Be thoughtful, clear, and connected

Be thoughtful in your work, clear in your statements, and connected to a goal.

Have enduring curiosity

Always ask questions. The answers will often surprise you. Ideas begin when you question yourself and your assumptions.

Care about the details

Good enough is never the best in class. The little things matter as much as the big ones do. Being a pro means caring about your execution.

Be a team player

Sometimes even your best idea needs a second opinion. Collaboration encourages an evolution of thought. The best ideas aren’t born in a vacuum.

Communicate a vision and rally support for it

A design organization will rally behind a firm north star. Align that with company objectives and values to help shape a culture of collaboration.

Set up common organizational processes

Teams best support each other's work when aligned within a common way of working. Partner with adjacent departments to craft processes that enable efficiencies and transparency.

Measure success through team OKRs and metrics

A vision is only as strong as the results it produces. OKRs help teams report successes and issues and provide ways to manage expectations for work in progress. “Success” should be defined and measured against the business’s KPIs.

Over the years, I’ve used a well-understood product design process that’s flexible, collaborative, and focused on solving the right problems. While every project is different (often requiring a simplified version of these), I rely on this framework to help me stay grounded, aligned with teams, and focused on delivering meaningful outcomes.

Discovery

I start by understanding the problem space - defining the users, digging into data, and aligning with stakeholders on business objectives. This phase is about listening, learning, and uncovering the context that shapes design decisions.

Definition

Once I have a clear picture, I work to define the core problem we’re solving. I distill research into insights, align on goals, and focus on what matters most.

Ideation

This is where ideas start to take shape. I sketch, map flows, and collaborate with others to explore a range of possibilities, pushing beyond obvious solutions and looking for the best fit.

Prototyping

I build quick, testable prototypes to bring ideas to life. Whether low or high fidelity, prototypes help to align everyone early and spot issues before we invest too much time.

Testing

User feedback is key. I test with real people to see what’s working and where things break down. I treat testing as a learning tool, informing what to improve, not just what to validate.

Refinement

Once we’re on the right path, I focus on the details: the design polish, accessibility, edge cases, and working closely with engineers to ensure quality through delivery.

This process helps me stay user-focused and outcome-driven, while giving teams the structure and flexibility to do their best work.