Luke Conte
Product Designer & Process Strategist
Luke Conte
Product Designer & Process Strategist
Case Studies
Blast Radius:
Tabletop Card Game
Funded on Kickstarter in 36 hours!
Blast Radius is a strategy-focused card-matching game where players compete to be the first to complete their objectives! Crowdfunded via Kickstarter in May of 2024
Role: End-to-end Product Owner (Solo)
Scope: 0 → 1 Product · Solo · Shipped
Opportunity: Create a portable, fast-paced card game that still supported meaningful strategy.
Impact: Validated demand with a 390%-funded Kickstarter campaign and successful multi-national fulfillment.
Backers
153
Funding Goal
$2,000
Funding Total
$7,804
Blast Radius began as an experiment in designing strategic depth under specific constraints: minimal components, short play sessions, and chaotic player interaction. The project evolved through dozens of playtests, balancing speed, readability, and player agency before shipping as a crowdfunded physical product.
This case study covers:
– Early concept and rules prototyping
– Playtesting and balance iteration
– Designing clarity in high-chaos systems
– Launch validation and post-launch insights
Visualizing Urban
Development Through AR
An AR app concept designed to give communities visibility into construction projects before they break ground. Developed during a 2-week internship sprint at CGI.
Role: UI/UX design, concept refinement (internship)
Scope: Concept-to-mockups · 2-week sprint
Opportunity: Make invisible urban development visible before construction begins.
Impact: Translated an abstract concept into actionable design artifacts and visual direction.
During a 2-week sprint at CGI, I took an early-stage concept for AR-powered urban development visualization and translated it into a tangible product direction. The goal was to make construction projects visible to communities before breaking ground, but the real challenge was defining what that could look like as a usable interface within an extremely tight timeline.
This case study covers:
– AR scan-to-visualize interaction design
– Community forum and information hub interface
– Core user flows and navigation structure
Blast Radius:
Mobile Companion App
Early design exploration translating the physical Blast Radius card game into a mobile experience, establishing visual direction and core interaction patterns.
Role: UI design and product strategy (ongoing)
Scope: Design exploration · Development planned
Opportunity: Remove the learning barrier—let the app teach players as they play.
Impact: Establishing visual direction and translating core game mechanics into mobile UI.
Blast Radius started as a physical card game. Translating it to mobile requires rethinking how strategy, turn-based mechanics, and multiplayer gameplay work on a touchscreen. These early mockups explore the visual direction and core UI patterns, establishing a foundation before diving into flows and interaction design.
This case study covers:
– Main menu and core navigation
– Player health states and status visualization
– Die roll mechanics and feedback
– Information card UI design
*Full case study to come in the near future
Blast Radius:
Tabletop Card Game
Funded on Kickstarter in 36 hours!
Blast Radius is a strategy-focused card-matching game where players compete to be the first to complete their objectives! Crowdfunded via Kickstarter in May of 2024
Role: End-to-end Product Owner (Solo)
Scope: 0 → 1 Product · Solo · Shipped
Opportunity: Create a portable, fast-paced card game that still supported meaningful strategy.
Impact: Validated demand with a 390%-funded Kickstarter campaign and successful multi-national fulfillment.
Backers
153
Funding Goal
$2,000
Funding Total
$7,804
Blast Radius began as an experiment in designing strategic depth under specific constraints: minimal components, short play sessions, and chaotic player interaction. The project evolved through dozens of playtests, balancing speed, readability, and player agency before shipping as a crowdfunded physical product.
This case study covers:
– Early concept and rules prototyping
– Playtesting and balance iteration
– Designing clarity in high-chaos systems
– Launch validation and post-launch insights
Visualizing Urban
Development Through AR
An AR app concept designed to give communities visibility into construction projects before they break ground. Developed during a 2-week internship sprint at CGI.
Role: UI/UX design, concept refinement (internship)
Scope: Concept-to-mockups · 2-week sprint
Opportunity: Make invisible urban development visible before construction begins.
Impact: Translated an abstract concept into actionable design artifacts and visual direction.
During a 2-week sprint at CGI, I took an early-stage concept for AR-powered urban development visualization and translated it into a tangible product direction. The goal was to make construction projects visible to communities before breaking ground, but the real challenge was defining what that could look like as a usable interface within an extremely tight timeline.
This case study covers:
– AR scan-to-visualize interaction design
– Community forum and information hub interface
– Core user flows and navigation structure
View
Blast Radius:
Mobile Companion App
Early design exploration translating the physical Blast Radius card game into a mobile experience, establishing visual direction and core interaction patterns.
Role: UI design and product strategy (ongoing)
Scope: Design exploration · Development planned
Opportunity: Remove the learning barrier—let the app teach players as they play.
