# Nicolas Solerieu

Designer based in San Luis Obispo, California. French by birth, Californian by accident. This is my internet shack.

I design combinations of rectangles and text boxes, mostly for screens, largely because I got good enough at it to get paid. An odd mix of work ethic and ego led me to define myself through the things I make. Doing the work keeps me humble, hungry, and engaged, although I spend an uncomfortable amount of time torn between ascetic ideals and pragmatism.

Born and raised in France, I landed in the Bay Area in 2016 to join Opendoor. Five years later, luck struck again: GitHub. After three years there, I moved on to Expo. I’m grateful for the run, but a decade in front of screens has also made it difficult to find deep satisfaction in the contribution itself. A website is a website. Self-awareness and an allergy to grandiosity create an ongoing tension between craft, skepticism, and lived experience. I write about some of that on my increasingly silly blog.

And yet, ten years later, I’m still here. I try to focus on process more than tools. I’m not much of a technologist, but I’m not a monk either. Time outdoors, movement, and occasional meditation keep me sane. I’m trying to restore my default mode: AFK.

## Work

I’m a designer at [Expo](https://expo.dev), where I work across product, brand, marketing, and the web. As an early design hire and the primary designer across a broad surface area, I help shape how Expo looks, feels, and explains itself — from product interfaces and landing pages to launches, campaigns, illustrations, and whatever else needs designing.

Before Expo, I spent about three years at GitHub and six years at Opendoor. I joined Opendoor to redesign its marketing website and eventually helped grow it from a small set of pages into a much larger digital presence, producing much of the company’s web and digital marketing design along the way.

I’ve also been freelancing since I was a student, usually helping early-stage projects get off the ground with a first brand, website, or product direction.

## How I work

I like simple systems, strong typography, clear hierarchy, and interfaces that feel considered without feeling over-designed.

I’m most useful when the problem is still a little fuzzy. I tend to move between product thinking, visual design, copy, prototyping, and implementation details rather than treating them as separate disciplines.

I care about craft, but not ceremony. Good work should feel obvious once it exists.

## Writing

I write about design, technology, work, cycling, and the strange business of being a person on the internet.

My writing is usually less interested in conclusions than in noticing things clearly. Some posts are practical. Some are personal. Some begin with a drone or a pair of earrings and accidentally turn into something else.

Read the blog at [slrncl.com/blog](https://slrncl.com/blog).

## Elsewhere

- [Website](https://slrncl.com)
- [Expo](https://expo.dev)
- [Expo design work on Dribbble](https://dribbble.com/expo)

## A few things I like

Cycling. Walking. Small websites. Old objects with good texture. Useful software. Slightly strange personal projects. Making complicated things feel simple. Writing without too much polish. Technology, with reservations.

## Short bio

Nicolas Solerieu is a French-born designer based in San Luis Obispo, California. He currently designs at Expo and previously worked at GitHub and Opendoor. His work spans product, brand, and the web, with a particular interest in making software clear, useful, and distinct.

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_Last updated: August 2026._