PETER BARTSCH
I make complex systems usable — and get them adopted — at scale.
I solve the adoption problems that stall organizations: forced adoption, platform fragmentation, trust in uncertain data.
And I don't stop at the spec — I build it. I prototype in code, build production-grade design systems, and use AI as part of my daily workflow.
Portfolio: download the PDF ↓ · click through it in Figma ↗
Built & led design teams 1→10. I build the systems, not just design them.
// OPEN TO: Staff / Principal or hands-on leadership — ready to bring what I've built solo at Thios to an enterprise team. I optimize for the work, not the title.
DESIGN RESEARCH FRONT-END PROTOTYPING HARDWARE / CAD SYSTEMS
// HOW I THINK
Most organizations think they have a UX problem when they actually have a trust problem, an incentives problem, or an alignment problem. Adoption is where those collide — you can ship a beautiful flow and still watch people route around it. I look for the leverage point where product, business, and user needs intersect, and design from there. AI just means one operator can now build all the way to that point, not just spec it.
Read the full approach — how I solve complex enterprise problems →
// WHAT I DO
Five patterns, one job: I make complex systems trustworthy enough to adopt — at scale.
- 01Making uncertainty understandableFourKites
- 02Driving adoption without coercionDeere
- 03Unifying fragmented platformsDeere
- 04Finding value inside constraintsGogo
- 05Building systems that stay alignedThios
These patterns repeat across agriculture, aviation, logistics, mobility, healthcare & open hardware.
Enterprise Design Systems
Design Org Leadership (1→10)
Adoption & Retention
0→1 in Complex Domains
AI-Native Workflow
// CASE STUDIES
Not a highlight reel — the calls, the tradeoffs, and what I'd do differently.
01
ENTERPRISE · ADOPTION AT SCALE
DEERE: FORCED ADOPTION AT SCALE
Inherited a forced-adoption mandate — and made completion something users chose: 34%→87% across 500K users, without breaking trust.
Challenge: Most of 500K users weren't completing profiles — the flow that gates Deere's $3.8B connected-services business.
Approach: Led design of a multi-channel adoption flow across 8 product lines — reframing a forced-adoption mandate as progressive value exchange.
Result: 34%→87% profile completion · setup support tickets −16%
VIEW CASE STUDY →
02
DATA TRUST
FOURKITES: DESIGNING FOR UNCERTAINTY
Built dashboards people staked million-dollar calls on — retention up 38% YoY.
Challenge: Enterprise customers were making million-dollar decisions on dashboards they didn't trust — because we hid uncertainty instead of explaining it.
Approach: Led redesign introducing confidence levels that showed uncertainty instead of hiding it.
Result: Customer retention up 38% YoY · repeated account expansion
VIEW CASE STUDY →
03
FOUNDER · 6-SURFACE SYSTEM
THIOS: ONE SOURCE OF TRUTH, SIX SURFACES
Built and shipped a product line solo — six surfaces, one source of truth, agents as the team.
Challenge: 6 sub-brands across 4 production sites plus an OnShape CAD source. Drift is the default, not a possibility.
Approach: Six canonical surfaces (DESIGN.md ↔ tokens.json ↔ main.css ↔ design-system.html ↔ OnShape ↔ Figma) kept aligned by agent-driven audits.
Result: 6 surfaces in sync · 1 designer
VIEW CASE STUDY →
| 2024–Pres |
Founder & Lead Designer |
Thios + Co |
|
- Problem: Founded a product company solo — brand, web, configurator, design system, hardware
- Result: Brand + 4 production sites + 6 sphere variants + first revenue
- Approach: AI as the build mechanism (design, code, CAD); proof of end-to-end technical range
View Case Study →
|
| 2020–2024 |
Senior Lead UX — Digital Customer Experience |
John Deere |
|
- Problem: 500K+ users weren't completing profiles on the platform gating Deere's connected-services business
- Result: Unified nav across 8 product lines; enterprise design system adopted by 40+ teams
- Approach: Led multi-channel forced adoption; helped establish the enterprise design system 40+ teams now build on; 45% faster handoffs on shipped components
View Case Study →
|
| 2017–2020 |
Lead UX / Manager |
FourKites |
|
- Problem: Customers didn't trust dashboards built on incomplete data
- Result: $3M→$100M ARR through hypergrowth
- Approach: Led UX redesign showing confidence levels openly; built predictive analytics ahead of traditional ETAs; grew team 1→10
View Case Study →
|
| 2014–2017 |
Senior UX + Agile Lead |
MavenWave Partners |
| 2012–2014 |
Product Marketing Manager |
Nokia (HERE Maps) |
| 2008–2012 |
Product Manager — Signature Services |
Gogo Inflight Internet |
| 2001–2008 |
Co-Founder |
Cognistar |
| 2004–2024 |
Board Director |
How Weird Street Faire |
Complex systems don't fail because they're technically impossible. They fail because people won't adopt them. That's the problem I've spent my career solving.
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