ABOUT ME

I’m Chris Bart, the Founder & CEO of Curizar, a creative digital agency dedicated to empowering small business brands. At Curizar, we blend strategic insight with exceptional design to fuel growth, crafting bold identities, engaging campaigns, and visually stunning websites, all designed to deliver measurable results.

I also volunteer as a UX/UI Mentor for a University of Minnesota student, guiding career success with a focus on portfolio building, personal branding, job search strategies, and interview preparation. My support includes hands-on project feedback and networking guidance to build confidence for industry entry.

Recently, I was an Experience Designer at U.S. Bank, leading UI design for a cross-platform native mobile app in the partner credit card space. My background also includes a role as a part-time UX/UI Design Mentor at Springboard, where I mentored aspiring designers. 

I’ve also held positions as a Senior UX/UI Designer at Xcel Energy and Thrivent, where I developed flagship web experiences that made a lasting impact.

At Ameriprise, as a Product Designer, I contributed to a cross-platform mobile app in an agile environment, led a responsive website redesign for Riversource, and developed a design system for Columbia Threadneedle's investment platform.

Additionally, I worked at Hot Dish Advertising, creating user-centric, lead-generating websites for franchise brands, and supported large-scale brand marketing initiatives over five years at Optum, a Fortune 6 healthcare innovation company.

My qualifications are grounded in a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

  • “Because of Chris' attention to detail, his passion for UX, and his thoughtfulness of the end user, the effort he put in created real value as evident by 4.8/5 stars on both iOS and Android platforms with ~100,000 new customer reviews.”

    Marc S., former Product Manager

  • “Chris was the first hire I made after taking over the Experience Design team last year, and in that year he has brought a sense of maturity, discipline, and design expertise that the team desperately needed.”

    Scott C., former Manager

  • “From my perspective as a front-end developer, I always appreciated Chris's technical expertise. He provided design documents in a form that made my job as a developer as easy as possible--well organized, detailed, and using up-to-date design technologies.”

    Kasia F., former colleague

  • “I was Chris' supervisor in a previous role and wholeheartedly stand by the quality of Chris' work, his unwavering integrity, dedication to customer satisfaction, and expertise in design, production, consultation, and delivery of digital and traditional assets.”

    Matt K., former Manager

  • “Chris beautifully brings abstract ideas to life while applying his audience knowledge and intuition. He appropriately and creatively pushed brand guideline limits to keep fresh ideas on-brand. Despite revisions and last-minute changes, Chris patiently delivered and flexed to meet our needs.”

    Melissa P., former colleague

  • “Chris is not content to settle with "good enough" and he tries to push the creative and conceptual limits of any project he's working on. He's also a really good guy, very honest and friendly.”

    Ryan K., former creative vendor

  • “I think my favorite trait is his constant willingness to give and receive feedback; collaboration is the name of the game with Chris, and this attitude encourages others around him to participate as well. He fosters a sense of trust and respect amongst his peers.”

    Scott C., former Manager

  • “Chris is respected by his team as a thoughtful and encouraging leader, giving others the opportunity to excel and showcase their skills by giving them projects to demonstrate their talents and ability to deliver.”

    Matt K., former Manager

Get in touch

Looking for an experienced designer who blends creativity with functionality? Let’s connect. I craft intuitive, user-friendly experiences that drive engagement and results. Reach out to discuss how I can elevate your product’s design.