Bridging design and engineering.

I take on systems problems that need a designer and an engineer in the same person. Design tooling, AI agents, and the infrastructure that connects teams to what they ship. Off the clock, I'm building Race Day, a real game in Unreal Editor for Fortnite.

Let's Build Something

Featured Work

Transforming complexity into elegant systems

Selected Work

From AI products and platforms to mobile experiences

About Me

Portrait of Chris Barnes
My son helped me take this with my telescope
(Maxwell Barnes)

I design the platforms behind AI products. That means pattern libraries, agent UX, and the design infrastructure other designers and engineers build on.

Today I lead the design system and AI tooling at an enterprise SaaS platform. Before that, I did similar work at startups, agencies, and as a consultant. Past collaborators include Disney, Intel, Weather Channel, Southern Company Gas, Kimberly Clark, and IHG.

I'm a designer who ships code, so the systems I design are the same ones I prototype and hand off. What I'm best at: turning a fuzzy "we need an AI feature" into a real platform of tokens, components, agents, and workflows.

Based in Atlanta.

Platform Design AI Systems Design Design Infrastructure Agent UX Design Tokens Pattern Libraries Figma + MCP React + TypeScript

Let's Work Together

Open to Principal IC roles, design-leadership consulting, and AI/platform collaborations