Ed Chen

Senior Product Designer — institutional trading, UHNW client experience & enterprise design systems across regulated markets.

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Components
0
Traders Served
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Jurisdictions
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Years Regulated Finance
Regulated Markets ASICAU FCAUK FINRAUS ESMAEU JPX-RJP
View Case Studies
Download Resume PDF ⌘K
INSTITUTIONAL TERMINAL
AAPL 182.48 ▲+0.13%
BID 182.47
ASK 182.49
VOL 42.3Mλ 0.0032SPD $0.02
PRIVATE BANKING
$28,752,400 +2.4%
Equities 42%FI 28%Alt 18%RE 12%
AC
RM: Alexandra Chen
COMPLIANCE FLOW
ASIC PDS Disclosed✓
FINRA Suitability✓
KYC/AML Verified✓
SEC 501 Accredited⏳
Leverage Warning—
72% Complete
DESIGN SYSTEM
Primary
Secondary
Danger
Active Pending Error
54 token · 2 themes
WCAG 2.1 AA
LIVE MARKET DATA
NYSE OPEN LSE CLOSED TSE CLOSED SGX CLOSED
--:--:-- UTC
US TREASURY 2s10s: +18bp
YIELD CURVE
3M 2Y 5Y 10Y 30Y INVERTED
TENOR TREND YIELD CHG
2Y 4.72% -2.1bp
5Y 4.38% +0.8bp
10Y 4.54% +1.4bp
30Y 4.81% +0.6bp
SOFR 5.31% unch
2s10s -18bp inverted
CREDIT MARKETS
CDS · OAS · SOFR
IG / HY STRESS RATIO
IG
TIGHT
HY
NORMAL
IG/HY ratio: 5.4x Z-score: -0.8σ
INSTRUMENT TREND SPREAD CHG
CDX NA IG 64.2bp -0.8
CDX NA HY 347.1bp +4.3
EUR iTraxx 72.4bp -1.2
USD IG OAS 93.2bp -0.5
USD HY OAS 358.4bp +3.7
Fed Funds 5.33% unch
FX MAJORS
SPOT RATES
USD STRENGTH vs G6
DXY: 104.38 Regime: USD STRONG
PAIR TREND LAST %CHG
EUR/USD 1.0832 +0.14%
USD/JPY 149.84 -0.22%
GBP/USD 1.2614 +0.08%
AUD/USD 0.6523 +0.31%
USD/CNH 7.2318 -0.05%
USD/CHF 0.8974 +0.11%
GLOBAL BENCHMARKS
EQUITIES · COMMODITIES · VOL
REGIONAL MARKET STATUS
Risk: RISK-ON VIX: 14.82 DXY: 104.38
INSTRUMENT TREND LAST %CHG
S&P 500 5,218.4 +0.42%
Nasdaq 100 18,142.7 +0.67%
FTSE 100 7,924.3 -0.18%
Nikkei 225 38,847.2 +1.04%
Gold (XAU) 2,328.4 +0.55%
WTI Crude 82.14 -0.29%
Authenticated Enterprise Systems

Authenticated Financial Platforms at Enterprise Scale
ACY Securities · 100K+ Traders · 5 Product Lines · 40+ Regulated Markets

Designed the authenticated financial ecosystem at ACY Securities — one design system governing 5 product lines, 100K+ traders, and 40+ regulated jurisdictions. Regulatory updates ship in days because the architecture was built for change, not patched after the fact.

ACY Securities platform ecosystem showing integrated design system across multiple products
Regulatory Foundation

Designed a modular system where new regulatory requirements slot in — 2+ years of ASIC/FCA updates shipped without redesigning from scratch

Scope

Brand + Web + Platform

Business Impact

Enterprise-scale platform, 40+ countries, 5+ product lines unified

System Scalability

Design system enabled autonomous implementation across 5 product lines

ACY Securities Ecosystem

Built the unified design system spanning 5 product lines — cross-functional delivery with Engineering, Legal, and Product.

View Complete System →

Top-Tier Platform Evaluation

Independent broker review highlighting platform usability and clean interface design
— ForexBrokers.com (2025)
Independent review examining ACY's multi-jurisdictional regulatory compliance framework
— Independent Broker Analysis (2026)
Finlogix Platform

Finlogix

High-density market data platform for professional traders processing 1,000+ real-time signals daily — applying Bloomberg Terminal-style data maximalism. Redesigned information architecture reduced analysis time by 40% while maintaining expert-level data density.

