Home
Hi, I’m Darius Bounds
I design products that shape ideas into experiences you love
Open to opportunities
Get to know me.
I’m a girl dad
Just figuring out this parenting thing as I go...one step, one smile a time.
I’m a storyteller
Capturing the people and moments that matter most to me.
I’m overcaffeinated
From the beans to the brewing, I love the craft of every cup.
Founder, Product, & Experience Designer
An app I created for community-driven restaurant specials and insights.
See more
Selected as a Top 100 Startup
Videography
Just a Form of Self Expression
When I’m not designing, I’m behind the lens of my camera
See more
Brand strategy
Brand Strategist & Product Designer
I am a brand strategist and design system expert
See more
Experience
Senior Experience Designer
ICF: 2023 - Current
- Directed front-end design strategy in partnership with engineers, data scientists, and policy experts to modernize data.cms.gov, enhancing navigation, accessibility, and data storytelling across 162+ public data products.
- Established design of an AI-powered interface enabling fraud investigators to analyze complex datasets via natural language, working 6× faster and significantly reducing administrative overhead.
- Spearheaded UX vision and strategy for the U.S. Department of State’s Customer Experience Analytics platform, shaping product roadmaps and driving a 20% increase in resolution efficiency and higher citizen satisfaction.
- Established and scaled a streamlined design-to-development handoff process, adopted org-wide, that increased implementation efficiency and reduced errors by 30%.
- Mentored designers and developers on raising craft standards within Figma, building team-wide consistency.
Senior Experience Designer
Cognizant: 2022-2023
- Directed UX strategy and design execution for a suite of cross-platform enterprise banking applications, aligning product, engineering, and design teams to deliver an MVP that secured stakeholder approval.
- Built and governed a scalable design system, introducing a unified design language and reusable component library that reduced time-to-market for new features by ~25% and improved consistency across platforms.
- Partnered with senior leadership to define product vision, ensure accessibility compliance, and integrate usability insights into roadmap decisions.
- Mentored junior designers through design reviews and workshops, elevating craft quality and accelerating team growth.
Experience Designer
ICF: 2021-2022
- Designed and iterated user flows and prototypes for multiple federal web applications, managing stakeholder feedback to align solutions with user and agency needs.
- Supported design system adoption by contributing reusable components and documentation that streamlined future product builds.
Founder & Product Lead
Jooelp: 2020
- Conceptualized and designed Joolep, a consumer-facing, community-powered platform that enables real-time discovery of local food & drink specials—transforming diners’ search experience and amplifying visibility for small businesses.
- Conducted deep discovery: 50+ interviews (owners & diners), competitor audits, and user validation to define product vision and establish UX direction.
- Built MVP with scalable brand system, map interface, save/share mechanics, and real-time alerts, leading a multi-disciplinary team through rapid iteration.
Skills
Design & Strategy: Product Design, Product Strategy, UX/UI Design, Design Systems, Information Architecture, User Flows, Wireframing & Prototyping, Usability Testing, Accessibility (WCAG), Design Thinking, Micro-interactions, Responsive & Cross-platform Design
Technical Tools: Figma, Figma Make, Miro, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro), Zeplin, Tableau (with devs), HTML/CSS, SwiftUI familiarity, AI-assisted design tools
Leadership & Collaboration: Cross-functional Collaboration, Stakeholder Alignment, Agile & Lean UX, Data Visualization, Design Ops & Handoff Processes, Mentorship & Team Coaching, Workshop Facilitation, Building Design Culture
Home
Hi, I’m Darius Bounds
I design products that shape ideas into experiences you love
Open to opportunities
Get to know me.
I’m a girl dad
Just figuring out this parenting thing as I go...one step, one smile a time.
I’m a storyteller
Capturing the people and moments that matter most to me.
I’m overcaffeinated
From the beans to the brewing, I love the craft of every cup.
Founder, Product, & Experience Designer
An app I created for community-driven restaurant specials and insights.
See more
Selected as a Top 100 Startup
Videography
Just a Form of Self Expression
When I’m not designing, I’m behind the lens of my camera
See more
Brand strategy
Brand Strategist & Product Designer
I am a brand strategist and design system expert
See more
Experience
Senior Experience Designer
ICF: 2023 - Current
- Directed front-end design strategy in partnership with engineers, data scientists, and policy experts to modernize data.cms.gov, enhancing navigation, accessibility, and data storytelling across 162+ public data products.
- Established design of an AI-powered interface enabling fraud investigators to analyze complex datasets via natural language, working 6× faster and significantly reducing administrative overhead.
- Spearheaded UX vision and strategy for the U.S. Department of State’s Customer Experience Analytics platform, shaping product roadmaps and driving a 20% increase in resolution efficiency and higher citizen satisfaction.
- Established and scaled a streamlined design-to-development handoff process, adopted org-wide, that increased implementation efficiency and reduced errors by 30%.
- Mentored designers and developers on raising craft standards within Figma, building team-wide consistency.
Senior Experience Designer
Cognizant: 2022-2023
- Directed UX strategy and design execution for a suite of cross-platform enterprise banking applications, aligning product, engineering, and design teams to deliver an MVP that secured stakeholder approval.
