RVA
creative direction
design strategy
product
Hey there, I’m RyanVincent Alvarez, but RVA is the go-to nickname if you’re short on time.
I’m a systems-thinking designer with 14 years of creative experience, but the spark for my work can be traced all the way back to my childhood. Toy Story—Pixar’s pioneering first feature—was the moment I realized the magic of digital storytelling. Meanwhile, K'NEX, that classic STEAM toy, helped me build the engineering foundation to match my creative ideas with a solid structure. You can currently find me leading design for some of the most complex and ambiguous experiences at eBay.
Some call me a designer, others a photographer, but at the end of the day, I’m just a storyteller with an uncanny ability to make friends with dogs. It’s a gift, really.
I’ve worked on some pretty cool stuff.
But before you dive into the projects, here’s my dog Roxy looking pretty epic.
Alternatively, we call her “Chicken Nugget,” or “Nugget” for short.
Le Gaol
We did the 2020 thing: started a small business
My partner, a professional hairstylist for over 10 years, saw his industry come to a halt at the start of the pandemic. During this time, we both reflected on our careers and passions, seeking a path to fulfillment. Bretton's love for creating ambiance, hosting gatherings, and aromatherapy, combined with my background in brand design, marketing, and photography, led us to create a product experience that blends our creativity. With a foundation of love and intention, Le Gaol was born.
eBay Mastercard
eBay
Creating a best-in-class eCommerce credit card
eBay is reimagining its credit card offering with a fresh approach that brings more value, convenience, and a whole lot more ease. We explored creating a seamless credit card experience with perks built right into the core eBay app—no more hopping between platforms. From earning rewards to managing payments, everything is centralized so users can stay focused on shopping.
(Project page coming soon)
Combined Shipping
eBay
Setting the foundation for scalable shipping experiences
eBay is widely considered the pioneer of online C2C e-commerce, launching in 1995 as an online auction platform where users could buy and sell items. Over the last 3 decades, market competition has been leading the way in combined shipping experiences. In 2024, we reimagined what this feature could look like for the platform, right down to the core auctions experience.
Unified User Privileges
eBay
Mitigating fraud and loss with a robust policy-driven experience
One of the biggest frustrations for eBay sellers is dealing with unpaid items—when buyers commit to a purchase but never follow through. It’s a major pain point that leads to wasted time, lost revenue, and unnecessary churn for all users. To help tackle this $4.3B opportunity—yes, BILLION—we developed the Unified User Privileges framework, a scalable system that proactively monitors and mitigates bad actors, stopping unpaid items before they happen.
Embeddable Pages
Atlassian
Breaking down collaboration and product boundaries
As the Lead Designer for the Confluence — Better Together team, I led the experience design side of our triad, focusing on creating a platform that drives engagement across both Atlassian and non-Atlassian products. In today’s remote world, collaboration is essential but often comes with a heavy cognitive load as users juggle multiple apps daily. My goal was to simplify the experience by designing a seamless, intuitive platform that reduces that mental strain and helps users move through their workflows with ease.
QuickBooks Cash Flow
Intuit / QuickBooks
Helping business owners conquer their cashflow
Intuit is known for constantly reinventing itself, offering innovative personal finance products across various financial touchpoints. Recognizing the need to adapt in a competitive landscape, QuickBooks reinvented itself once again with QuickBooks Cash Flow—the biggest innovation to the franchise since its inception. Developed over seven months, this cross-platform application aspired to put cashflow management into the hands of small business owners.
QuickBooks Emails
Intuit / QuickBooks
Streamlining email experiences across QuickBooks
QuickBooks Self-Employed had multiple product front doors, each with its own messaging and onboarding experience. The team previously used static, single-target emails, requiring 15-20 for complex campaigns. To improve efficiency, a dynamic communications framework was developed to support high-performing campaigns without compromising design quality. As a lead designer on the QuickBooks Email Template update, I ensured the framework’s durability alongside the new module designs.
Hyper-growth
The Bay Club Company
Scaling brand and operations, at full-speed
In 2015, Bay Club experienced hyper-growth, acquiring Spectrum Athletic Clubs in Southern California and doubling its portfolio from 13 to 26 properties. This included two country clubs and an additional urban club at the luxury Santana Row shopping center. With this expansion, the company set new goals to maintain membership integrity and ensure a smooth transition for existing members, while rebranding the newly acquired properties and scaling their operations and services. Oh, and that hero photo was captured by yours truly.