Bloomberg-Caliber Data UI Expert-User Research
LogixTrader

LogixTrader

Institutional-grade trading terminal featuring stateful multi-monitor orchestration and 60fps high-frequency rendering. Optimized for sub-second decision-making where UI latency directly impacts P&L.

Multi-Monitor Orchestration System Latency Optimization
ACY Connect FIX API documentation interface design

ACY Connect

Institutional B2B infrastructure serving prime brokers via FIX 4.4 Protocol. Architected documentation and credential systems with precise Tag 150/39 state-machine mapping for global liquidity connectivity.

FIX Protocol Mapping State-Machine Logic
LogixPanel

LogixPanel CRM

Enterprise CRM powering relationship managers across 100K+ accounts. Implemented deterministic audit-trail architecture and role-based fiduciary gates to ensure compliance in high-stakes advisor workflows.

Audit-Trail Architecture Fiduciary UX Governance
TradingCup

TradingCup

Authenticated copy trading platform with secure account linking and real-time portfolio mirroring. Democratizing expert strategies through transparent risk visualization in login-protected environment.

Authenticated Platform Risk UI
ACY Design System

The System

150+ production components — purpose-built for regulated financial platforms. Not generic UI: financial-native components encode trading semantics (Price Display, Order Entry, Trade Ticket), compliance-native components encode regulatory requirements (KYC Stepper, Risk Warning, Session Timeout), all within a three-tier density architecture serving terminals, dashboards, and client portals.

Price Display Real-time
EUR/USD
BID 1.0847
2.2
ASK 1.0869
▲ +0.0022 · +0.20%
Bid/ask spread · tick animation · deuteranopia-safe
Order Entry Core Flow
Market Limit Stop
Volume 1.00 lot
Margin req. $2,174
FIX 4.4 OrdType mapping · margin validation
P&L Display Financial
Today's P&L +$3,847.20
Unrealised +$1,224.50
Max Drawdown −$892.10
Net P&L +$4,179.60
Monospace numerals · sign semantics · WCAG 2.1 AA
Watchlist Row Data Dense
EUR/USD ▁▂▄▅▄▆▇▆ 1.0869 +0.20%
GBP/USD ▇▆▅▄▃▂▃▄ 1.2741 −0.14%
XAU/USD ▄▅▆▇▆▇▇▆ 2,318.40 +0.83%
USD/JPY ▃▄▄▃▅▄▃▂ 149.82 +0.03%
Bloomberg-caliber density · inline sparklines
Depth Indicator Level II
BidSizeAskSize
1.08472.4M 1.08691.8M
1.08455.1M 1.08713.2M
1.08428.7M 1.08744.6M
Level II quotes · liquidity depth visualization
◐ Light Mode
Trade Ticket Execution
● FILLED
InstrumentEUR/USD
DirectionBUY
Fill Price1.08694
Qty Filled1,000,000
Tag 39OrdStatus=2
FIX Tag 39 OrdStatus · execution confirmation UX
Position Card Open Trade
GBP/USD LONG
Entry Price 1.2703
Current 1.2741
Size 2.0 lots
Unrealised P&L +$760.00
Open trade tracking · pip calculation · margin monitor
Sparkline Chart Trend
XAU/USD 2,318.40
▲ +19.20 · +0.83% 1D
Inline price trend · area fill · responsive SVG
Market Heatmap Overview
Sector Performance · 1D
Tech
+2.4%
Finance
+1.1%
Energy
+0.4%
Materials
0.0%
Health
−0.3%
Utilities
−2.1%
Sector performance · semantic color scale · at-a-glance
Portfolio Summary Account
Total Value $124,847.20
Day P&L +$3,847.20
Open Positions 7
Margin Used 34.2%
Account dashboard · margin utilization · risk overview
150+ Production Components
9 Finance-Native
10 Compliance-Native
10 Density × Theme
Component Inventory · 150+ Production Components
22 Form & Input 18 Data Display 15 Compliance UI 14 Charts & Viz 12 Navigation 11 Trading Primitives 10 Feedback & Alerts 9 Layout & Grid 8 Onboarding & KYC +31 Motion · Print · Icons
Color Tokens +48
Spacing 4 · 8 · 12 · 16 · 24 · 32 · 48 · 64
Type 10 · 12 · 14 · 16 · 20 · 24 · 32px
Density Compact · Default · Accessible · Print
Explore Full Design System — All 150+ Components →
Design Constraints in Practice

Designing Within
Regulated Constraints

Regulatory requirements aren't legal hurdles — they're design specifications. I translate constraints into reusable design systems, so teams ship faster on every subsequent update.

