Common questions

• Can I reach out to you about work?

  I'm always open to a good conversation, contact me and let's see if the visions align. If something isn't for me, then I can always refer solid leads to my extensive network of friends and colleagues.

• What kind of work won't you do?

  Will this work bring more happiness into the world, or make it a more pleasant place to live? If not, it's probably not a fit. Making the world a better place is the top goal.

• What kinds of problems interest you?

  I love blue sky prompts, the kind where an organization has a known strength or weakness and wants to buttress capabilities but isn't quite sure of the end shape. I'm fond of intersectional knowledge, applying one field of study to the problems in another. I'm great at tech-forward solutions: taking a new or nascent technology and finding new applications or methods to use with it.

• What do you think about design systems?

  Every designer builds with a design system, whether or not there's a formal process or system for it. With AI tools, the role of builders and planners is shifting around, and we're seeing a change in the tech stack a product designer is expected to build with. That change means our notions of design systems (and how they impart value) will also change as the technology wave ripples through the industry.

• How do you run a critique?

  For the person receiving a critique, their job is to give the current work the best shot at being understood: what is it, how did it come to be, and what are we intending to solve for? For the audience, giving a good critique involves asking more questions than making assertions - and any assertions given should always be treated as suggestions. Critiques are not routes for approval, and they're not a time to show off or establish hierarchy. Good critiques are flexible, and give everyone something new to think about.

• Are you a product designer or a manager?

  Both, as necessary: I design and build (with all the newest tools and techniques that we're all building and discovering), and I plan and organize teams. As a manager, it's absolutely critical to understand how a designer actually creates work if you plan on having any authority in helping structure how a team of designers should work.

• Should I reach out to you?

  Absolutely. I'm open to hear from you, whether you're a scrappy non-profit looking to understand if you need product design help, someone with a problem that needs a solution and you think I can help, or you're new to the industry and want some guidance around known and unknown unknowns.