About

Connor Lee

Founding Designer · Product Strategy · Design · Engineering

I work where product strategy, identity, and implementation meet. Across music, gaming, fintech, and commerce, I've helped founders sharpen the bet, turn it into a coherent system, and ship the real thing - often as the first or only designer in the room.

Download résumé (PDF)

Experience

Casset ↗Founder, Product Designer & Engineer

Jan 2026 – Present
  • Founded, designed, and built a live music platform end to end - sole designer and primary engineer.
  • Set the strategy: began as a crypto-asset product, then deliberately pivoted to a broader creator platform when the simpler bet was the stronger one.
  • Shipped the full product: creator onboarding, authentication, paid-access gating, audio delivery, and Stripe Connect payouts (Next.js, Postgres, Stripe).
  • Own brand, product, and front-end as one continuous practice.

Temple & Spark ↗Lead Product Designer & Engineer

Mar – Jun 2026 (Contract)
  • Worked directly with the founder to turn a bespoke furniture practice into a coherent studio-commerce brand and product system.
  • Designed and engineered a chapter-based 3D desk configurator - a real-time Three.js scene with cinematic lighting and live validated pricing - wired to a Medusa headless-commerce backend.
  • Built the identity and packaging system: a monogram across kraft shipping boxes, assembly kits, and a hardbound brand book.
  • One person across brand, product, commerce, and implementation.

ETRNLFounding Product Designer

Sep 2025 – Apr 2026 (Contract)
  • One of two core team members; worked directly with the founder on product strategy, not just execution.
  • Originated the Artist Key and signed-card mechanic, reframing utility hardware as a collectible identity and access platform.
  • Defined the connected business and product system across creator commerce, fan ownership, NFC activation, and release access.
  • Owned design end to end: physical card system, activation flows, collectible mechanics, brand book, and campaign direction.

ShagaFirst Product Designer

Feb 2024 – Oct 2024 (Full-time)
  • First designer on the team; owned product UX/UI across web and mobile for a cloud-gaming platform.
  • Conceived Glob - a product initiative (not a branding exercise) to drive community participation, progression, status, and engagement.
  • Worked with engineering to identify a feasible implementation path and helped bring it to life; partnered with founders on product direction.

MarginFiSole Product Designer

Aug 2022 – May 2023
  • Only designer on a Solana lending protocol; designed mrgnlend's core borrowing, lending, portfolio, and risk-management experience before launch and through its early life.
  • Made liquidation and health-factor risk legible to users, ran user research, and worked closely with engineers.
  • Left before the points program and the major growth phase; the product foundation I designed remained in place as the protocol later scaled to hundreds of millions in TVL, peaking above $800M.

SharkyFiSole Product Designer

Feb – Apr 2022
  • Only designer for an NFT-collateralized lending product on Solana - concept through launch.
  • Designed the lending, borrowing, and liquidation flows.
  • Helped establish one of the leading NFT-lending products on Solana - concept through launch.

AP3 Creative StudioFounder

Jan 2018 – Present
  • Independent studio delivering product design, brand systems, and front-end development for startups.
  • Led engagements spanning product strategy, UX/UI, branding, creative direction, and implementation.
  • Clients include IGNITE Fireworks, Fibonacci Finance, MetaDAO, MTNDAO, Lancer, and Gamma.

Early Experience

Betterment · Founder’s Apprentice · Product Design + Front-End Intern

Apprenticed under founder Jon Stein · Enstitute

Noodle Education · Founder's Apprentice

Founders Fellowship

Selected Clients

mtndao, Kivo, MetaDAO, Habit Halo, Lancer, Gamma

Core Capabilities

0→1 Product StrategyProduct PositioningConcept DevelopmentInteraction DesignDesign SystemsBrand IdentityCreative DirectionPhysical–Digital ProductsRapid PrototypingFront-end EngineeringCommerce ArchitectureLaunch Systems

Tools & Stack

FigmaSketchTypeScriptNext.jsTailwindThree.jsMedusaStripe ConnectNeon PostgresPrismaVercelAfter EffectsClaude CodeCloud AgentsWarp

Education

30 Weeks by Google Design - 1 of 25 selected

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor — Art & Design, attended 1 year

Earlier Work

Experiments, startups, and shipped products from 2012–2019, including VIPP Nightlife and the MHacks-winning Goober project.

Explore the archive →

Get in Touch

Book a call ↗Telegram ↗Twitter / X ↗LinkedIn ↗casset.fm ↗

AP3 Design Practice
Los Angeles, CA

Receipt 0031
2012–2026

Portfolio receipt

Work documented on this site

Projects documented
31
Apps & product systems
22
Brand identities & systems
18
Selected clients
6
Teams & companies
9

Total practice

Years designing and shipping

14

Counts cover 23 current projects, 8 archive projects, 6 named clients, and the 9 teams listed above. Product and brand totals include design trials when the work appears on this site.

Product · Brand · Launch · Build