ASIC (Australia)

How do you tell users their funds are at risk without killing conversion? Leverage caps and disclosure rules forced honest hierarchy and clear copywriting.

FINRA / SEC (US)

Suitability questionnaires as a UX challenge: making required risk disclosures feel like user protection, not legal fine print.

COPPA (US) ⚠️

Age-gating architecture — where one UX sequencing decision determines how a regulatory requirement scales across the entire product.

ESMA (EU)

Inducement bans as a creativity constraint: designing engaging promotions when direct incentives are prohibited.

FTC / Consumer Protection (US)

Designing claims that are both compelling and substantiable — where copywriting decisions become legal decisions.

WCAG 2.1 AA

Global accessibility standards for inclusive financial terminals — view accessibility strategy

MiFID II Best Execution (EU)

How do you make trade execution transparency feel like a feature, not a disclosure obligation? Best execution rules forced a rethink of the order confirmation screen — showing venue, spread, and policy status without overwhelming the trader mid-execution.

Dodd-Frank Title VII (US)

Every trade confirmation serves two audiences simultaneously: the trader who just executed, and the audit trail that follows. Designing for both — without making compliance visible as friction — is the actual UX challenge.

What the Constraint-as-Brief Approach Produced

The 8 frameworks above aren't a knowledge list — each one was a design brief that shipped. Here's what treating every constraint as a brief produced at scale.

150+

Reusable Design Components

KYC flows, best execution confirmations, leverage warnings, consent gates — each built once, applied across ASIC, MiFID II, Dodd-Frank, and FCA simultaneously. One pattern, many regulators.

40–60%

Faster Execution on Regulatory Updates

When MiFID II Art.27 required execution venue disclosure on confirmations, the update took 3 days — the pattern already existed. When ASIC CP 322 changed leverage caps, one token changed. Compliance patches, not rebuilds.

8+

Regulatory Updates Without Rewrites

ASIC CP 322 · FCA SCA · MiFID II Art.27 · Dodd-Frank VII · ESMA leverage caps · FATCA · KYC re-consent · PDS update — eight separate mandates, zero system rewrites.

Regulatory Compliance Architecture How 150+ components enforce MiFID II · Dodd-Frank · ASIC · FCA · FINRA · WCAG 2.1 AA at the system level
COMPLIANCE STATUS BOARD
Last Audit: PASSED Violations: 0 --:--:--
JURISDICTION STATUS
KYC / AML PIPELINE
DISCLOSURE GATE STATUS
RISK & AUDIT METRICS
RECENT AUDIT TRAIL
Design System:150+ components | WCAG 2.1 AA:100% | Color-Blind Safe:FSA Enabled | Themes:Light + Dark
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% EXPECTED RETURN 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% PORTFOLIO VOLATILITY (σ) CML
Optimal (Tangency) Efficient Frontier Capital Market Line Random Portfolios (Monte Carlo)
Live Interactive Demo Exchange-Level Infrastructure — What 5 Years in Regulated Financial Markets Produces
AAPL 182.48 ▲0.23(+0.13%) MSFT 415.27 ▲1.18(+0.28%) NVDA 891.43 ▼2.10(-0.23%) SPY 524.18 ▲0.87(+0.17%)
NYSE OPEN VIX 18.43 09:31:04
L3 Order Book · AAPL —
ORDSIZEBID
SPD
ASKSIZEORD
Imbal: — Sweep: —
AAPL · 1m Candlestick
O:— H:— L:— C:—
Active Positions · Real-Time P&L Total: —
Microstructure Kyle's λ: 0.0032 Toxic Flow: 23.4% OFI(5s): +14.2% Spread: 1.8 bps T2Q: 0.0012 F9 Execute  ·  Ctrl+R Sort  ·  Alt+O Order Ladder
SOR Routing
B2C Retail Investor Interface Light theme — same compliance logic, zero institutional friction
TradeX*go
Portfolio Markets News
VERIFIED
ED
Total Value
$48,234.12
▲ +$312.44 today
Day Return
+0.65%
vs SPY +0.17%
Cash Available
$3,820.00
Ready to invest
YTD Return
+18.4%
Benchmark: +12.1%
Portfolio Performance · 30D
1M 3M YTD
AssetPriceSharesValueReturn
Allocation: Tech 48% ETF 18% Energy 12% Social 10% Cash 12%
Quick Trade
$
≈ 2.73 shares at $182.67 · Fee: $0
Suitability check · ASIC RG 175 · Zero commission
✦ AI Insight · AAPL

Your AAPL position is up +8.2% since entry. Sector momentum remains positive — 14 of 18 analyst targets raised this quarter.

