.