Ricky Richards
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  2. Top of Mind
  3. Portfolio
  4. Experience
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  8. Journal
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  10. Interests
  11. Contact

I'maPrincipalDesigneratBlock,founderofFobi,afrontierintelligenceplatform,andinvestor.IstartedmycareerinLondonbeforerelocatingtotheUSin2018tojoinApple.Ibringmorethan20yearsofexperienceoperatingattheintersectionofdesign,artdirection,AI,andcode.

Portrait
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NameRicky Richards
Birthday06/09/1990
BirthplaceEngland
RoleDesigner
LocationAustin

Portfolio

A sampling of projects I’ve worked on across product, brand and industrial design, from AI products at Block to consumer hardware. Each began with a hard problem and a small team willing to sweat the details. Select a project to see the thinking behind it.

Apple Weather

Apple News

Local Cash Render2026
Risk & Reward Show Branding
Risk & Reward Show Branding2024
Seer Grills Brand Concept
Seer Grills Brand Concept2023
VLM Rebrand
VLM Rebrand2022
Native Spike Lee Cap
Native Spike Lee Cap2020
Digital iPod Audio Player Concept
Digital iPod Audio Player Concept2018
Crep Protect Splash2017
Long Form Agency Business Cards
Long Form Agency Business Cards2017
Idle Man Idents2016
Brand Refresh
Brand Refresh2016
Lillium Jet Logo Concepts
Lillium Jet Logo Concepts2015
Toucan Logo
Toucan Logo2014
Logo for DJ Duo
Logo for DJ Duo2014
Coke Chairs Concept
Coke Chairs Concept2013
Coke Santa
Coke Santa2013
Marilyn Display Type
Marilyn Display Type2012

Top of Mind

Ihaven'tbeenthisexcitedtocreatesinceIfirstdiscoveredAdobePhotoshop.WhilemanyarefocusingonAI'srisks,I'mmoreinterestedinitspotentialtodramaticallylowerthecostofturningideasintoreality.


Youtube

Risk and Reward is a show about the frontier of design, AI, business and technology. Each episode looks at the bets being made at the edges of these fields: what’s working, what isn’t, and what it means for the people building what comes next.

Launching Neo Humanoid Robot with Brando Vasquez

Launching Neo Humanoid Robot with Brando Vasquez

How to Start Angel Investing

How to Start Angel Investing


Investments

A selection of my 50+ angel investments. I back early-stage founders building at the intersection of design, technology and AI, and try to be useful beyond the check, on product, brand and the craft of making something people love.

ActinideScalable, U.S.-owned isotope separation for medicine, energy and defenseAetherAI-designed proteins for advanced materials and critical mineralsApollo AtomicsBuilding the most power-dense nuclear systemAtomicBuilding a small, fast semiconductor fab from scratchBalloonAnonymous idea-sharing and prioritization for teamsCeramicFast, low-cost web-scale search for AI agents and LLMsComposerAutomated trading strategies for retail investorsDeelGlobal payroll, hiring and HR for teams in 150+ countriesFirst DayAI-powered game development studioGenasisAI-powered machine learning platformGeneral ComputeNeocloud pairing GPUs with purpose-built AI inference siliconGotennaMobile mesh networking for off-grid communicationHellbenderAI perception hardware for autonomy, robotics and industryHitchUber for long-distance, city-to-city ridesharingKatalystFDA-cleared full-body EMS training suit and appKoyfinBloomberg-caliber financial data at a fraction of the costLimitlessAI wearable that records and transcribes conversationsLumosAutonomous identity and access management for IT teamsMachina LabsAI-guided robotic sheet metal forming for aerospace and defenseMageOpen-source data pipeline orchestration toolMind PortalNon-invasive wearable brain-computer interfaceMini CircleNon-viral gene therapy for longevity and anti-agingNeurophosPhotonic AI chips for faster, energy-efficient inferenceOOrbitCloud streaming platform for games and interactive mediaOpenEnvoyAI-powered accounts payable automation and fraud detectionPath RoboticsPhysical AI for manufacturing, starting with intelligent weldingPeak EnergyGrid-scale sodium-ion energy storagePipedreamAutonomous underground delivery via high-speed robot pipelinesQDMHigh-energy-density superconductor materials using quantum chemistryRooOn-demand veterinary staffing marketplaceSandboxPremium location-based VR experiences for groupsSeam AIBuying signals for revenue teams; now part of ClarifySocteraNitride semiconductor power amplifiers for 5G, SATCOM and radarStandard MetricsAutomated investor relations and portfolio reporting for startupsSundayCustom, eco-friendly lawn care subscription plansVendooCross-listing and analytics for resellers

Journal

The Ricktionary Podcast: journals on design, technology, philosophy and the state of things. Each entry is written first and then read aloud, so everything below can be read or listened to.

Sep 2026From getting shit done to leading people.
Aug 2026How to live given the certainty of death.
Aug 2026A Bull & Bear case for Apple
Aug 2026Week one of career coaching and identifying my values.
Aug 2026Takeaways from John Gray's Straw Dogs on society, AI and Life.
Aug 2026Where did all the great Creative Advertising go?
Aug 2026In response to Will I Am complaining about AI's threat to human creativity
Mar 2026How AI Is Reshaping the Role of the Product Designer
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Links

Sites, studios, tools and publications I return to again and again. A running list of the corners of the internet that keep my taste sharp.