View full analysis →
⚠ Annual Suitability Review
Your investment profile was last updated 11 months ago. Review to ensure recommendations stay aligned with your goals.
Update profile →
Markets Open ASIC Regulated · AFSL 403863 SIPC Protected Disclosure: Past performance does not guarantee future results
UHNW Private Banking — Client & RM Interface B2B2C dual-view — relationship manager briefing + client confirmation portal View Case Study →
XANTHOS | PRIVATE BANK
● SECURE SESSION --:--
AC
Alexandra Chen
Relationship Manager · 14 Clients
RM View
Pre-Call Briefing
Client in Focus
Robert & Elizabeth Morrison
Client since 2018 · $28.75M AUM
Next Scheduled Call
Today 14:30
✦ AI-surfaced · 3 things that matter today
Business Sale · Life Event
Morrison Holdings sale expected to close Q3. Tax-optimised re-allocation proposal drafted — pending client review.
Portfolio · YTD +12.4%
Outperforming benchmark by 4.1%. Private equity sleeve +18.2% YTD. Client expects performance update.
Family · Son James (28)
Trust restructuring request filed last week. Discuss timeline and next steps before end of quarter.
Interaction History
Mar 18 Quarterly review call · Q1 performance approved
Mar 04 Investment proposal signed · Infrastructure bond allocation
Feb 22 Trust review initiated · Family succession planning
RM
Robert & Elizabeth Morrison
Morrison Family Office · UHNW
Client View
Confirmed Portal
Total Wealth Under Management
$28,750,000
▲ YTD +12.4% Benchmark +8.3% +4.1% α
Asset Allocation
⟳ Awaiting Your Review
Tax-optimised re-allocation proposal following Morrison Holdings sale. Alexandra has prepared recommended changes for your approval.
Review Proposal Schedule Call
Your RM Alexandra Chen is available · Next call today 14:30
Xanthos Private Bank · Licensed in CH · LI · SG FINMA regulated · MiFID II compliant Design concept — Xanthos Private Bank
COPPA (US) — Consent-First Sequencing: Designed age-verification and stepped consent flows where verification gates data collection — not the reverse. Applied the same sequencing principle to KYC onboarding at ACY Securities: required disclosures at the point of need, not as a front-loaded wall that drives abandonment.
AI & Emerging Technology

Using AI Tools in Product Design
Application-Level Integration & Prototyping

Six interactive demos — the first shows exactly how I orchestrate AI: domain knowledge in, judgment applied, every decision explained. Then portfolio chat, market sentiment, UX copy, brand theming, and persona research. All scripted, no API key required.