Impact: Establishing visual direction and translating core game mechanics into mobile UI.
Blast Radius started as a physical card game. Translating it to mobile requires rethinking how strategy, turn-based mechanics, and multiplayer gameplay work on a touchscreen. These early mockups explore the visual direction and core UI patterns, establishing a foundation before diving into flows and interaction design.
This case study covers:
– Main menu and core navigation
– Player health states and status visualization
– Die roll mechanics and feedback
– Information card UI design
*Full case study to come in the near future
Resume
Meta
Research Project Coordinator
August 2025 - February 2026
Pittsburgh, PA
Led project coordination for motion capture and VR research studies, overseeing study setup, maintenance, and delivery while supporting a team of ~40 research associates. Collaborated cross-functionally with Systems Integration, Systems Engineering, Research, and Project Management teams, managing confidential product information and working hands-on with prototype devices.
Meta
Research Associate
November 2024 - August 2025
Pittsburgh, PA
Conducted motion capture studies with external participants to support product delivery and research at Meta Reality Labs; independently trained new hires on proprietary systems; collaborated with leadership to develop standardized training procedures and streamline data-collection workflows.
Apple
Product Specialist
September 2024 - November 2024
Pittsburgh, PA
Guided customers in product selection and provided tailored support, enhancing customer experience and fostering meaningful engagement with Apple products.
CGI
Product Design & Business Strategy Intern
June 2022 - August 2023
Pittsburgh, PA
Developed a scalable UI kit to standardize design systems and accelerate delivery; collaborated with development and stakeholders to design intuitive interfaces for an emergency response application and an early-stage AR urban planning MVP.
BNY Mellon
Project Management Intern
June 2018 - August 2018
Pittsburgh, PA
Supported project management operations for the migration of sensitive data applications between data centers, and delivered a program summary presentation to executives and an audience of 100+ colleagues.
Meta
Research Project Coordinator
August 2025 - February 2026
Pittsburgh, PA
Led project coordination for motion capture and VR research studies, overseeing study setup, maintenance, and delivery while supporting a team of ~40 research associates. Collaborated cross-functionally with Systems Integration, Systems Engineering, Research, and Project Management teams, managing confidential product information and working hands-on with prototype devices.
Meta
Research Associate
November 2024 - August 2025
Pittsburgh, PA
Conducted motion capture studies with external participants to support product delivery and research at Meta Reality Labs; independently trained new hires on proprietary systems; collaborated with leadership to develop standardized training procedures and streamline data-collection workflows.
Apple
Product Specialist
September 2024 - November 2024
Pittsburgh, PA
Guided customers in product selection and provided tailored support, enhancing customer experience and fostering meaningful engagement with Apple products.
CGI
Product Design & Business Strategy Intern
June 2022 - August 2023
Pittsburgh, PA
Developed a scalable UI kit to standardize design systems and accelerate delivery; collaborated with development and stakeholders to design intuitive interfaces for an emergency response application and an early-stage AR urban planning MVP.
BNY Mellon
Project Management Intern
June 2018 - August 2018
Pittsburgh, PA
Supported project management operations for the migration of sensitive data applications between data centers, and delivered a program summary presentation to executives and an audience of 100+ colleagues.
Education
Robert Morris University
B.A. UX/UI Design
Pittsburgh, PA
2020 - 2024
Academics
3.74 GPA - Cum Laude
RMU Honors Program
RMU Dean's List - 8 semesters
Relevant Coursework
Experience Design (XD) Studio I & II, Interactive Animation, 3D Modeling (Rhino), Designing for New Media, Intro to Web Dev. (HTML & CSS), Human Factors Engineering, Interactive Media, Game Design I & II, Social Psychology, 360-Storytelling, Study of Persuasion
Awards
Inaugural Founder - Derrick Multsby Jr. Startup Grant Competition
Outstanding Student Award in UX/UI - RMU School of Informatics, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Dean's Scholar Award - RMU School of Informatics, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Relevant Coursework
Academics
Robert Morris University
Pittsburgh, PA
2020 - 2024
Experience Design (XD) Studio I & II, Interactive Animation, 3D Modeling (Rhino), Designing for New Media, Intro to Web Dev. (HTML & CSS), Human Factors Engineering, Interactive Media, Game Design I & II, Social Psychology, 360-Storytelling, Study of Persuasion
3.74 GPA - Cum Laude
RMU Honors Program
RMU Dean's List - 8 semesters
B.A. UX/UI Design
Awards
Inaugural Founder - Derrick Multsby Jr. Startup Grant Competition
Outstanding Student Award in UX/UI - RMU School of Informatics, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Dean's Scholar Award - RMU School of Informatics, Humanities, and Social Sciences