• Projects
  • Side Quests
  • Experience
  • Contact
  • Projects
  • Side Quests
  • Experience
  • Contact

Notice: This site is a work in progress. Some imagery and polish are still on the way.

John Venters

Design

Crafting user-centered products, design systems, and accessible interfaces

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Engineer

Building clean, scalable front-end architecture with modern frameworks

View ProjectsDownload Resume

Selected Projects

Application

KOA Messaging Center

A custom SMS platform that replaced a $2M/yr third-party vendor, designed and built end-to-end.

View Project
KOA Messaging Center inbox view
KOA Messaging Center template builder
KOA Messaging Center conversation view
Design System

KOA Design System & Component Library

Rebuilt KOA's product foundation from scratch (new design system, new component library, new framework) aligned to brand for the first time in over a decade.

View Project
KOA design token documentation
KOA Design System component library in Storybook
Application

YCH Tools

Transformed an inaccessible data lookup tool into a flagship product experience for one of the world's largest hop suppliers.

View Project
Single lot view with radar chart aroma profile
Multi-lot comparison with overlaid radar charts
YCH Tools lot lookup showing radar chart aroma profile and structured data cards

Side Quests

A collection of personal projects, side work, and things I do when no one's paying me to. Beyond pushing pixels or writing code, you'll likely find me at a D&D table, playing piano or guitar, immersed in a video game, or throwing a stick for my dog Ollie.

  • Game

    Game Projects

    A mix of game jam entries and grad school projects — including a Best Overall win at the Kilted Otter Game Jam while studying in Scotland.

    • Game Dev
    • Unity
    • Game Jam
    View on itch.io
  • Game

    IG50 Winner

    Selected as an IG50 winner by Into Games, recognizing emerging talent in the UK games industry.

    • Game Dev
    • Recognition
    Visit Into Games
  • Course

    Web Design & Programming

    A 16-week university course I designed and teach as an adjunct professor at the University of Montana, covering HTML, CSS, JavaScript, accessibility, and Git.

    • Curriculum Design
    • Education
    • Accessibility

Experience

View Resume

I'm a design engineer with over a decade of experience spanning product design, frontend engineering, game development, graphic design, and military cybersecurity. I take pride in creating thoughtful and inclusive products, paying close attention to the details that enhance user experiences from functional to truly enjoyable. I do my best work at the intersection of design and engineering, translating complex requirements into accessible, scalable interfaces without losing fidelity between vision and implementation.

Senior UX Designer & UI Engineer

KOA · Aug 2024 – Present

Own UX strategy and frontend product design for KOA's core K2 platform, mentoring a UI/UX Developer and partnering with Product, Engineering, and QA across multiple Agile teams.

Led frontend modernization from AngularJS to Svelte & TypeScript, defining migration architecture and building a 40+ component library. Designed and shipped a dynamic pricing system and Customer Communication Hub that replaced a third-party platform, cutting licensing costs by ~$2M annually.

SvelteTypeScriptFigmaDesign SystemsAgileWCAG 2.1

Education

Professional Masters in Games Development

Abertay University · Dundee, Scotland

2021 – 2022

Merit · 3.9 GPA (US equiv.) · Saltire Scholar

Completed while interning at InGAME as a game producer.

Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts, Minor: Computer Science

University of Montana · Missoula, MT

2013 – 2018

Summa cum laude · 4.0 GPA · Horatio Alger Scholar

Completed while working full-time and serving in the Air National Guard.

Certifications

  • Google Analytics Certified·2025·Google via Skillshop
  • CompTIA Security+·2018·CompTIA

Don't take my word for it

A few words from the developers, creatives, and directors I've worked alongside.

  • “

    John has an amazing eye for design and the technical skills to bring his work to life. More importantly, he also has the ability to bring others along for the ride by researching, documenting, and educating his team on his thought process and methodology. In my time working with him, the lion's share of positive feedback we received as a team could be traced directly back to his individual efforts. John is a rare find in our industry, and his attitude, aptitude, and adaptability are first class.

    MPMatt PateraSenior Software Engineer · Yakima Chief Hops
  • “

    John enhanced our engineering team's UI/UX with his positive, empathetic, and customer-centric mindset. His openness to feedback, rapid turnaround on iterative improvements, and quality of deliverables set him apart. John skillfully and consistently balances team, customer, and organizational needs, resulting in prototypes and user experiences that resonate with all audiences.

    JGJordan GottliebDirector, Software Engineering & E-Commerce Technology · Yakima Chief Hops
  • “

    It took me almost ten years to get John on my team, and he did not disappoint. He's a quick learner who can adapt to anything and learn anything. Anything. Design, branding, front-end dev, mobile development, put him in front of your stakeholders — it's all gold.

    NSNick ShontzLead Software Engineer · Yakima Chief Hops
  • “

    John was a highly professional, likable and well-organized producer who took time to establish the needs and intricacies of the project. He also produced high-quality UI alongside overseeing all art and code requirements. I can recommend John without hesitation for your UI or production needs.

    LCDr. Lynda ClarkCreative Writing Lecturer · University of Edinburgh
  • “

    John was consistently on the ball with all areas of production, delivered updates concisely, kept the ship steady through the 12 weeks of production and was prepared for anything, all the while being very personable and having a great working attitude!

    RORebecca OxfordAnimator · The Chinese Room
Showing testimonial 1 of 5: Matt Patera, Senior Software Engineer at Yakima Chief Hops.

Say hello! 👋

I'm open to design engineer, product designer, and UI engineering roles, remote or international. If you're building something that needs both design thinking and frontend execution, I'd love to hear about it.

Based in Missoula, Montana. Working anywhere.

© 2026 John Venters