I'm Crystal Ma, a product designer and artist in Brooklyn, NY.

I've spent seven years on the unglamorous parts of software — paying, upgrading, migrating — making them feel like someone was thinking about the person on the other side. I like hard problems with clear edges and room to solve them properly.

Most recently that was at Loom, an AI video communication tool. I shaped experiences that helped users get the most value and delight from Loom by designing thoughtful onboarding, trialing, and subscription flows. When Atlassian acquired Loom, I designed the path that carried our customers into a new account system. I was a lead on that work, and most of it was getting two companies to agree on how accounts should come together.

I bring a combination approach of research, rigor, and creativity. My style is to design high-craft solutions while also taking high ownership of execution and roll-out, because designs are only as good as the final product that reaches users.

I designed this site and built it with Claude Code. The artwork collage on the homepage is my own, and there are a few hidden toys throughout the journal spread which I made the artwork for and then coded myself.

I studied Economics and Art History at the University of Chicago. Econ made me curious about the way that systems shape people's behavior, and art history gave me a love for the built world and the habit of wondering how things come to be.

Beyond product design, I spend a lot of time off the computer. I paint, crochet, dance with a contemporary group, and am certified as a yoga instructor although I do not teach professionally. I find joy in practices that let me use making as a way to think, slow down, and refine my creative voice.

Let's work together.