Publication
Ditch MVPs, Adopt Minimum Viable Prototypes (MVPrs)
https://www.toptal.com/designers/prototype/minimum-viable-prototype
Alexandru is available for hire
Hire AlexandruAlexandru Giuseppe Ispas
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Bucharest, Romania
Toptal member since December 15, 2016
Bio
Alex is a product designer who builds what he designs. Over 16 years, he has shipped 20+ products, working on code rather than handing off mockups—from first brief to live product. He specializes in 0-to-1 MVPs, onboarding and activation fixes, and design systems, and has worked with brands such as Emirates, Adore Me, Vagabond, Altex, certSIGN, and Isle of Man TT.
Experience
- UI Design - 10 years
- Mobile Design - 8 years
- Prototyping - 7 years
- Product Design - 7 years
- UX Design - 7 years
- Marketing - 5 years
- User Testing - 5 years
Portfolio
FirstPick — Bid-to-rent Prototype for a Property Marketplace
Product DesignWeb App UIRapid PrototypingMVP DesignLanding Page DesignConversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
Backsie — AI Mental Health Companion (0 to 1)
AI DesignMobile App DesignMVP DesignProduct DesignBrandingDesign Systems
AI Product MVPs - Mentoring Platform & Activation Redesign
MVP DesignProduct DesignAI DesignMobile App DesignFront-end DevelopmentUX Design
Whohears - Music Discovery Product and Brand
Product DesignMobile App DesignLanding Page DesignBrandingWeb DesignFront-end Development
Consumer & Creative Work - Puzzle Apps, Shop, Event Site
Mobile App DesignVisual DesignWeb DesignLanding Page DesignGrowthSwift
Work Experience
UI Designer
2026 - 2026
Toptal Client
- Rebuilt a legal-tech SaaS design system via AI prompting using Figma MCP and Claude Code, achieving around 90% implementation accuracy on the 1st pass.
- Designed a 7-step AI workflow to transform messy Figma files into production-ready design systems without manual cleanup.
- Automated design-to-code parity audits by connecting Figma MCP to GitHub, reviewing gaps, and opening PRs directly into the codebase.
Technologies: UI Design, Design Systems, Figma, Tailwind UI, Prototyping, B2B, Digital Design, Framer
Product Designer
2025 - 2026
Backsie Inc.
- Led product and UX design for an AI mental health platform, defining core flows, AHA moments, and monetization from zero to MVP-ready.
- Designed a logic-driven emotional reflection system that converts conversations into reusable insight cards and behavioral patterns.
- Partnered with founders to translate clinical and cognitive frameworks into accessible, human-centered AI interactions.
Technologies: Product Design, B2C, AI Design, Mobile Apps, Business to Consumer (B2C)
Web Designer
2025 - 2025
Kermani
- Audited current website conversion rates and user behavior.
- Shared key findings and proposed practical low-effort optimizations.
- Redesigned key pages and certain flows, aiming to increase conversion rates by at least 20%.
Technologies: Web Design, Landing Pages, Landing Page Design, Landing Page Optimization, UI Design, UX Design, Website Design, Conversion, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Responsive Web Design (RWD), Visual Design, Business to Consumer (B2C)
Product Designer
2024 - 2024
Income Mapper
- Designed a web application and marketing website from scratch and completed it within six weeks.
- Created an onboarding process to improve first-time user retention and reduce customer support needs.
- Utilized a user-centric approach prioritizing clarity over aesthetics for non-tech-savvy users.
Technologies: User Interface (UI), Product Design, UX Design, Dashboards, Dashboard Design, Design Systems
UI/UX Designer
2023 - 2023
Fix Digital, Inc.
- Designed a product's UI, a total makeover in under four weeks, by taking advantage of current best practices, frameworks, and design systems.
- Added user value by using best practices for the product UI.
- Reduced costs by streamlining the UI by using predefined components and style guides.
- Increased product value by focusing on optimizing the landing page for conversions.
Technologies: Web Design, Web UI, UI Design, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Marketplaces, User Journeys, UX Wireframes, Layout Design, Design Systems, Consumer Products, Business to Consumer (B2C)
Lead Designer | Disruptive Fintech Company
2022 - 2022
Kor Financial Inc.
- Restructured and led the design process, so it fitted with the current agile development methodology (team of 20+ developers).
- Redesigned the marketing website and optimized it for acquisition and activation.
- Led the process of creating a lean design system by recreating all the crucial flows of the existing platform.
- Analyzed product onboarding metrics and defined what and how to track based on the desired business outcomes.
- Supported the sales team with materials used for pitching and lead generation.
