I turn complexity
into confidence.
I lead design teams and client relationships through the kind of complexity most people run from. Workflows with too many states. Products that have to keep five different kinds of users happy on the same screen. Then I teach what I learn to the next generation of designers.
How I lead
Through Complex Systems
I've spent most of my career inside software where getting it wrong isn't a bad review, it's a compliance failure. I work on platforms with different types of users, all looking for something different. The more complex the system, the plainer it has to be.
Through People and Clients
Design leadership is a trust problem before it's a craft problem. I've led product design teams across many different verticals. The throughline is earning the trust of people who aren't designers themselves but have real authority over whether a decision is defensible. I treat every relationship, inside the team and outside it, as something to be trusted with, not managed around.
Through Teaching
I came to design from journalism, where the job is making something complicated understandable to someone who wasn't there. From there, I gained transferable skills that I use to this day. I've taught in the classroom, online, and through years of writing, reaching and mentoring thousands of students along the way. What I try to model is translating clearly enough that people trust what you've given them.
Featured work
A few of the problems I've untangled, and the systems that came out the other side.
01ISI Defense: Leading v5.0 through complex permissioning
Led product design for v5.0 of a security and compliance SaaS platform for defense contractors as the sole UI/UX designer on the team, working through complex permissioning and multi-state workflow logic.
View case study→
02Tailorbird: Unifying a fragmented SaaS platform
Designed a product dashboard that unified fragmented features for a B2B multifamily real-estate platform serving 26 of the top 50 real estate owners in the country.
View case study on Behance→
03SaltyCloud: Design system creation
Created a comprehensive design system and style guide for a risk-management platform, standardizing UI patterns across the product.
View case study on Behance→Beyond the screen, I talk shop: on podcasts, at conferences, and in the classroom.
Have a design problem? Let's talk.
Whether you need a design leader for your team or a strategist for your next high-stakes launch, I'd like to hear about it.