  • Another Graphic
  • Archives Design
  • Modern Illustration
  • People’s Graphic Design Archive
  • Typographic Posters
  • Antifragile
  • Fooled by Randomness
  • Great Thinkers
  • Investment Philosophies
  • Principles
  • Tao of Seneca
  • The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
  • The Art of Learning
  • The Black Swan
  • The Conquest of Happiness
  • The Sovereign Individual
  • The War of Art
  • Think and Grow Rich
  • Zero to One
  • Brand New
  • Brand Style Guides
  • Cash App Brand Guidelines
  • Chromeography
  • Dropbox Brand Guidelines
  • Logo Book
  • Logo System
  • Responsive Logos
  • A24
  • Actual Source
  • Aesop
  • Aimé Leon Dore
  • Albino & Preto
  • Alterior
  • Danner
  • Filson
  • Finisterre
  • Kestin
  • Monocle
  • Only NY
  • P&Co
  • Rapha
  • Red Wing
  • Solovair
  • Taylor Stitch
  • Art Directors Club (ADC)
  • D&AD
  • The Design Kids
  • Young Guns
  • Brands in Motion
  • Design Studio Directory
  • OMGLord
  • Type Foundry Directory
  • Coldwire
  • Daemon
  • Ready Player One
  • Snow Crash
  • Art of the Title
  • Eyecandy
  • Filmsupply
  • Frameset
  • Short of the Week
  • AIGA Eye on Design
  • Convoy
  • Cosmos
  • Cover Junkie
  • Creative Boom
  • Design and Paper
  • Design Everywhere
  • Design Milk
  • Fuse Kiwi
  • It’s Nice That
  • Pentagram Archive
  • Something Curated
  • Swissmiss
  • The Brand Identity
  • The Design Blog
  • The Design Week
  • The Dieline
  • The Great Discontent
  • This is Colossal
  • Two Pages Project
  • We Present
  • Akoya Studio
  • Art Directed
  • Bendito Mockup
  • Colortime
  • Darkroom
  • Delamford
  • Ena
  • Grid Paper
  • Hvnter
  • Mockup Maison
  • Mockups Directory
  • Rico Supply
  • Savee Marketplace
  • Studio 2am
  • Supply Family
  • Texturelib
  • The Brand Identity Store
  • Three D Scans
  • True Grit Texture Supply
  • You Work For Them
  • Design Matters
  • Dizzy Ink
  • Fedrigoni
  • Gavin Martin
  • GF Smith
  • Imprimerie du Marais
  • Moo
  • Newspaper Club
  • Print Work
  • Risotto Studio
  • Bucket List
  • Family Tree
  • Frontier Tech Newsletter
  • Project Ideas
  • Ricktionary Podcast
  • Risk & Reward
  • Connected Archives
  • Death to Stock
  • Dupe
  • Pexels
  • Stills
  • Stocksy
  • Unsplash
  • Adobe MAX
  • DO Lectures
  • Forward Festival
  • Nicer Tuesdays
  • OFFF
  • Offprint
  • Pictoplasma
  • TED Talks: Design
  • Typo Circle
  • A2 Type
  • ABC Dinamo
  • Claude
  • Commercial Type
  • CoType Foundry
  • East of Rome
  • Eliott Grunewald
  • F37
  • Grilli Type
  • Hot Type
  • Klim Type Foundry
  • OH no Type
  • Overtype
  • Pizza Typefaces
  • Socio-type
  • Taylor Penton
  • Universal Sans
  • Dinamo Font Gauntlet
  • Enfont Terrible
  • Font Review Journal
  • Fonts In Use
  • Glyphs
  • Grid Type
  • GT Academy
  • The Type Tracker
  • Variable Fonts
  • WhatFont
  • Awwwards
  • Design Spells
  • Godly
  • Httpster
  • Site of Sites

Interests

The things I’m into outside of work: the hobbies, obsessions and rabbit holes that have a habit of finding their way back into it.

Startups

Investing

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Film Photography

YouTube

Philosophy

Reading

Backgammon

Vintage Watches

Travel

Documentaries

Chairs

Reselling

Science Fiction

Startups

Investing

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Film Photography

YouTube

Philosophy

Reading

Backgammon

Vintage Watches

Travel

Documentaries

Chairs

Reselling

Science Fiction


Passion

Designismorethanthecraftofpushingpixels,it'sawayofunderstandingproblemsandshapingoutcomes.Itryandapplydesignthinkinginallaspectsoflife,withtheaimofcreatingworkthatisbestinclass.PursuingthatstandardishowIbelieveIcancontributetoabetterworld.

Product DesignUX DesignUI DesignArt DirectionCreative DirectionDesign SystemsPrototypingResearchDesign StrategyProduct DesignUX DesignUI DesignArt DirectionCreative DirectionDesign SystemsPrototypingResearchDesign Strategy
Brand IdentityCreative StrategyBlue Sky IdeationScript WritingVideo ProductionPodcast HostingInterviewingVibe CodingFigmaBrand IdentityCreative StrategyBlue Sky IdeationScript WritingVideo ProductionPodcast HostingInterviewingVibe CodingFigma

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