Got on a call last month with a potential client. Series A SaaS company, 18 people, looking for design help. “Before we start, can you walk us through your design process?” I should’ve known. They screen-shared a 40-slide deck. Their “UX design process.” Eight phases. Twelve deliverables. Three validation gates. Stakeholder touchpoints color-coded by department.…
I was scrolling through a job board last week. Standard research for what companies are actually looking for. (Also: morbid curiosity about how bad it’s gotten.) Saw this: “UX Design Internship – Summer 2025 Requirements: That’s not an internship. That’s a junior designer role you don’t want to pay for. I don’t take these calls…
I had a call last Tuesday with a founder who wanted help “improving activation.” Their SaaS launched eight months ago. Activation: 23%. Support tickets: 180/week. Team of six. I asked to see the roadmap. Roadmap Items Count New features 12 “UX improvements” (no details, pushed to Q3) 2 Total 14 “Which feature causes the most…
The job post looked fine. Standard stuff. “Seeking freelance UX designer for 3-month dashboard redesign project. Potential to convert to full-time for the right candidate.” I took the call. Twenty minutes in: “So, timeline. We’re actually hoping more like 6 weeks because investor meeting. Budget is somewhat flexible – were you open to equity instead…
The call started normal enough. “We need a redesign. Our retention is terrible and the interface looks dated.” Okay. Tell me more. “Churn is around 15% monthly. Users sign up, use it for a bit, then leave. We think if we modernize the UI, make it feel more premium, people will stick around.” When did…
Last year I watched someone finish setting up a Salesforce integration. OAuth: worked perfectly. Field mapping: one click. Big green success message: “Connected successfully!” They closed the window looking satisfied. I was helping them debug something else, so I had their screen still open. Three days later, same person: “Is Salesforce broken? Nothing’s syncing.” I…
Last month a design lead showed me their adoption metrics dashboard. Figma library: 97% connected. Component usage tracked across 47 teams. Monthly reports with color-coded progress bars trending green like a very healthy plant. “Fantastic adoption,” they said, clicking through to a slide about governance wins. “Can I see your team’s Slack?” I asked. They…
Last year, a SaaS company paid me to fix their onboarding. Churn was 23% monthly. Brutal. First call, the CS lead opened their dashboard. Gorgeous interface. Real-time health scores. Customer journey maps. Risk alerts. Engagement tracking across seven touchpoints. “We have complete visibility.” I asked if they knew why customers were leaving. She pulled up…
For three years, my LinkedIn headline said “UX Consultant.” It sounded professional. Legitimate. Like I knew what I was doing. It also meant absolutely nothing. “UX Consultant” is the professional equivalent of “I do stuff.” It’s a job title that could mean everything, so it means nothing. Like saying you work in “business” or specialize…
Let me show you something. This is a Mad Libs for people who can’t articulate their value proposition: The LinkedIn Spiritual Pitch Generator™ Hi [NAME], Your [VAGUE QUALITY] stands out – you carry the signature of a [FLATTERING ROLE] who’s already mastered [THEIR FIELD]. I partner with [ASPIRATIONAL IDENTITY] who are no longer motivated by…
