From a messy brief to the product people actually use.

We do the strategy most agencies skip: architecture, flows, and systems before a single screen gets touched. For founders who need to get it right the first time.

Realode for StartupsLed by Khin Yu Hsu, Creative Director

Investor Game 2025 — Berlin

Voicari — the AI startup Khin designed the product experience for — took the prize

65%

conversion lift across AI companion platforms

5+ yrs

designing AI, fintech & platform products

Who this is for

We work best in
the messy stages.

AI & Deep Tech

Your model is impressive. Your interface needs to make users feel smart, not lost. We design AI products that earn trust on screen one and compound it from there.

LLM interfacesAI productAgentic UIsData-heavy dashboards

Fintech & Banking

Trust is your currency — and you spend it or earn it on every screen. We design interfaces that feel regulated without feeling bureaucratic, and secure without feeling cold.

NeobanksPayment flowsCompliance-heavy UXB2B finance tools

Platforms & Marketplaces

Multiple user types. Conflicting mental models. Competing priorities. We architect platforms that feel simple to every person using them — even when the system underneath is anything but.

Two-sided marketplacesB2B SaaSMulti-role dashboardsOperator + user flows

We meet you where you are. Pre-seed? We'll build the product spine before you write a line of code. Seed? We'll bring coherence to what's been shipped. Series A? We'll build a design system your engineers can run and your investors can see.

Services

What we do, well.

01

UX Strategy & Research

We frame the real problem before opening Figma. Most founders arrive with a solution and we help them find the right one. Most projects pivot at this stage. All of them are better for it.

  • Founder + user interviews
  • Information architecture
  • Competitive & market landscape
  • UX audit: what's working, what's costing you
02

Product Design

From the first user flow to the last micro-interaction — designed with the same scrutiny your most demanding user will apply. We don't hand off screens. We hand off products.

  • User flows & wireframes
  • UI design & visual language
  • Interaction design & micro-animations
  • Investor-ready & testable prototypes
03

Design Systems

A design system is how your engineering team ships at speed, without waiting on design. We build the foundation your team actually uses.

  • Component library (Figma + code-ready)
  • Design tokens & theming
  • Living documentation engineers actually read
  • Handoff, QA, and async support
04

Brand Identity

Your brand is the first thing investors Google and the last thing users forget. We build identities that work as hard in a pitch deck as they do in a product.

  • Brand strategy & positioning
  • Logo & visual identity system
  • Brand guidelines built to survive your first hire
  • Motion identity & in-product brand language
We don't stop at Figma.

When you need us to build it, we build it. Frontend engineering, technical architecture, and performance optimisation for teams that want one partner, start to finish.

How we work

How we turn complexity into clarity.

The process isn't linear — but the thinking is. We make strong calls early and stay focused on one thing: the difference between a product people return to and one they quietly abandon.

Let's talk about your product →
01

Frame the problem

We talk to the team, the data, and the users separately, so nothing gets filtered. The brief you arrive with is rarely the problem we end up solving. Most projects pivot here. All of them are better for it.

Stakeholder interviewsUser researchProblem definition
02

Build the spine

Structure before aesthetics — always. We map every user flow and decision point before a single component gets styled. Changing a flow in a doc costs hours. Changing it in visual design costs weeks.

IA & sitemapCore user flowsContent hierarchy
03

Design the system

With structure locked, we build the visual layer: UI, interaction patterns, and a component system in parallel. Not screens in isolation. A living system where every decision compounds.

Visual designInteraction & motionComponent architecture
04

Test, ship, iterate

We don't disappear at handoff. We test with real users, track where friction actually lives — not where we assumed — and fold what we learn into the next build cycle. Ship, measure, sharpen.

Usability testingHandoff & QAIteration sprints

Work

Products shipped,
problems untangled.

AI Pet Tech, global sports platforms, AI Novel Game, and more — all documented on Khin's portfolio.

khinyuhsu.com

Full case studies — process, decisions, outcomes

Why Realode

Strategy first.
Craft always.

Most designers execute the brief. We interrogate it. The question we answer for every client: how do we build the best-in-class experience for users — and a great company doing it?

65%

conversion lift across AI companion platforms

100s

beta users supported across owners, trainers, vets

5+ yrs

designing AI, fintech & platform products

★ 2025

Voicari won the Investor Game Award, Berlin — designed by Khin

What sets this apart

Structure before aesthetics

We resolve information architecture and core flows before any visual design. Visuals are easier when the underlying model is right.

Design systems, not just screens

Every engagement produces something your team can work from independently. Not just beautiful files — a coherent system with documentation engineers can build from.

Startup speed, no shortcut

We design fast enough to keep pace with your iteration cycle — without compromising the strategic thinking that makes it hold up under real use.

Technical foundation included

Unlike a standalone design studio, Realode has 21 years of engineering behind the design. Your product gets built on a solid technical base.

Pricing

Built around how
startups actually work.

SPRINT

Focused deliverable

One scoped output — a UX audit, a design sprint, a brand identity. Fixed timeline, fast turnaround.

Starting from

$3,500

/ project

Typical: 2–3 weeks

  • Scoped deliverable (agreed upfront)
  • 1 revision round
  • Handoff-ready Figma files
  • 30-day follow-up support
Get started →
Most Popular

SYSTEM

Full product build

End-to-end — from UX strategy to design system to production handoff. For startups that need to get it right.

Starting from

$12,000

/ project

Typical: 6–10 weeks

  • UX research & strategy
  • Full product design
  • Design system (Figma + tokens)
  • Brand identity
  • Prototype for testing or pitch
  • 3 months post-launch support
Start a project →

PARTNER

Ongoing design partner

Your embedded Creative Director. Monthly design sprints, strategic input, and always-available design judgment.

Starting from

$4,500

/ month

Cancel anytime

  • Dedicated Creative Director (Khin)
  • Monthly design sprints
  • UX reviews & QA
  • Brand & product evolution
  • Async design support
Book a call →

Running an e-commerce store or SME that needs a professional website? We have a separate track for that.

See business packages →

Let's build something

Got a messy problem?

We take on a focused number of product design engagements at a time — from product strategy and UX to design systems and AI interaction design. Book a call and tell us what you're trying to ship.

Khin Yu Hsu — Creative Director · BangkokNo lock-in contractsWe reply within 24h · hello@realode.co
Book a discovery call →

Creative Director

Khin Yu Hsu

Product Designer & Creative Technologist, based in Bangkok. Five years designing AI startups, fintech challengers, and platform products — where strategy meets craft. Before product design, I worked in concept art: that instinct to see a thing whole before rendering any of it never left.

UX StrategyProduct DesignDesign SystemsBrand IdentityInformation ArchitectureUser ResearchPrototypingGamificationQA InfrastructureStartup Consulting

Investor Game 2025, Berlin

Voicari — the startup Khin designed the product for — took the prize

Full portfolio at khinyuhsu.com →