Technologies: Product Design, Web Design, User Experience (UX), Branding, Infographics, Data Visualization, Design Systems, User Interface (UI), Web App UI, Dashboards, SaaS, B2B, UI Components, Component Libraries, User Research, Dashboard Design
Product Designer
2021 - 2022
Alma
- Helped raise seed funding round by leading the design process from the idea phase to MVP for an NFT marketplace.
- Managed a cross-functional team and stakeholder communication and oversaw the development from inception to implementation.
- Designed and carried out qualitative research focusing on concept testing, product usability, and customer journeys.
Technologies: Figma, Blockchain, Non-fungible Tokens (NFT), Marketplaces, User Interface (UI), Web App UI, Rapid Prototyping, User Research, Interviews, Competitive Analysis, Business to Consumer (B2C)
Product Designer
2020 - 2021
certSIGN
- Redesigned the current marketing website and increased lead generation and conversion rates.
- Led the end-to-end redesign of the company's flag-ship electronic signature B2B product.
- Conducted usability tests to discover opportunities and learned about user behaviors.
Technologies: Figma, User Interface (UI), Web App UI, User Research, Interviews
Product Designer
2020 - 2020
Hallie Autumn, Inc
- Took a B2C on-demand styling and barbers SaaS from idea to prototype as a lead designer working for a B2C mobile app.
- Researched various value propositions through landing-page tests. Looked for validations and early positive signals.
- Reduced the dev team's waste to 50% of their time through early concept testing.
Technologies: Figma, React, User Interface (UI), User Research, Interviews, Competitive Analysis, Business to Consumer (B2C)
Product Designer
2019 - 2020
ALTEX Romania
- Worked closely with the leadership team to redesign the back-office experience of credit officers to reduce internal training and support costs.
- Researched and identified problems through stakeholder interviews and field studies.
- Defined animation guidelines and micro-interactions for UI.
Technologies: Adobe After Effects, User Interface (UI), User Research
Co-founder and Front-end Developer
2010 - 2016
Outbox Vision
- Co-founded a web design and development studio.
- Focused on web development for various companies and startups.
- Listed in the top 20% of the Stack Overflow leaderboard.
Technologies: WordPress, JavaScript, User Research, Front-end, Low Code
Other Experience
Education
2018 - 2020
Bachelor's Degree in Marketing
Dimitrie Cantemir University - Bucharest, Romania
2011 - 2013
Completed Credits Towards a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology and Social Work
University of Bucharest - Bucharest, Romania
Certifications
MARCH 2021 - PRESENT
Growth Product Manager
One Month PM
JANUARY 2021 - PRESENT
Product Manager Foundations
One Month PM
SEPTEMBER 2019 - PRESENT
Design Sprint Masterclass
AJ&Smart
OCTOBER 2018 - PRESENT
Design-led Strategy: Design Thinking for Business Strategy and Entrepreneurship
University of Sydney via Coursera
Skills
Tools
InVision, Adobe After Effects, GitHub
Languages
HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Swift
Platforms
WordPress, Figma, WooCommerce, Webflow
Industry Expertise
Marketing, Healthcare, Events, Consumer Products
Other
Front-end Development, Mobile App Design, UI Design, UX Design, Product Design, Web Design, Mobile Apps, Mobile Design, Prototyping, eCommerce, Data Visualization, Design Systems, Landing Pages, User Interface (UI), Web App UI, Dashboards, Rapid Prototyping, User Validation, SaaS, Visual Design, Conversion, Business to Consumer (B2C), System Design, Marketplaces, Front-end, AI Design, Branding, Dashboard Design, React, B2B, UI Components, Component Libraries, Presentation Design, User Research, Interviews, Competitive Analysis, Low Code, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Next.js, Claude Code, Remote User Testing, Blockchain, Inbound Marketing, Product Marketing, Market Research, Writing & Editing, UX Flows, User Testing, Research, Animation, Social Media Marketing (SMM), Wireframing, UX Research, Web UI, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Stakeholder Interviews, Analytics, UI Animation, Design, Fashion Design, Graphics, Responsive Design, Business, MVP Design, Sociology, Non-fungible Tokens (NFT), User Experience (UX), Infographics, Workshop Facilitation, Design Sprints, Design Thinking, Business Design, Product Management, Growth, Framer, Artist Management, Digital Tickets, B2C, Web Platforms, User Journeys, UX Wireframes, Layout Design, Social Media Kits, Landing Page Design, Responsive Web Apps, Landing Page Optimization, Website Design, React Native, Cursor AI, Tailwind UI, Digital Design
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