Every team needs a creative muse
Hi! I’m Kristi Muse, a Staff UX Designer
10+ years in UX and product design. I shape end-to-end experiences across cross-product initiatives at Curinos, a financial data and analytics company, turning complex data into intuitive SaaS solutions, including the AI assistant analysts use to make sense of them. Other product teams are now building on those patterns.
How I got here
I came to design from international business. It was a sharp turn and I've never looked back. UX is the only work I've found where my analytical side and my creative side aren't a trade off.
What I'm good at
Untangling dense systems
Pricing models, campaign flows, reporting platforms. I make them something a person can act on.
Getting teams to one direction
Product, engineering, and leadership rarely start aligned. I get them there with something on screen rather than a document.
Shipping in pieces, not dumps
I break a stuck problem into parts small enough to release, so progress is visible while it's still cheap to change.
Working across very different products
Enterprise fintech, retail e-commerce, mobile ordering, influencer platforms. The domain changes, the method doesn't.
Designing AI people trust
Most AI features fall apart at the moment they can't help. That's the part I design for: what it knows, how current it is, when to bring in a person.
Standards other teams actually adopt
Accessibility, design tokens, AI patterns. The work I'm proudest of is what other teams picked up without me in the room.
10+ yrs
UX & product design
12+
Products & brands shipped
WCAG 2.2 AA/AAA
Accessibility standards I defined
1,500+
Financial institutions Curinos serves
Outside of work: chasing the best coffee in every city, over-researching travel itineraries, and taking far too many photos to remember it by.
Beyond my own projects
Accessibility
I introduced Stark at Curinos and defined the WCAG 2.2 AA and AAA standards our products are built to. The documentation I wrote for one platform became the template other teams work from.
Design Systems
Unified and scaled our design systems across React and Angular frameworks, on products that had been drifting apart.
The Rebrand
I lead the rebrand on Capture, the first Curinos One platform to implement the new design system. The tokens we piloted are being adopted into the shared foundation the rest of the company builds on.
AI Interface Patterns
The assistant interface I designed is being extended into Curinos One, the company’s flagship product line for 2027.
Hiring & Mentoring
I interview Senior UX Designer candidates and mentor designers across levels through design review, critique, and a 30/60/90 day plan each.
The path
2026 - present
Curinos
Staff UX Designer
2021 - 2026
Curinos
Senior UX Designer
2019 - 2021
LTK
Product Designer
2018 - 2019
projekt202 (now Amdocs Studios)
Experience Designer
2016 - 2018
projekt202 (now Amdocs Studios)
Interaction Designer
Areas of expertise
Strategy & Leadership
User Experience (UX) Strategy • Product Strategy • Design Operations • Cross-Functional Leadership • Storytelling & Presentation • Human-Centered Design (HCD)
Research & Validation
Moderated & Unmoderated Usability Testing • Qualitative & Quantitative Research • Competitive Analysis • Contextual Inquiry • Affinity Diagramming • Persona Development • User Journeys • A/B Testing • Data Analysis
Design & Systems
AI Interface Design • Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) Design • Web Accessibility (WCAG 2.2 AA/AAA, ADA) • Inclusive Design • Design Systems • Design System Governance • Design Tokens • Information Architecture • Data Visualization • Wireframing • Prototyping • Interaction Design • Visual Design • Mobile Design (iOS, Android) • Agile Delivery • Localization • Branding
Tools
Design & Prototyping
Figma • FigJam • Figma Make • Claude • Claude Code • ChatGPT • Framer • Adobe Creative Suite • Excalidraw
Research & Analytics
Stark • Maze • Pendo • Jellyfish • Google Analytics
Delivery & Collaboration
Jira • Atlassian Confluence
Technical
HTML • CSS • JavaScript (working knowledge)
Languages
English
Native
Korean
C2
French
A2
Spanish
A2
What others say
Shortened. Full recommendations on LinkedIn.
Mia Lewis
UX Designer, Curinos (mentored by Kristi)
…one of the most exceptional design leaders I have had the privilege of working with. As a PM, you would want her for her strategic thinking. As an engineering lead, for the clarity and logic behind her design decisions…Kristi is the reason I got into design in the first place.
Dana Comradd
Director UX Design, Curinos
(now Sr. UX/AI Product Design Consultant, Mercor)
Kristi was the first Sr. UX Designer that I recruited to our small but growing UX team at Curinos, and she quickly made an impact far beyond her role…Kristi brings a rare combination of strategic thinking, talent, and infectious energy.
Ernesto Herrero
Product Manager, Curinos
(now Co-founder, Diamant)
As a clear leader within the UX Design team @ Curinos, Kristi exceeded everything that was asked of her… being able to rely on Kristi day in and day out was definitely a huge factor for the team's success.
Andrés Saavedra
Product Designer, Curinos
(now Product Designer, Intico Studio)
…she immediately stood out as a seasoned product designer. Kristi is also a great presenter who articulates design rationale effortlessly, whether leading internal reviews or presenting to company-wide audiences.
Robert Comradd Jr, MBA
UX Director of Product Design, LTK
(now Group Creative Director UI, CourtAvenue)
I could give Kristi a challenge or a direction and trust her to run with it. She consistently delivered more than I expected and always found ways to push the work further… I always knew I could count on her, and that kind of trust is something you really value as a design leader.