Christoph Fahlbusch
Native apps, systems, AI workflows, and code
About
I'm Christoph, a product designer working where strategy, native craft, design-system infrastructure, and AI workflows meet. I usually go deeper than the brief asks for, because the surface problem is rarely where the real fix is.
I stay close to code because a lot of important design decisions only become real once the app runs. That includes prototyping on device, production review, focused implementation, and written systems that help teams move with less translation and less friction.
I'd describe me ranging from native iOS and Android product work, to design-system infrastructure, AI-native prototyping, and the framing work that decides what a team is actually building. I move between those four because most interesting problems sit on more than one of them.
I've been designing digital products since 2007. I started as a freelancer, trained as a Mediengestalter Digital und Print (Media Designer), and moved into product roles from there.
I've worked on high-stakes transitions like moving Wunderlist users into Microsoft To Do, on productivity- and developer tools where the mobile app had to support real workflows instead of acting like a lighter copy of the web surface. Lately, that means building design system infrastructure from scratch, defining an entirely new information architecture, and positioning Copilot closer to the core of GitHub's iOS and Android apps.
AI is part of that range at most of the steps: I use it to synthesize research, build SwiftUI prototypes, TestFlight builds, forming AI-native design systems, and tighten review loops without handing judgment to the tool.
Most of the work described on this site is kept vague on purpose. If you want to know more, please reach out.
I'm based in Göttingen, Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany, and work remotely.
At a glance
What scope means to me
Scope, to me, isn't the number of screens or features I ship, it's whether the work changes how people, a product, workflow, or team operates after it ships.
What I work on
Native iOS and Android apps, developer workflows, design-system infrastructure, and the framing work around them.
Useful places to start
Primer iOS shows infrastructure, systems thinking, and how I use AI to make the work of others more efficient. Prototyping shows how I use it from research synthesis into SwiftUI prototypes, and TestFlight builds.
How I work
I'm an individual contributor by choice. I like ambiguous product challenges, cross-functional work, and the point where strategy, systems, and implementation all touch the same surface.
I start with the structural problem
If the request is really about fragmented primitives, unclear hierarchy, or a brittle workflow boundary, I'd rather name that than polish the symptom, or work around the root cause. Some of my recent work started as a polish session, and ended as design-system infrastructure built with AI once the underlying problem became clear.
I keep judgment close to code until it ships
I use prototypes, PR review, bug bashes, and focused fixes to understand behavior while it's still shapeable. A lot of design decisions only get honest once the app is running, and the spec isn't the finish line, the build is.
I leave useful artifacts behind
I document the framing, the why's, trade-offs, and the implementation notes. Then I build prototypes, entire demo environments for others to experiment with, naming models, or small pieces of product infrastructure when the next decision needs them. Context should always survive handoff, not evaporate with it.
I use AI without handing off judgment
I use AI for memory, structure, repetition, and validation: research synthesis, agent-based system work, prototype acceleration. While AI can broaden the work, my judgment layer stays human.
Side projects I've built
Native iOS apps I designed and built as side projects to keep my product judgment honest in the open. Each one is a different test: feel under failure, opinionated defaults, interaction polish, or extreme constraints.
Atlas FM
Atlas FM is a globe-based radio app inspired by Radio Garden. The iOS App Store version won't ship after 5.2.3 third-party rights rejections, but I'm already working on a macOS version with the same feel.
Case study
Kurzgedacht
Kurzgedacht is a notes app built around deliberate constraints. It focuses on fast capture, clean attachments, forgiving search, and a Today view that limits how much attention the app asks for.
App Store ↗
(Alles) Paletti
(Alles) Paletti is a color tool I'm reworking. It started as a SwiftUI experiment in animation, haptics, OKLCH color, and the difference between a utility that works and one that feels considered.
App Store ↗
Tempra Ora
Tempra Ora is a stopwatch built for imperfect environments, like gyms, kitchens, track fields, and moments where people are rarely looking directly at the screen.
App Store ↗Experience
A history of products with real constraints, and systems that had to keep working after launch.
Product designer
GitHub Mobile
Native product work across iOS and Android, from Copilot, and information architecture to design system infrastructure, SwiftUI prototyping, and production review inside the codebase.
iOS, iPadOS, Android
Product designer
Microsoft: To Do, Wunderlist
I led product design across Microsoft To Do and the Wunderlist transition. The migration reached a 99.35% success rate, and the collaboration work helped people keep shared workflows intact after the move.
iOS, iPadOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Web
Product designer
Shutterstock: Mobile apps
Designed search and collection tools for a high-volume marketplace. Worked on mobile discovery patterns for people browsing, saving, and using visual assets.
iOS, iPadOS, Android
Product designer
Axel Springer SE: TunedIn Media
Early experience in media and social apps, where I learned that utility beats visual flair every time.
iOS, iPadOS, Android, Web