Hi, I’m Brad Ulrich. I’ve been obsessing over details in software for more than 10 years with small startups and large corporations.

I started designing because I am curious and love computers. I chose design as a career because I enjoy crafting detailed systems and bringing to life products that feel personal and intentional.

I’ve learned about the impact of those details by working in large and small companies, and watching large and small numbers of users ~~fumble through~~ experience my “personal and intentional details.” I’ve learned to trust my intuition, but verify by trusting real users more. I’ve found I’m most capable and motivated when I’m proud of the level of craft I’m able to usher into the final product and when I can see the impact of my work through data and user feedback.

Through time spent in both design and product management at Sonic Drive-In, I’ve learned to look deeper than visual details, honing a sense for business impact, efficiency and analytics. My experience in both product and design roles gives me a convenient combination of perspectives (and its fair share of inner turmoil).

I learned HTML and CSS early on because I felt like I and the front-end devs I worked with were both at a disadvantage if our language and materials didn’t overlap. This experience has definitely informed and improved my design systems work over the years. I know enough to speak the language of developers and suggest legitimate compromises or approaches. But I also know enough has changed in the front-end development landscape that I won’t be pushing React code anytime soon (even though I bought that course).

I’ve since returned to a design-specific role (intentionally) where I lead a team of designers at MidFirst Bank working to make bank apps that help people understand their money and make better financial decisions.

The most recent thing I read and liked enough to save is Make Slow Cool. Here's a list of more links like this.

The most recent quote I wrote down was,

We play with toys, but we play games. A ball is a toy, but baseball is a game. The best games are made with toys. Thinking back to Mario 64. The way Mario feels is the foundation of the game. So before creating levels, Mr. Miyamoto (principal director) had a test garden made. An environment where a user could move Mario around. Pick up objects & interact with the surroundings. A toy playground where they could test & refine how Mario felt. In web development, this would be like Storybook. Rendering components in isolated environments. Components lose their purpose when they are not wired together in an app. They turn into toys you can play with. Where you can test & refine how they feel.

by Brad Woods. Here's a list of more quotes like this.

Left-handed husband and father living in Edmond, Oklahoma.

I'm a designer— *record scratch* wait I thought this was "the personal tab"... I know. But design is a personal interest and a passion, not just a career. Sounds corny, but I'm at peace with it and have figured out (most of the time) how to still be passionate about my work, without tying personal success and job output itself to my personal identity.

My wife and I love modern design and architecture. She's an interior designer. Our first date was to a George Nelson museum exhibit. We got engaged in a super cool modern house in OKC. And we now live in a beautiful mid-century home with our 2 kids.

Speaking of, our kids are named Henry and Goldie. Henry loves dinosaurs and Goldie loves to talk. They're tiny, better versions of us that make us laugh every day.

Instead of breadmaking or woodworking, my pandemic-induced hobby was target archery in the backyard. I'm not a hunter, but like doing it for a fun non-screen-based challenge. I have a Samick Sage recurve bow.

When we're not stuck at home, we love to travel. We've taken the kids to Italy, Ireland, and Santa Fe (pictured above) recently. Exploring new places, near and far, is a priority for our family.

Music is also a big part of our lives. My wife Sherree is a musician. I dabble. These are my current top 5 favorite albums. I'm passionate about music, but also music software. I have a love/hate relationship with the Spotify app, documented in ~~fine~~ detail here.

I've taken a handful of personality tests over the years, mostly against my will. But if you're into that sort of thing, I keep a record of that here. The things I like most about myself are my curiosity and attention to detail. I think they have served me well in my career and my life. The things I like least about myself are frankly none of your business. I pay good money to a professional to listen to those.

I follow a bunch of cool people on Twitter, most of them designers, some just interesting folks. Here is a short list of the ones that I admire most. While a lot of my "reading" happens on Twitter, I do occasionally also read real books. I keep a log of those on this site here.

I hope you've enjoyed your time here wandering the halls of BradUlrich.com. Hang around, make yourself at home, click on some stuff. Send me a message if you wanna chat.

Hi, I’m Brad Ulrich. I’ve been obsessing over details in software for more than 10 years with small startups and large corporations.

Product design leader with 10+ years experience.

Left-handed husband and father living in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Some things I've been working on lately...