How I lead
I joined Hourly as its first designer and built the team that designs it today, and as a consultant I led a second team of five at Vanti. This is how I hire, coach and run the work.
From one designer to a team
Three things I hold to
I set UX strategy with the CEO and work closely with product directors and engineering, so we agree on the design solution before it is built and design shapes the roadmap instead of decorating it.
I set up Hourly's first design system and kept it growing with the product. Design governance principles kept the quality consistent as the team grew. Today I build its coded library myself, and use AI to build components and assemble screens from Figma specs.
Every design needs a purpose and success metrics agreed up front. We never redesign something just because it would look better. The customer's part of onboarding went from weeks of email back-and-forth to one self-serve session of under five minutes, because we set that goal and measured it.
How I run a design team
What I commit to
1:1s and a growth plan
Regular 1:1s with every designer, and a plan for what each one wants to get better at and the work that gets them there.
Room to lead
I mentor designers to take the initiative, own more of the work, and challenge their own decisions until they hold up.
Shield from the noise
I take the meetings and the politics, so the team gets long stretches of time to do the work.
Credit goes to the team
Designers present their own work to leadership and get the credit for it.
Accessibility is the standard
Contrast and accessible patterns are part of done, not a review at the end.
What we practise
Design crits
Regular crits that make the work better, not longer: clear feedback, and a decision at the end.
Reviews with engineering and product
We agree on the solution with engineering and product before it is built, so what ships is what we designed.
Prototypes in code
Designers test ideas with the real coded components, not only in Figma.
Outcomes up front
Every project starts with the metric it should move, and is judged by it after launch.
New tools, built in
I keep testing new tools and AI, and build custom skills and workflows the team actually uses.