A practice built on attention.
Aurelian is an independent consultancy run by a designer-engineer who spent a decade inside product teams before going solo. It exists to help small teams ship work that feels considered — and to keep asking what changes when a model is in the room.
I started drawing wireframes in pencil because I couldn't afford a tablet. Fifteen years later, I still keep a sketchbook on the desk. Most of the work happens there before any pixel moves.
The studio took its current shape in 2019, after years of in-house product roles at fintech and consumer companies. The premise was simple: do fewer things, do them with more care, and stay close enough to the code that nothing gets lost between Figma and ship.
Since 2023, a growing share of the work has been about applied AI — not the hype, the seams. How does a research interface change when a model is the first reader? How does a checkout change when copy is generated, not chosen? Those are the questions I like.
Four principles, in order.
- I.
Restraint
Whitespace is not absence. It is the room a good idea needs to be understood.
- II.
Intentionality
Every component, color, and animation answers a question. If it doesn't, it leaves.
- III.
Augmentation
AI belongs in the loop, not on the throne. We design for human judgment first.
- IV.
Craft
Performance is a design decision. So is accessibility. Both ship by default.