Product Designer • Problem Solver • Volunteer • Artist • Advocate • Nature lover •

Product Designer • Problem Solver • Volunteer • Artist • Advocate • Nature lover •

Laurel Bybee sitting casually in gray turtleneck and dark jeans, wearing glasses

I’m a Staff Product Designer at GoFundMe, where I lead design for the consumer-facing nonprofit team. My work balances the needs of 150 million supporters and 1.4 million nonprofits on the platform.

I have over 15 years of design experience crafting experiences that bridge physical and digital worlds.

What drives me is solving complex problems through user-centered design. I love untangling complexity to create simple, elegant solutions that help people make a positive difference in the world.

What I Do

From concept to execution, I shepherd the entire design process forward. Diving into research, mapping out strategy, and bringing ideas to life. I strive to articulate how each design decision contributes to the broader vision, balancing business objectives with core user needs.

How I Think

I bring a technical mindset and test-and-learn approach to untangling complex challenges. My superpower is adaptability. I learn new tools and systems quickly while keeping an eye on the whole ecosystem. There's nothing more rewarding than turning complexity into a simple solution.

What Drives Me

Throughout my career, I've been drawn to mission-driven organizations working to create positive change in the world. For me, the intersection of design, technology, and innovation has the power to create lasting, meaningful change.

How I got here…

Exhibit design

2010-2014

After graduating from UCLA, I worked as an exhibit designer at the Getty Museum, where I transformed curators' ideas into three-dimensional spaces. I went on to work at an exhibit fabricator and designed educational exhibits for museums throughout LA. There are many parallels between exhibit design and product design—both require understanding user journeys, creating intuitive wayfinding, adhering to accessibility requirements, and structuring information hierarchically so it's easy to consume.

Social impact design

2014-2018

My career evolved as I began working with mission-driven organizations. I designed for an artist-run nonprofit in Joshua Tree, a literary nonprofit in LA, and led design at an education nonprofit. After moving to Portland, I joined a B-corp digital agency where all our clients were mission-driven organizations and nonprofits. There I led the design of award-winning websites and campaigns. These experiences deepened my commitment to creating purpose-driven design that serves meaningful causes.

Product design

2018-present

I entered the tech industry as a Creative Director at a Portland-based ed-tech company but felt drawn to UX/product design. This path brought me to Classy (part of GoFundMe), where I designed digital tools for nonprofit administrators. Now, as Staff Product Designer at GoFundMe, I lead design for the supporter-facing nonprofit team, creating digital experiences that meaningfully connect people with causes they care about.

Capabilities

Skills

User experience design

AI-powered prototyping

Interaction design

Accessibility

Information architecture

Design systems

Prompt engineering

Usability research

Design mentorship

Design QA

Tools

Figma & Figjam

Claude & ChatGPT

Adobe Suite

HTML/CSS

JIRA

Maze

HotJar

Heap

Pendo

Amplitude

Leadership

ChickTech workshop co-leader

MIT Alumni Club E-textiles workshop leader

DIY Girls E-textile workshop leader, Fab LAB Pasadena City College 

Education

UCLA Design | Media Arts, BA

Maker Prep Los Angeles:
HTML, CSS, & Javascript

Accessibility: How to Design for All  IxDF Certificate

Kind words from colleagues