- Built and governed a scalable design system, introducing a unified design language and reusable component library that reduced time-to-market for new features by ~25% and improved consistency across platforms.
- Partnered with senior leadership to define product vision, ensure accessibility compliance, and integrate usability insights into roadmap decisions.
- Mentored junior designers through design reviews and workshops, elevating craft quality and accelerating team growth.
Experience Designer
ICF: 2021-2022
- Designed and iterated user flows and prototypes for multiple federal web applications, managing stakeholder feedback to align solutions with user and agency needs.
- Supported design system adoption by contributing reusable components and documentation that streamlined future product builds.
Founder & Product Lead
Jooelp: 2020
- Conceptualized and designed Joolep, a consumer-facing, community-powered platform that enables real-time discovery of local food & drink specials—transforming diners’ search experience and amplifying visibility for small businesses.
- Conducted deep discovery: 50+ interviews (owners & diners), competitor audits, and user validation to define product vision and establish UX direction.
- Built MVP with scalable brand system, map interface, save/share mechanics, and real-time alerts, leading a multi-disciplinary team through rapid iteration.
Skills
Design & Strategy: Product Design, Product Strategy, UX/UI Design, Design Systems, Information Architecture, User Flows, Wireframing & Prototyping, Usability Testing, Accessibility (WCAG), Design Thinking, Micro-interactions, Responsive & Cross-platform Design
Technical Tools: Figma, Figma Make, Miro, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro), Zeplin, Tableau (with devs), HTML/CSS, SwiftUI familiarity, AI-assisted design tools
Leadership & Collaboration: Cross-functional Collaboration, Stakeholder Alignment, Agile & Lean UX, Data Visualization, Design Ops & Handoff Processes, Mentorship & Team Coaching, Workshop Facilitation, Building Design Culture
Home
Hi, I’m Darius Bounds
I design products that shape ideas into experiences you love
Open to opportunities
Get to know me.
I’m a girl dad
Just figuring out this parenting thing as I go...one step, one smile a time.
I’m a storyteller
Capturing the people and moments that matter most to me.
I’m overcaffeinated
From the beans to the brewing, I love the craft of every cup.
Founder, Product, & Experience Designer
An app I created for community-driven restaurant specials and insights.
See more
Selected as a Top 100 Startup
Videography
Just a Form of Self Expression
When I’m not designing, I’m behind the lens of my camera
See more
Brand strategy
Brand Strategist & Product Designer
I am a brand strategist and design system expert
See more
Experience
Senior Experience Designer
ICF: 2023 - Current
- Directed front-end design strategy in partnership with engineers, data scientists, and policy experts to modernize data.cms.gov, enhancing navigation, accessibility, and data storytelling across 162+ public data products.
- Established design of an AI-powered interface enabling fraud investigators to analyze complex datasets via natural language, working 6× faster and significantly reducing administrative overhead.
- Spearheaded UX vision and strategy for the U.S. Department of State’s Customer Experience Analytics platform, shaping product roadmaps and driving a 20% increase in resolution efficiency and higher citizen satisfaction.
- Established and scaled a streamlined design-to-development handoff process, adopted org-wide, that increased implementation efficiency and reduced errors by 30%.
- Mentored designers and developers on raising craft standards within Figma, building team-wide consistency.
Senior Experience Designer
Cognizant: 2022-2023
- Directed UX strategy and design execution for a suite of cross-platform enterprise banking applications, aligning product, engineering, and design teams to deliver an MVP that secured stakeholder approval.
- Built and governed a scalable design system, introducing a unified design language and reusable component library that reduced time-to-market for new features by ~25% and improved consistency across platforms.
- Partnered with senior leadership to define product vision, ensure accessibility compliance, and integrate usability insights into roadmap decisions.
- Mentored junior designers through design reviews and workshops, elevating craft quality and accelerating team growth.
Experience Designer
ICF: 2021-2022
- Designed and iterated user flows and prototypes for multiple federal web applications, managing stakeholder feedback to align solutions with user and agency needs.
- Supported design system adoption by contributing reusable components and documentation that streamlined future product builds.
Founder & Product Lead
Jooelp: 2020
- Conceptualized and designed Joolep, a consumer-facing, community-powered platform that enables real-time discovery of local food & drink specials—transforming diners’ search experience and amplifying visibility for small businesses.
- Conducted deep discovery: 50+ interviews (owners & diners), competitor audits, and user validation to define product vision and establish UX direction.
- Built MVP with scalable brand system, map interface, save/share mechanics, and real-time alerts, leading a multi-disciplinary team through rapid iteration.
Skills
Design & Strategy: Product Design, Product Strategy, UX/UI Design, Design Systems, Information Architecture, User Flows, Wireframing & Prototyping, Usability Testing, Accessibility (WCAG), Design Thinking, Micro-interactions, Responsive & Cross-platform Design
Technical Tools: Figma, Figma Make, Miro, Sketch, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro), Zeplin, Tableau (with devs), HTML/CSS, SwiftUI familiarity, AI-assisted design tools
Leadership & Collaboration: Cross-functional Collaboration, Stakeholder Alignment, Agile & Lean UX, Data Visualization, Design Ops & Handoff Processes, Mentorship & Team Coaching, Workshop Facilitation, Building Design Culture