I Lead Product
Teams That
Ship Work That Matters

15 years building complex, high-stakes products for customers and the people who serve them, driving design cultures where great work is expected.

View Selected Work →

Selected Work

Case studies from enterprise-scale design leadership

Expert Workspace
Asurion Featured work

Expert Workspace

Redesigning the primary tool for 10,000+ help desk and claims experts—a conversational, AI-powered workspace that makes every customer interaction feel simple, personal, and white-glove.

Sr. Manager, Product Design 2025–Present
Next-Gen Portal dashboard
Asurion Featured work

Next-Gen Portal

Rebuilding the core operating system for 680+ repair stores nationwide—transforming how experts check in customers, manage repairs, and run their business.

Sr. Manager, Product Design 2022–2025
In-Store Claims Kiosk
Asurion

In-Store Claims Kiosk

Reducing claim resolution from 45 minutes to under 10—helping 10,000+ customers per month self-serve at repair stores.

Principal Designer 2021–2022
Disney Guest Service Suite dashboard and guest management interface
Disney Parks & Experiences

Guest Service Suite

Replacing 60+ disconnected apps with one responsive tool—improving Cast Member efficiency by 25% across 5 parks.

Lead Product Designer 2019–2020
Club Wyndham Vacation Planner Explore Resorts experience
Travel + Leisure Co

Vacation Planner

Trip planning tool helping 809,000+ vacation club owners discover their dream destinations across 270+ resorts worldwide.

Design Manager 2020–2022
Halloween Horror Nights responsive homepage
Universal Orlando

Halloween Horror Nights

Mobile-first e-commerce redesign that broke attendance records and drove double-digit growth in online ticket sales.

UI/UX Art Director 2018–2019

How I Lead

I build teams that understand the why, take ownership of the how, and ship work that moves the business. Here's what that looks like in practice.

Building Teams

Great design culture doesn't happen by accident — I build it intentionally through open critique, inclusive hiring, and a genuine commitment to psychological safety. Direct feedback and creative risk-taking aren't in tension on my teams. They're expected in equal measure.

Ownership & Clarity

I communicate goals so clearly that designers can own outcomes, not just tasks. When someone on my team pushes back on a direction, I take that as a sign the culture is working — not a problem to manage.

Growth & Innovation

I give my team stretch opportunities, room to fail, and honest feedback that helps them grow into more well-rounded designers and leaders. I also push early adoption of tools like Cursor, v0, and Figma Make — not to shortcut the craft, but to multiply what's possible.

Driving Impact

Design is a business partner, not a service department. Every decision my team makes is grounded in real user research, validated through feedback, and measured by outcomes that matter to the business.

He bridges business context with design thinking in a way that's incredibly valuable, and he's deeply respected by his team, peers, and leadership.

— Lauren Singer Brolan, Director of Product Design, Capital One

How I lead in practice →

About

I design for the people on the front lines — the technician running 12 repairs back to back, the cast member managing a family's once-in-a-lifetime vacation, the agent handling a customer's worst day. Complex, high-stakes products built for experts who depend on them completely. That's where I've done my best work, and where I keep choosing to go.

I started as a designer who cared obsessively about craft. Over time I learned that craft without strategy is just taste, and strategy without craft is just a deck. The leader I've become holds both.

I write about design leadership on my Substack, No Barriers to Entry. If you're building something interesting and care deeply about design culture, let's talk.

Ricardo De Azua

Let's Talk

I'm not looking for just anything — I'm looking for the right thing. If you're building products that demand great design and you care deeply about the culture behind it, I'd genuinely love to connect.

LinkedIn No Barriers to Entry Email Download Resume