Brian Caicco

I lead product design teams to ship clearer, more cohesive experiences, and I use design systems as one of my main levers to do it.

Over 15+ years in UX and product design, I’ve worked in complex, multi-team environments where the real challenge is alignment. I’ve unified fragmented interfaces into a single design system, turned ad-hoc design work into repeatable workflows, and helped product, design, and engineering rally around shared standards that actually get used.

At Capital One, that means setting clear patterns and governance, reducing design and dev rework, and helping teams ship with more confidence and less churn.

My view of design leadership centers on building the conditions where good work ships consistently.

For me, that means:
	•	Putting people before process
	•	Making clarity the default
	•	Focusing on impact vs. activity

I use systems, documentation, and storytelling to make it obvious how design decisions connect to business outcomes.

If you’re wrestling with scaling design quality, making a design system stick, or telling a clearer story about design’s impact, I’m always up for comparing notes.

Director of Product Design

Something changed in the world of work.

You used to be able to stand out from the crowd by the virtue of your work, your product or your service. 

You could manage to focus on two things, 
the work itself and building great relationships, 
with your clients, customers or your peers.

You could get away by saying, 
“work will speak for itself.”

But something changed.

The attention economy came in and 
set new rules for this world.

On one hand it created access for people and young brands to stand out on merit rather than influential connections or deep pockets for advertising and marketing.

On the other hand, it made it extremely tough to stand out by just your ‘work’.

It’s 2026 and it’s tough out there.

It’s tough in this noise when everyone else is shouting.
It’s tougher when everyone else is shouting ‘me, me, me…’ 
It’s the toughest when your voice has no value for others.

Today, most brands, company or personal, 
have fallen prey to this noise.

In an effort to ‘guarantee’ success, they’ve started to copy and replicate others who’ve already been there and done that. Without considering the consequences of this ‘me too’ methodology.

The answer lies beyond, ‘Been There Done That’.
It lies in, Be There Do That.

What worked for them may not necessarily work for you.
It’s one thing to get inspired, and another to imitate.

The difference between some brands succeeding and many failing is the way they differentiate them from the rest. Doesn’t matter if it’s a personal brand or a company brand.

It’s easy to stand out when there is no one else like you.

If you create your own category you set the rules, not your competitors. It’s time to take control and stand out in this attention deficit world.

The path is simple, yet not easy.
It starts by mining your unique voice and ends with maximizing its value to your audience.

The path is simple enough, just not easy!
If you need help, ask me.


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The Battle

Brian Caicco

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