AI Direction Session
Live collaboration model · ACY Securities fintech case
Ed + Claude
Ed · Domain Brief
Regulatory context Design constraints Business intent
Claude · Generation
Synthesizes patterns Generates options Structures output
Ed · Judgment Filter
Validates vs. reality Domain expertise Keeps · modifies · rejects
Collaboration Trace — ACY Securities · MiFID II + ASIC · Order Execution Confirmation Design
Ed's Brief Domain context provided to Claude
Post-execution confirmation · CFD Trading Platform · Open position active
MiFID II Art.27 Best execution disclosure at point of trade
vs
ASIC RG 268 Leverage risk warning — visual prominence
One screen. Both mandate "visual prominence" simultaneously.
Claude's Response Annotated — click any highlighted phrase to see Ed's decision
  1. A compact 'Best Execution Applied' badge in the confirmation card header, showing venue and execution spread inline.
  2. A full disclosure panel auto-expanded on load below the success state — surfacing execution policy details, venue data, and RTS 28 compliance status.
  3. A tabbed layout separating 'Confirmation' (trade details, price, quantity) from 'Execution Quality' (venue, spread, policy).
  4. Leverage risk warning positioned below the confirmation card body.
  5. A secondary 'View RTS 28 Report' link for annual execution quality documentation access.
✓ Kept ⟳ Modified ✗ Replaced Click any highlighted phrase to see the reasoning
Ed's Decision Log The domain reasoning behind each call
✓ Kept Header execution badge Art.27 via compact indicator — not a disclosure block
✗ Replaced Auto-expanded panel Presence ≠ dominance — collapsed on-demand instead
✓ Kept Tab layout One pattern satisfies both regulators simultaneously
⟳ Modified Risk warning position Below fold ≠ prominent — anchored to viewport bottom
✓ Kept RTS 28 report link Audit doc, not point-of-trade disclosure — link, don't embed
Real collaboration model — Ed provides domain context and judgment, Claude generates, Ed filters against lived fintech experience. This portfolio was built exactly this way.
Portfolio Assistant
Online · Demo mode
Powered by Claude · Scripted
Hi! I'm a demo of how Ed designs AI interfaces — built to show transparency, confidence handling, and clear limitations. Ask me about his projects, AI design philosophy, or background in regulated finance.
Portfolio Assistant · Demo
Scripted demo · Responses are pre-written · Not connected to a live LLM API · Shown to illustrate AI interface design patterns
Market Pulse
Simulated · Demo mode
Scripted · No live feed
AI Sentiment Indicators
Market Sentiment
62
Cautious Bullish
S&P 500 · VIX 17.4 · Put/Call 0.82
Fear / Greed Index
71
Greed
Momentum · Junk bond demand · Breadth
Macro Volatility
38
Moderate
VIX · MOVE index · EM spread
Asset Class Sentiment
Equities
64% bull
Fixed Income
59% bear
Commodities
72% bull
USD Index
55% bull
Crypto
81% bull
Economic Calendar — Next 5 Events
High
Mon 21:30
US Non-Farm Payrolls Exp: 185K
🇺🇸
High
Tue 02:00
Fed Chair Speech FOMC hawkish risk
🇺🇸
Med
Tue 17:30
UK CPI YoY Exp: 2.8%
🇬🇧
High
Wed 21:30
US CPI MoM Exp: +0.3%
🇺🇸
Med
Thu 11:00
ECB Rate Decision Hold expected
🇪🇺
AI-synthesised sentiment indicators — simulated data only. Not financial advice. Not connected to live market feeds.
This panel demonstrates AI-assisted market intelligence UX design — gauge layouts, confidence indicators, and calendar hierarchy for institutional trading contexts
UX Copy Generator
Ready · Demo mode
Scripted · No API
Tone:
Scripted outputs · Demonstrates AI-assisted copywriting workflow · Not connected to a live API
Brand Palette Generator
Ready · Demo mode
Scripted · No API
Try: · · ·
Scripted palettes · Demonstrates AI-assisted brand theming workflow · Not connected to a live API
Persona Generator
Ready · Demo mode
Scripted · No API
Scripted personas · Demonstrates AI-assisted research synthesis · Not connected to a live API
Track Record

Five years in regulated finance.
This is what shipped.

System ownership, measurable delivery, and outcomes that held up at scale. Specific metrics and case details available in interview.

