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Main bio

‎‎Design Engineer bridging the gap between vision and production .

‎‎Design Engineer bridging the gap between vision and production .

I build dev-ready systems that turn complexity into clean screens. I use 3D and motion to elevate the experience, never at the cost of usability. The goal is always the same: design that doesn't just look right in a mockup, but holds up once it's actually built and in someone's hands.

Right now I'm building .ARK, my own studio for client web and branding work, while taking on smaller freelance projects on the side. Alongside that I'm studying for a professional bachelor in Interaction Design at the Schule für Gestaltung Bern & Biel. And when the work is quiet, I'm on a building site as a carpenter. It keeps me honest about making things that actually have to stand up.

I grew up partly in Costa Rica, which is where the surf and the skating and the constant urge to travel come from. That side of me isn't separate from the work, it's the same instinct: pay attention, stay loose, and figure out how things actually work by doing them.

shain gerstner
it's me

You'll find me surfing, skating, or somewhere new with a board and a bag. Same energy I bring to a project: keep moving, stay curious, learn by doing.

SHAIN

‎‎Design Engineer bridging the gap between vision and production .

I build dev-ready systems that turn complexity into clean screens. I use 3D and motion to elevate the experience, never at the cost of usability. The goal is always the same: design that doesn't just look right in a mockup, but holds up once it's actually built and in someone's hands.

Right now I'm building .ARK, my own studio for client web and branding work, while taking on smaller freelance projects on the side. Alongside that I'm studying for a professional bachelor in Interaction Design at the Schule für Gestaltung Bern & Biel. And when the work is quiet, I'm on a building site as a carpenter. It keeps me honest about making things that actually have to stand up.

I grew up partly in Costa Rica, which is where the surf and the skating and the constant urge to travel come from. That side of me isn't separate from the work, it's the same instinct: pay attention, stay loose, and figure out how things actually work by doing them.

shain gerstner
it's me

You'll find me surfing, skating, or somewhere new with a board and a bag. Same energy I bring to a project: keep moving, stay curious, learn by doing.

SHAIN

How I work

Understand it before you design it

Before any wireframe, I want to know what problem we're actually solving. The thing people ask for often isn't the thing they need. The best projects start with sharp questions and end with solutions that feel obvious in hindsight.

think first, draw later.
think first,
draw later.
think first,
draw later.
build it for real.

Dev-ready, not just pretty

A mockup that can't be built is just a nice picture. I design with production in mind from the start: real constraints, real components, handoff that engineers can actually work from. The win isn't the Figma file, it's the thing shipped and in use.

We, not me

The best work happens when designers, engineers and product people actually talk to each other instead of throwing things over a wall. I like the back-and-forth of figuring out what's possible, what's practical, and what creates the most value. No hero designers here.

we, not me.
learn by doing.

Details build trust

The most impactful work usually isn't flashy: the progress state that keeps people oriented, the auto-save that prevents panic, the error message that actually helps. I'd rather ship, learn and refine than wait for a perfect first try that never comes. Craft is what earns trust.

My story

Dive into my work

My work

Timeline

.ARK

Founder and creative technologist. Independent studio focused on interactive design, 3D, motion and experimental web. I lead client web and brand work end to end, from concept to launch, turning ideas into production-ready systems.

2024 - Current

Comvation

UI/UX design lead across client projects. Responsible for UX strategy, visual systems and interface quality, owning the work from first concept through to a polished, shippable result.

2025 — ongoing

Cleverclip

Interaction designer. Concept and design of interactive digital experiences with a strong focus on motion, storytelling and user flow, turning complex content into something people actually want to follow.

2024 - 2025

Swisscom

Interactive Media Designer, EFZ apprenticeship. Design and production of digital media and interactive content inside a large corporate environment, where I learned to hold design quality against real technical constraints.

2021 - 2024

Bio

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Let's Talk

I'm most energized by projects where I can dig into complex problems, collaborate with smart people, and ship things that genuinely improve someone's day.

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Shain

Open to contract work, full-time roles, and interesting conversations about hard design problems.

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