About · Alannah Byrne
Hello!
I'm Alannah, a senior product designer working on data-heavy, regulated products. The kind where the model matters more than the moodboard.
Most of my work has lived in high-ambiguity places: enterprise SaaS, compliance workflows, tools used by people standing in a field rather than sitting at a desk. I like the messy beginning: the part where nobody can quite agree on what the problem is yet.
I think in systems rather than screens, which is usually what keeps a product from quietly falling apart six features later. I'd rather draw the ugly version on paper on Monday than present a beautiful wrong one on Friday.
When I'm not designing, I'm based in Amsterdam, probably over-researching a recipe, filling another notebook, or explaining to someone that yes, the spreadsheet really is the interface.
What I do
I design things that help real people get real work done, streamlining compliance and communication for global users, simplifying navigation for teams in the field, and building the visual systems underneath it all.
End-to-end product design
from early research and problem framing through to high-fidelity execution
Mobile-first, responsive work
designed for how people actually work: in the field, on the move, mid-task
Research and validation
interviews, usability testing, task analysis, and checking my assumptions against real data
Design systems
scalable patterns so the product stays coherent as it grows
Cross-functional collaboration
close to product managers, engineers and researchers, not handing things over a wall
How I think about design
Good design isn't polished screens. It's clarity, context, and taking friction away from someone who has a job to finish.
- 01Understand the problem before picking the tool
- 02Learn fast by prototyping and testing, not debating
- 03Design for real behaviour, not the ideal scenario
- 04Balance what users need with what the business needs
* and I lean into the ambiguity rather than waiting for it to clear
Say hello: hello@alannah.studio