# Alan Tippins

> Product designer and design leader who builds. Fifteen years designing products and systems, and building the teams behind them. Currently Head of Design at Sibi.

## Areas of focus

- [Product judgment from the first conversation to production](https://alantippins.com/how-i-work/): Starting with customer conversations, framing the problem, prototyping, building, launching, and learning from the real thing.
- [Design systems built for variation](https://atippins.substack.com/p/the-shared-system-under-every-device): Copy has nine devices built by two people. The product behavior, tests, and accessibility are shared. Each device has its own controls, sound, and visual character.
- [Leading by building](https://alantippins.com/how-i-work/#where-it-scales): Staying hands-on while building systems the whole product team can use, from the first idea through production.

## Shipped products

- [Copy](https://getcopy.app): A private, customizable walkie-talkie for iPhone, co-created with Matt Moss.
- [Try/Keep](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/try-keep/id6755366205): An iPhone app for remembering recommendations and closing the loop with the friend who made them.
- [TypePairs](https://typepairs.com): Curated font pairings for designers and developers, with ready-to-use code.
- [heictojpg](https://heictojpg.dev): A private HEIC-to-JPG converter that runs entirely in the browser.

## Coming soon

- Stockcaster (Coming soon): A spatial canvas for AI-assisted stock research.

## Selected work

- [Sibi](https://alantippins.com/work/sibi/): Head of Design. AI procurement platform for property operations.
- [Teamflow](https://alantippins.com/work/teamflow/): Founding Designer from seed through Series B. Teamflow raised $35M.
- [Vitally](https://alantippins.com/work/vitally/): Head of Design. Redesigned the core product and built its design system.
- [Alan Tippins Labs](https://alantippins.com/work/labs/): Maker. Projects include Copy, Try/Keep, TypePairs, and heictojpg.

## Writing

- [The shared system under every device in Copy: Walkie Talkie](https://atippins.substack.com/p/the-shared-system-under-every-device) (2026-07-27): How Alan and Matt built one shared system for nine devices with different controls, sounds, and visual styles.
- [The Missing Layer in Design Systems](https://atippins.substack.com/p/the-missing-layer-in-design-systems) (2026-01-27): How design decisions can become shared rules for teams building with AI.
- [From Figma to the App Store](https://atippins.substack.com/p/from-figma-to-the-app-store) (2026-01-20): How I shipped my first iOS app by bringing my Figma designs directly into Claude Code with Figma MCP.
- [Most AI builders fail because they start with prompts. I start with a README.](https://atippins.substack.com/p/readme-method-ai-coding) (2025-09-10): The README Method for designers and PMs who want to build with AI.
- [Language is the new canvas](https://atippins.substack.com/p/language-is-the-new-canvas) (2025-05-30): Building a system where one word drives layout, color, type, and sound.
- [The new rules of UX (for AI Agents)](https://atippins.substack.com/p/the-new-rules-of-ux-for-ai-agents) (2025-04-24): A living guide to designing human-agent interfaces in systems that think and act.
- [Beyond text: The next wave of AI interfaces](https://atippins.substack.com/p/beyond-text-the-next-wave-of-ai-interfaces) (2025-03-24): Three interface models for building more intuitive AI experiences.

## More context

- [About](https://alantippins.com/about/): Career history from Litmus through Sibi, plus where Alan does his best work: before product-market fit, while a product is still finding what matters, and after, when it needs stronger foundations.