MEASURABLE OUTCOMES
Architecture built for compliance change — 8+ regulatory updates shipped without system rewrites
MiFID II · Dodd-Frank VII · SOX 302 · ASIC/FCA — 8+ regulatory milestones shipped in days · 40+ countries · zero downtime
  • System Scalability — One architecture serving 40+ countries, flexible patterns built into the core from day one.
  • Design System Governance — Modular system adopted across 5+ product lines with documentation and engineering alignment.
  • Design-to-Production Speed — Storybook-standard handoff documentation enabled engineering teams to ship features without requiring design involvement in every implementation cycle.
  • Regulatory Resilience — MiFID II Best Execution (Article 27), Dodd-Frank Title VII OTC reporting, SOX 302 audit trail integrity, and ASIC/FCA mandates each encoded as reusable system components — regulatory updates shipped in days, not months.
  • Named Regulatory Frameworks — Design system explicitly encodes MiFID II Art.27 · RTS 28 annual execution quality reporting, Dodd-Frank Title VII OTC disclosure requirements, SOX 302 audit-grade transaction records, ASIC RG 268 risk warnings, and FCA strong customer authentication. Regulatory requirements treated as UX design constraints, not legal afterthoughts.
MY DESIGN ROLE
Sole designer for a 150-person org across 18 months — every production decision went through one person
150+ components, 5 product lines, C-suite to engineering — full design accountability with no design manager above
  • UI/UX Design Leadership: Established design standards across 5 product lines — defining interaction patterns, visual systems, and research frameworks that enabled engineering teams to execute autonomously. Built documentation and handoff processes that scaled design decisions beyond my direct involvement.
  • Design System Architecture: Authored 150+ components, interaction patterns, motion language, documentation framework, and developer handoff standards. Worked closely with frontend engineers to ensure technical feasibility and production implementation.
  • Scaling Design Through Systems: Designed component infrastructure that enabled a 150-person cross-functional organization to deliver consistent, compliant UIs across 40+ countries — empowering PMs and engineers to assemble interfaces autonomously.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partnered with Legal on regulatory requirements, Product Management on roadmap prioritization, Engineering on technical constraints, Marketing on content strategy, and C-suite on strategic vision.
  • Executive Communication Support: Designed presentation materials for C-suite stakeholders (investor briefings, board decks, strategic planning documents).
  • End-to-End Design Process: Led user research, strategic framing, prototyping, and visual QA across the full product lifecycle.
VERIFIABLE SIGNALS
Public References
Awwwards Nominee · GitHub Open Source · Live Libraries · Data Verification
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Navigating Stakeholder Disagreement
KYC 47-field negotiation with Legal → C-suite mediation → drop-off 73%→45% · CEO "Robinhood" pushback reversed with live usability data · Canvas API performance unblocked with Engineering
  • Legal vs. UX Trade-offs: When Legal required adding 47 disclosure fields to onboarding (ASIC/FCA compliance), data showed 73% drop-off. Proposed tabbed information architecture with error prevention gates — Legal initially rejected. Built interactive prototype demonstrating all fields visible within 2 clicks. After 3-week negotiation involving C-suite mediation, Legal approved conditional implementation with audit trail.
  • Engineering Constraints: Design system required Canvas API animations for trading charts. Engineering cited performance concerns for low-end devices. Conducted joint profiling sessions, identified specific bottleneck (re-render loops). Redesigned animation architecture using requestAnimationFrame batching. Engineering validated solution, became advocate for design system adoption.
  • Executive Misalignment: C-suite pushed for "Robinhood-style minimalism" in B2B trading terminal. Professional traders explicitly rejected simplified UI (verbatim: "I need density, not whitespace"). Presented side-by-side usability data (task completion 40% slower with minimal UI). CEO approved information-dense design with "clean chaos" visual language after reviewing session recordings.
  • Reality Check: These conflicts took weeks to resolve, not one meeting. Success required building trust through repeated collaboration, not "winning" with a single data point.
RESEARCH PROCESS
Data-Driven Decision Making
170+ Hotjar sessions · 15 user tests · 8.2s → 2.9s order placement (64% faster)
  • Research Methodology: Established 5-step research-to-design pipeline using Hotjar (170+ session recordings) to convert behavioral data into stakeholder-convincing evidence.
  • Hypothesis Testing: Qualitative testing of 3 design variants with 15 traders uncovered critical usability gaps — directional findings validated post-launch through production telemetry, with order placement improving from 8.2s → 2.9s (64.63% faster).
  • Stakeholder Persuasion: Used quantitative data (heatmaps showing 85% CTA visibility) to win executive approval for design system investment by proving user behavior, not just defending opinions.
  • Note: Detailed research protocols and methodology shared during interview.
Research Synthesis · ACY Order Flow Redesign Q3 2023 · Confidential
5-Step Research Pipeline
① Observe
170+ Hotjar session recordings
② Hypothesize
3 competing variants drafted
③ Test
15 traders · moderated sessions
④ Synthesize
Affinity map · 8 clusters
⑤ Measure
Production telemetry post-launch
Finding 01
Traders abandoned confirmation step when stop-loss field was not pre-filled — perceived as incomplete order.
→ Default SL/TP from last trade
Finding 02
85% of heatmap clicks on the "Sell" CTA were hesitation taps — users re-read the price 2–3× before committing.
→ Live price lock with 3s timer
Outcome
64% faster order placement
8.2s → 2.9s · Validated via production telemetry
Design Leadership

Scaling Design
Beyond the Designer

Leading design at a 150-person organisation meant more than shipping features. It meant building the infrastructure — hiring, onboarding, standards, and documentation — so that design quality scaled with the team, not just with me.

Design Review Standards

Established a 4-gate design review process (Discovery → Concept → Spec → QA) aligned to the engineering sprint cycle. Each gate had explicit exit criteria, reducing back-and-forth between design and engineering by eliminating ambiguity at handoff.

