Blog
Ten years inside SaaS products generates opinions. Most content from a UI/UX design agency is written to rank, not to say anything.
This is the other kind — the patterns that keep showing up, written down before the next product makes the same mistake.
Your 'Full-Stack Designer' Is Actually Two Junior People
Mark – B2B SaaS, 41 employees, Series A – hired an agency for a dashboard redesign. Three months, $35,000, "a senior full-stack designer with eight years of UI/UX design and development experience." S
You're Hiring a Freelance UX Designer (Who Works Like Your Employee)
Discovery call last month. SaaS startup, 12 people, looking to hire a freelance UX designer.
Enterprise UX Design Would Be Fine If Enterprises Weren't Allergic to Decisions
Got a call two months ago. Enterprise software company, 650 employees, been around 12 years, profitable.
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.
UX Design Is a Great Career If You Enjoy Being Told You're Wrong by People Who Can't Draw a Rectangle
Got an email last week from a design student asking: "Is UX design a good career?"
Articles I've Written Elsewhere 📌
I write on this blog weekly. Nobody edits me. Nobody tells me to "soften the tone" or "add more tactical takeaways."
You Googled 'Best SaaS Designs,' Took Screenshots, and Called It UX Design Strategy
Got a deck in my email last week. Subject line: "UX Strategy for [Product Name]."
If Your UX Design Internship Requires 2 Years Experience, It's Not an Internship
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.)
Every UX Design Diagram I've Seen Is Overthinking It
Got on a call last month with a potential client. Series A SaaS company, 18 people, looking for design help.
What MVP Really Means in UX Design (It's Not What You Learned in Product School)
I had a call last Tuesday with a founder who wanted help "improving activation."
Why "Connected Successfully" Is the Biggest Lie in SaaS Integration UX
Last year I watched someone finish setting up a Salesforce integration. OAuth: worked perfectly. Field mapping: one click. Big green success message: "Connected successfully!"
If You're Redesigning to Avoid Fixing Your Business Model, I'm Out
The call started normal enough.
Design System Adoption Metrics Lie: Measuring Installation ≠ Measuring Value
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 gree
Why Customer Success Software Doesn't Make Customers Successful (It Makes CS Teams Look Busy)
Last year, a SaaS company paid me to fix their onboarding. Churn was 23% monthly. Brutal.
Hidden Cost of 'UX Consultant' Positioning: Replaceable, Underpaid, Forgotten
For three years, my LinkedIn headline said "UX Consultant."
My True Frequency Wants You to Explain Your Job
Let me show you something. This is a Mad Libs for people who can't articulate their value proposition:
Why I Stopped Hiring UX Designers with 'Great Soft Skills'
Five years ago, I hired a UX designer with exceptional soft skills. Articulate in meetings. Diplomatic with stakeholders. Created beautiful presentation decks. Responded to Slack within minutes with e
Why Mixing Onboarding Patterns Destroys Activation (One Pattern Works, Five Don't)
Last month, a SaaS founder asked me to review their onboarding. "We implemented every best practice," they said. "But activation is terrible."
B2B SaaS Onboarding Is a Multiplayer Game (You're Designing for the Wrong Player)
Your perfect onboarding just got killed by someone who never saw it.
If You Have More Than 4 Stakeholders, I'm Walking Away
The project was fine. Good product. Clear brief. Reasonable timeline. They paid on time. Nobody yelled at me. I delivered everything they asked for, and they were happy with it.