Got a Slack message Tuesday afternoon. 2:47pm. “Quick question – can you design our new checkout flow by Friday? Just needs to look clean. We’re launching Monday.” I asked: “When did you start planning this launch?” “Three months ago. We’ve been building it since October. Just need design now.” Three months of planning. Eight weeks…

Discovery call last month. SaaS startup, 12 people, looking to hire a freelance ux designer. “We need someone 15-20 hours a week. Flexible schedule. Remote. Rate is $85/hour.” Sounds reasonable. I asked about the work. “We’re redesigning the onboarding flow. Should take 4-6 weeks. Then ongoing UX improvements as needed.” Still fine. Then came the…

Got a call two months ago. Enterprise software company, 650 employees, been around 12 years, profitable. “We need to improve the UX of our internal platform. Our teams keep complaining it’s hard to use. Can you help?” Sure. I’ve done enterprise UX work before. Asked the obvious question. Me: “Who makes product decisions for this…

Your Last Product Designer Quit Six Weeks Ago (You’re Not Telling Me Why) Got a call last week. Startup, Series A, looking to hire a product designer. “Our product designer had to leave suddenly. We need someone to pick up where they left off. Everything’s documented. Figma files are clean. Should be straightforward.” I asked:…

Got an email last week from a design student asking: “Is UX design a good career?” Honest answer: Depends. Do you enjoy explaining design decisions to people who think “make it pop” is actionable feedback? Can you keep a straight face when someone who’s never used Figma tells you your spacing is “off”? Are you…

Got a deck in my email last week. Subject line: “UX Strategy for [Product Name].” Opened it. Actually curious to see their thinking. (Also: morbid fascination with how people define “strategy” these days.) Slide 1: Screenshot of Stripe’s pricing pageSlide 2: Screenshot of Notion’s sidebar navigationSlide 3: Screenshot of Linear’s command paletteSlide 4: “We want…

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…

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…

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…