New Designer Onboarding

Built a 30-60-90 day onboarding curriculum for design contributors covering: domain knowledge (financial products, regulatory context), system conventions (tokens, density modes), and process integration (how design fits sprint ceremonies).

Hiring Rubric

Developed a structured portfolio evaluation framework for hiring design ICs in regulated finance contexts — moving beyond "nice visuals" to assess systems thinking, compliance awareness, and cross-functional communication skills.

Finance Design Practice
Selected Works

Selected
Projects

Regulated finance, UHNW luxury, and institutional infrastructure. Each case study is a different kind of constraint.

SHIPPED Live client work — production deliverable
SPECULATIVE DESIGN Self-directed research concept — not a client project
01
Christie's International Real Estate
Shipped · Live Client · 9 Months

Christie's Real Estate

Full-Stack Editorial Platform — Sole Designer, Developer & de facto PM

Sole designer, developer, and de facto PM on Christie's International Real Estate editorial platform — built from scratch over a 9-month engagement, serving $5M–$80M property buyers across NYC, London, Japan, HK, and Taiwan offices. Translated 250 years of brand authority into a digital-first experience that keeps brokers at the center of every transaction.

Sole Designer + Dev + PM Full-Stack · From Scratch $5M–$80M Segment 5 Global Offices

Hired as a Web Engineer. Shipped as the product team. Design, front-end, back-end, cross-timezone stakeholder alignment — one person, nine months, five offices. The official title never matched the actual scope. That gap is the résumé.

Live Platform → Case Study →
02
Xanthos Private Bank — Client Portfolio Dashboard, UHNW Wealth Management
Speculative Design

Xanthos Private Bank

Private Banking UX Concept · UHNW Wealth Management

Five interconnected flows for a fictional private bank serving $28M+ net worth households: client portfolio dashboard, RM briefing intelligence, investment proposal flows, life event planning, and UHNW onboarding. Designed to demonstrate B2B2C architecture where technology enhances the advisor-client relationship.

UHNW Client Portal RM Briefing Tools FINRA · SEC · AML B2B2C Architecture

The design question: Most "private banking apps" are retail fintech with a gold color scheme. This explores what B2B2C architecture actually looks like when the relationship manager — not the client — is the primary user.

Case Study →
03
TradeX Institutional — Portfolio Risk Management with stress scenarios and VaR/CVaR metrics
Speculative Design

TradeX Institutional

AI-Native Hedge Fund & Institutional Trading Design

Two-part institutional design exploration: (1) AI-native hedge fund dashboard with causal intelligence overlays, liquidity stress visualization, and real-time alpha attribution; (2) institutional trading terminal with Level 2 Order Book, Portfolio Risk Matrix, and SEC/FINRA-compliant execution workflows. Interaction rules derived from production FIX 4.4 work at ACY Connect — not Bloomberg screenshots.

Hedge Fund UX Bloomberg-Caliber Density Risk Visualization $100M–$50B AUM Context

What changed my thinking: Bloomberg Terminal's density isn't technical debt — it's information architecture. Every "cluttered" panel is a passive scan signal for professionals. Designing for traders means designing for peripheral vision, not first impressions.

AI Hedge Fund Dashboard → Institutional Terminal →
04
ACY Securities — Enterprise FinTech Design System
Shipped · 4 Years · Live Product

ACY Securities

Enterprise Design System · 5 Live Platforms · Regulated Finance

4 years shipping a unified design system across 5 interconnected platforms — from compliance UI architecture to SPAC/IPO investor materials. 150+ components adopted by 3 engineering teams. 8+ regulatory updates absorbed without structural rework. Scope grew from mid-level designer to de facto design lead and C-suite strategic partner.

ASIC · FCA · FINRA 150+ Components 5 Product Lines 100K+ Traders 170+ Research Sessions

Four years at scale: Started as the only designer in a 50-person company. Left as design lead and C-suite partner at 150 people. The system survived 8+ regulatory updates, 3 engineering team transitions, and expansion to 40+ countries.

2024 — solo again after team cuts: Restructured workflow with AI tooling to sustain output across 5 concurrent product lines — mobile app, institutional FIX API docs, multilingual campaigns, compliance updates — without additional headcount. Domain judgment stayed human. Scale came from a structured AI collaboration model.

