Source: https://imdennie.com/story.html

Updated: 2026-10-08

My story

# A little about how I got here.

It’s the story of how a kid from Ukraine ended up designing products used by millions. Questions asked, lessons learned, products shipped.

[Read my story ](https://imdennie.com/story.html#story)

Chapter 01 · Origins

## So… where does this story begin?

In Ukraine — where I was born and raised, and where I first learned that the fastest way to understand how something works is to take it apart. Most things survived the process. Some even worked afterwards.

Chapter 02 · Kyiv

## Did you study design?

Nope. Kyiv University of Tourism, Economics and Law , 2002–2007. No design degree, no bootcamp — just relentless curiosity and a computer. Everything that came after was learned by shipping.

Chapter 03 · First pixels

## When did design find you?

Around 2011 — and it stuck. My product-design journey properly began at Chatbox , a team-messaging SaaS — the pattern Slack would later make famous — working between management, sales and engineering. The features I helped ship fast helped secure investment and land the first big customers.

Along the way

- Photoshop
- Illustrator
- HTML & CSS
- Pixel patience

Chapter 04 · The e-commerce years

## Then what happened?

I helped grow a small agency into a large e-commerce brand , designing experiences for major retail clients. Along the way I set up the design practices and dev workflows — and mentored the junior designers coming up behind me.

Along the way

- Sketch
- Shopify
- Conversion design
- Mentoring

Chapter 05 · Going lead

## When did you start leading?

As Lead Product Designer I led a team of three and shipped Shipshape — smart-home monitoring that catches household problems early, from the app and design system to the brand and its mascot. I even climbed into the crawlspaces where the sensors get installed to get the research right. Then MyGoTrainer , an iOS marketplace where I owned the UX for all three sides: clients, trainers and facilities.

Along the way

- Design leadership
- IoT
- Marketplaces
- User research

Chapter 06 · Day one

## What was your biggest bet?

Joining Linc as Founding Product Designer — employee-one energy, a studio platform for content creators, nothing but a blank canvas. I built the design system and the end-to-end UX from scratch, iterating with users and engineers daily.

Along the way

- Figma
- Design systems
- 0→1 product

Chapter 07 · The big leagues

## And where do you work now?

DraftKings — since 2016, nearly a decade of designing large-scale consumer experiences in one of the fastest-moving, most regulated spaces in tech. When millions of people use what you design, usability, performance and consistency stop being nice-to-haves.

Along the way

- Design at scale
- Experimentation
- Regulated UX
- Accessibility

Chapter 08 · Everything changes

## When did everything change?

When AI agents showed up. Suddenly one designer could research, design, code and ship an entire product. I went all-in — prototyping at the speed of thought, with language models as teammates instead of tools.

Along the way

- Claude
- ChatGPT
- Claude Code
- AI agents
- SwiftUI

Chapter 09 · Proof of work

## Okay — prove it.

[Numi](https://getnumi.app) — an AI nutrition tracker for iPhone, live on the App Store. Snap a photo of your meal; it reads calories, macros and micronutrients, and builds a personal “Metabolic Fingerprint.” Concept, design, code, App Store — designed and built solo , shipped in 2025.

Along the way

- Solo-shipped an iOS app
- AI / Vision
- Founder

Chapter 10 · The 3 a.m. shift

## Did you stop there?

Of course not. In 2026 I shipped [Tysha](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tysha-baby-sleep-sounds/id6783016339) — a white-noise app for exhausted parents. Real-time generated sound, no loops, no ads, no internet needed. Every screen designed for one hand, in the dark, at 3 a.m.

Along the way

- App #2 shipped
- Audio / DSP
- Offline-first

Chapter 11 · One QR code

## Two apps in one year — done?

Not even close. Mid-2026 I started [Karta](https://karta-nu.vercel.app/) — one QR code for a whole restaurant. Guests scan the table sticker to browse, order, split and pay in their own language, no app needed; owners get a full back office with live floor plans, analytics, auto-split payouts and an AI waiter. My biggest solo build yet — guest app, dashboard and design system, end-to-end.

Along the way

- Full platform, 0→1
- Payments
- AI menu
- Web app

Chapter 12 · Now playing

## So… what’s next?

Today I’m in Kyiv — designing at DraftKings, running two apps on the App Store and a restaurant platform with a public demo, and open to contract design-and-build projects as well as senior product design roles. The next chapter could start with your message.

14+ years of design 2 apps on the App Store · 1 web platform 3 languages ∞ curiosity

[ Write the next chapter ](mailto:gehucka@gmail.com?subject=The%20next%20chapter) [ LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennieo/) [ Selected work ](https://imdennie.com/)