Kyle Zantos | Designer Turned Builder

Selected Work

Work from the edge of what I'm learning. Hover to preview, or browse the archive.

PROJECTS

DEV·AI·'26

Higgins (AI harness)

A scheduled, memory-backed agent system that turns saved context into advice, drafts, tasks, and repair loops.

DESIGN + DEV·AI·'24 – '26

Pappy AI Bartender

AI bartender for Scrappy’s Bitters. Designed it in 2024, building it myself in 2026.

DESIGN·'17 – '21

Acme Prism

7-app suite I led for a Pacific Northwest land surveying firm. Unified 5 departments, saved about $500K a year, cut cycle times 13%.

DEV·AI·'25

Dive Club Content OS

Turns podcast episodes into 80%-ready written content. No UI. Claude Code is the interface.

DESIGN + DEV·'25

Eli’s Games

Learning games I built for my 3-year-old. Turned into a pipeline where a new game is mostly a prompt away.

DESIGN + DEV·'25

Piggy Picks

Our friend group’s had an NFL picks pool for over a decade. Now it’s a full app with live scores, because I can do that.

The Study, Higgins's working surface mid-action: chat thread, specialist roster, today's focus, agent activity log

DEV·AI·'26

View

Higgins (AI harness)

A scheduled, memory-backed agent system that turns saved context into advice, drafts, tasks, and repair loops.

Claude Agent SDK

ai systemsDesigned + Built

Piggy Picks

1 / 6

PROJECTS

DEV·AI·'26

Higgins (AI harness)

A scheduled, memory-backed agent system that turns saved context into advice, drafts, tasks, and repair loops.

DESIGN + DEV·AI·'24 – '26

Pappy AI Bartender

AI bartender for Scrappy’s Bitters. Designed it in 2024, building it myself in 2026.

DESIGN·'17 – '21

Acme Prism

7-app suite I led for a Pacific Northwest land surveying firm. Unified 5 departments, saved about $500K a year, cut cycle times 13%.

DEV·AI·'25

Dive Club Content OS

Turns podcast episodes into 80%-ready written content. No UI. Claude Code is the interface.

DESIGN + DEV·'25

Eli’s Games

Learning games I built for my 3-year-old. Turned into a pipeline where a new game is mostly a prompt away.

DESIGN + DEV·'25

Piggy Picks

Our friend group’s had an NFL picks pool for over a decade. Now it’s a full app with live scores, because I can do that.

DEV·AI·'26

View

Higgins (AI harness)

A scheduled, memory-backed agent system that turns saved context into advice, drafts, tasks, and repair loops.

Claude Agent SDK

ai systemsDesigned + Built

Higgins (AI harness)

professionalDesigned + Built

Pappy AI Bartender

professionalDesign Lead

Acme Prism

ai systemsDesigned + Built

Dive Club Content OS

ai systemsDesigned + Built

Eli’s Games

software as a giftDesigned + Built

Piggy Picks

1 / 6

View full archive

SKILLS.md

Tools I built for the way I work, and for the agents working alongside me.

SKL / 01

Skill Distillery

I kept learning from talks and articles but losing the details. This turns source material into a skill you can talk to.

SKL / 02

Design Motion Principles

I wanted animation feedback from three designers I admire. So I built a skill that audits motion through each one's principles.

SKL / 03

Responsive Craft

Ridd talked about how tough it is to design responsively in code without a canvas. This front-loads those decisions so you're deliberate, not reactive.

SKL / 04

Soleio's Design Talent Playbook

Soleio's playbook on hiring designers is one of the best things I've read. Turned it into an advisor you can talk to.

View all skills

Recent Appearances

A two-part conversation on Dive Club about transitioning from designer to builder.

Designer to Builder, Part 1

The designer learning to build

Designer to Builder, Part 2

The builder finding his process

Software as a Gift

Code is a love language too

The software that means the most to me was built for my wife, my son, my friends.

An NFL picks pool I've run with my friends for over a decade. Learning games for my 3-year-old son. An affirmations app built from 120 memories my wife's closest friends sent me. A Jeopardy trainer for a friend who wants to make it on the show.

Building for the people you care about is the fastest way to learn, and the most fulfilling way to ship.

See the full collection

Steampunk projector device casting a warm gold cone of light upward

A gift for you

Have a little nostalgic fun with my recreation of Lunar Lander

click the screen to play