Peter Russo UX designer and strategist

About me

Peter russo with mountains and water in the background.

I grew up in a town of about 600 people and 300 cows in rural Massachusetts where I learned how to be bored in innovative ways. I explored the woods as much as I played D&D with my creative nerdy friends.

I practiced art through college and earned my BFA in Printmaking before moving out west with my girlfriend (now wife). Unable to lug around a printing press to various cheap apartments, I focused on building websites for artists, photographers, and other small business owners, while working part time at an Italian deli to pay the bills.

I found my first job in tech in Portland, Ore. as a web developer. After a few company changes I found myself working as a senior dev at CollegeNET. They were just at the start of building out their UX team, and I was given the opportunity to lead that effort. That was my transition into user experience design. I loved the problems we were solving, the research, and the community in Portland.

Peter standing in front of a whiteboard pointing at diagrams

Since then I’ve designed many complex tools, helped teams work better together, and generally made life easier for a lot of people. These days I focus on Civic Tech at Ad Hoc, where I’m a Design Lead. I help multiple teams deliver health care management tools on a contract for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

I still live in Portland, Oregon with my wife and often a random dog or cat (we love pet-sitting for our friends).

Peter sitting on a couch smiling with a small black dog on his lap

Check out some of my more recent/relevant projects.

Ready to talk about your complex digital problem? Let’s connect!