Case Study → Live Platform →
05
ACY Connect — Institutional FIX API Documentation System and B2B integration platform
Shipped · B2B Institutional · 12+ Prime Brokers

ACY Connect

Institutional FIX API Platform · Documentation System · B2B Infrastructure

Designed the documentation system and credential infrastructure for ACY's institutional FIX 4.4 API — the B2B layer connecting prime brokers, liquidity providers, and institutional clients. Not a document: a 7-page information architecture with explicit rules governing how 5 user types (PM/BD through Market Data Eng) experience the integration journey. This later became the protocol foundation for TradeX.

FIX 4.4 Protocol 12+ Institutional Clients 5-User Taxonomy B2B Prime Broker

The constraint that made this hard: A misconfigured FIX message doesn't throw a user-facing error — it produces a million-dollar position sizing error, silently, while the market moves. The documentation had to be precise enough for quant developers and accessible enough for PM/BD — the same system, five different entry points.

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Design Stance

In Regulated Finance,
the Constraint Is the Brief

How I turn regulatory requirements, technical constraints, and business limitations into better design systems.

Compliance isn't just a hurdle—it's a guide. In finance, the best products feel right because they respect every rule of the game.

ASIC leverage caps, GDPR consent flows, FCA marketing restrictions — these aren't obstacles to clean UI. They're the constraints that reveal which solutions are actually robust. In financial products, the regulation is the brief.

In regulated environments, designers who thrive aren't the ones who tolerate constraints — they're the ones who use constraints to build better systems.

Constraint-First Framing

Map regulatory, technical, and business constraints before sketching a single screen. The constraints ARE the brief.

Prototype the Risk

Build the compliance-critical path first. If the hardest flow works, everything else follows.

Ship with Legal in the Room

Legal isn't a reviewer at the end of the process — they're a collaborator from day one. Design decisions made with full regulatory context don't need to be unwound later.

Systemize for the Next Crisis

Every solved problem becomes a reusable pattern. When regulations change, the system adapts in days, not months.

A principle I first observed at Christie's: the most commercially effective people structure their time as 90% execution at the highest level the current role demands, and 10% building visible proof of range beyond it. Without the 10%, the market prices you permanently as your current title. This portfolio is my 10%.

Multidimensional Design

Beyond the Screen

Design isn't just what I do — it's how I see the world. From regulated enterprise platforms to independent product launches, every domain teaches me something new about systems, constraints, and craft.

Global Design Leadership
🌏 Cross-Cultural Design Leadership

Designing Across Markets: SF · Tokyo · Taipei

Led design initiatives across APAC and Western markets, navigating regulatory frameworks (ASIC, FCA, FINRA) and cultural expectations. Trained distributed design teams on localization beyond translation — from hierarchy perception to risk disclosure patterns.

40+
Countries Supported
5+
Regulatory Jurisdictions
3
Time Zones Coordinated
"Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing."

— Warren Buffett

In financial product design, risk comes from not fully understanding what you're building — the regulatory architecture, the user's decision-making context, the downstream consequences of a single UX choice. Every regulation exists because something went wrong. I treat compliance constraints as first-class design inputs, and use them to build systems that feel inevitable rather than patched.

I Partner with Engineering to Ship, Not Just Spec

My designs don't stop at mockups. I collaborate closely with engineering teams throughout implementation — from technical feasibility discussions to production QA. This partnership ensures design intent survives the build process, not just the handoff.

I've Navigated a Regulatory Crisis

When ASIC issued a 14-day compliance order, I contributed a design-system-based approach to the team's crisis response. The proposal was adopted, and the system shipped on time — because the design architecture was already built for this kind of change.

I Design Across Cultures, Not Just Languages

I've designed for 40+ countries, navigated both APAC and Western regulatory frameworks, and shipped localized products across three time zones. Cross-cultural design isn't just translation — it's understanding how trust, hierarchy, and risk perception differ across markets.

I Build Systems, Not Screens

One design system governs 5 product lines and measurably reduced implementation time. When regulations change, the system adapts in days. That's not a portfolio claim — it's how ACY actually operates.

Let's Talk

Open to Senior Product Design roles in institutional finance, private banking, and regulated trading platforms — where design has real ownership over product decisions, not just execution.

Specialising in UHNW client experience, institutional trading systems, and enterprise design at scale across regulated markets.

ed@edwson.com LinkedIn →
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Currently open to Senior Product Design roles — available now

Available for roles across San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Sydney, Zürich, Tokyo, and Taipei

Open to relocation and remote opportunities

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