# Simon Rico

> Product designer for trading, fintech, crypto and web3 apps, based in Prague, Czechia. Designing the trading experience of the Phantom mobile app (iOS and Android). Previously Principal Designer at 0x, leading design for Matcha, a DEX aggregator. Founder of Lapz (Formula 1 on Apple Vision Pro) and Logram (AI-native brand identities).

Simon Rico is a designer who believes in creating tools that are intuitive, beautiful and deeply human. His core practice is user experience and interface design for complex, high-stakes products: trading flows, crypto wallets, DeFi and fintech interfaces, mobile apps and spatial computing. He works from the early, undefined stages of a product (workshops, research, product definition, KPIs) through design systems, prototyping, motion design and precise specifications.

## Current role

- **Phantom** (2026 - now): Design at Phantom, on the trading team. Phantom is a crypto wallet and trading app. Simon designs the core trading experience of the mobile app on iOS and Android, making it as simple as possible for people to make exactly the trade they want, from finding a token to confirming the order. https://phantom.com

## Previous roles

- **0x / Matcha** (2023 - 2026): Principal Designer (joined as Senior Product Designer). Led product design for Matcha, a DEX aggregator for token trading across multiple blockchains with best execution and zero fees. Led a team of designers, owned the design system, ran user research and evolved search, discovery and the core swapping flow as Matcha grew to millions of tokens. https://matcha.xyz
- **One Up** (2022 - 2023): Lead Designer. Esports tournament platform; first UX/UI designer, platform redesign and scalable design system.
- **Status** (2019 - 2022): Senior Product Designer. Decentralised messenger, crypto wallet and Web3 browser; mobile-first designs for complex crypto flows with a focus on privacy and decentralisation.
- **Signals** (2018 - 2019): Product Designer. Platform for building and sharing machine-learning crypto trading strategies; design system, modular strategy builder, backtesting dashboards.
- **Touch4IT** (2018 - 2019): Senior UX/UI Designer. Agency work across fintech, logistics and blockchain.
- **Story TLRS** (2017 - 2018): UX/UI Designer. Brand and product design.
- **IBM** (2016 - 2017): Graphics Production Specialist, Client Center Visual Identity Coordinator, Graphic Design Internship.

## Founder / side projects

- **Lapz** (2023 - now): Founder. A spatial Formula 1 experience for Apple Vision Pro that merges real-time race data with mixed reality. Covered by Forbes ("...The Best Reason Yet To Buy a Vision Pro"), MacRumors and The Verge. https://lapz.io
- **Logram**: An AI-native tool for crafting brand identities, helping anyone building something look credible from day one. https://logram.ai
- **Meetback** (2020 - 2022): Co-founder. Web app for collecting structured feedback on recurring online meetings.

## Talks

- Experience Vision 2025, Paris: the story behind Lapz and designing for mixed reality and the future of AR in sports.

## Education

- Prague City University: MA Future Design (2019 - 2022), BA (Hons) Graphic Design (2016 - 2019).

## Skills and topics

Product design, UX design, UI design, interaction design, prototyping, motion design, design systems, user research, product strategy; trading apps, fintech, crypto wallets, Web3, DeFi, DEX aggregators, token trading; mobile apps (iOS, Android), visionOS and Apple Vision Pro, spatial computing; brand identity, AI-native tools.

## Languages

Czech and Slovak (native), English (C2), German (A2), Russian (A2).

## Links

- Website: https://simonrico.com
- CV (PDF): https://simonrico.com/assets/683052acb082b9a8ce3de0fd_Simon%20Rico%20-%20CV.pdf
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonrico/
- X: https://x.com/simonricoo
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonricoo/
- Farcaster: https://farcaster.xyz/simonricoo
- Email: hi@simonrico.com