Chris Schnaars
Designer & developer
I am a designer who loves to build things. My work has taken many forms, from digital products to interactive spaces, but has all focused on building tools that enable creativity, collaboration, and curiosity.
I currently lead product design at Rewatch, building new ways for async teams to utilize video. I spin up silly side projects when I can (less often now with two kids) and am a musician who has played with Brooklyn post-punk mainstays The Black Black and my solo project GAARDENS.
What I do best
-
Design execution
I've been honing my craft as a design leader and contributor for over 15 years. I still find joy in working in collaborative teams to define problems, explore ideas, and build solutions.
-
Front-end development
Designing (mostly) in code has transformed how I work. It makes testing and iterating on ideas a fast and organic process, and has enabled me to seamlessly collaborate with engineering to ship highly-polished work.
-
Product strategy
Having worked at organizations without a dedicated product team, I've been able to step in and define product priorities, shape ideas into feature briefs, and keep the design and engineering teams aligned on a product vision.
A few project examples
Work history
Buildings new tools to help teams utilize video to collaborate asynchronously.
Simplifying how media creators find and use high-quality stock assets.
Highlights include working on the new Delta Terminal at LGA, helping thoughbot build a v1 product for an energy start-up, and making a gesture-based installation with Hush Studios.
Design studio for museums and cultural institutions. Notable projects include Planet Word, ARoS Art Museum, AMNH, and The Tech Museum of Innovation.
Shaping the future of Amplify's teaching and learning products, which are still used in classrooms around the world
Origin story
My dad was a programmer, and we always had computers in our house – a rarity in the 80s and early 90s. Once I learned how to get things on the web I was hooked, and built countless websites for friends and bands. My first "paid" gig was for a local pizza joint that paid me with a full pie every Friday night (RIP Mezza Luna).
Say hello
I love getting emails from real folks: schnaarschris@gmail.com