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“Josh is a rare UX Engineer who truly builds for everyone. His ability to architect design systems that are both technically rigorous and deeply human makes him invaluable.”

Ryan Dunlavey Senior Product Designer, BHSI
About me
Latest article
UI Engineering · Oct 26, 2026 Why automation work shouldn't stay behind the scenes Tools that save other teams time are often treated as background work. Here's what that costs the tool, the teams who could use it, and the people who built it. All writing
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IVFCRYO Getting five parties ready before a shipment moves.
Logatot Cutting paperwork for home child care providers.
VMSpark Rebuilding an admin app without stopping the pipeline.
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Personal projects Things I build on my own time.
Tools Free design system tools, no signup.
Play Short games about accessible interfaces.
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About me

Biography 20+ years framing, designing, and building products.
Résumé Roles, skills, and a PDF to download.
Testimonials Recommendations from clients and colleagues.
“Josh is a rare UX Engineer who truly builds for everyone. His ability to architect design systems that are both technically rigorous and deeply human makes him invaluable.”

Ryan Dunlavey Senior Product Designer, BHSI
Latest article
UI Engineering · Oct 26, 2026 Why automation work shouldn't stay behind the scenes
Topics

Design Systems Architecture, adoption, and the effort behind a dependable component system.
AI & Engineering Research and perspectives on changing tools, responsibilities, and ownership.
UI Engineering Interface craft beyond the component library, and the skills behind it.
Longer reads Two free online books, each on a single subject.
All writing

Joshua Briley · Product design engineerjoshuabriley.com

Play Accessibility

Pass or fail?

Guess whether faded text still passes WCAG AA, then see the real contrast ratio.

Does this text pass WCAG AA? Body text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1. Every sample is one of this site's own colors, faded a little.

That's at % on .

What you'll learn

How close "looks fine" can be to failing, and why contrast is worth checking with a tool.

More games

Alt or not?
Use the platform
Name that button
Tab order
Fix the outline
Snap to grid
Spot the drift
Just enough contrast
Should it stop?
Name that token

Source: https://joshuabriley.com/play/contrast/

product design engineer

noun

Someone who works across the product decision, the design, and the code that ships it.

Contact me josh@thebrileys.com LinkedIn ↗ (opens in a new tab) GitHub ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Work

Personal projects Things I build on my own time.
Tools Free design system tools, no signup.
Play Short games about accessible interfaces.

All projects →

About

Biography 20+ years framing, designing, and building products.
Résumé Roles, skills, and a PDF to download.
Testimonials Recommendations from clients and colleagues.

Writing

Design Systems Architecture, adoption, and the effort behind a dependable component system.
AI & Engineering Research and perspectives on changing tools, responsibilities, and ownership.
UI Engineering Interface craft beyond the component library, and the skills behind it.
Longer reads Two free online books, each on a single subject.

All writing →

Based in Connecticut

How this site is designed Privacy Terms Back to top ↑

© 2026 Joshua Briley

Inspector mode

You found the secret mode. Welcome to the system.

Headings & type scale
Sections & landmarks
Buttons & controls
Cards & surfaces

Esc to close, or run the sequence again.

< /> Component

—

Alt + hover to inspect