Blog · Page 3
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.
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."
Tanya wrote about why you don't need perfect soft skills for Product Coalition
New on HackerNoon: why SaaS products feel harder to use every year
If You're Hiring a 'Freelance UX Designer,' You're Probably Not Ready to Commit
The job post looked fine. Standard stuff.
Tanya wrote about the developer experience tax in design systems for HackerNoon
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 green like a very healthy plant.
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.
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."
New on Product Coalition: the cost of always hiring the best
New on HackerNoon: the senior designer addiction bankrupting your company
UI/UX Design Outsourcing: The Hidden Costs Nobody Calculates
When $50/hour ends up costing more than $150/hour – the math nobody wants you to see.
Using AI for UX Research: The Workflow I Actually Use
Here's what works when you use AI for UX research – and what almost made me design for the wrong problem.
Tanya wrote about the onboarding hostage situation for HackerNoon
AI Model Collapse and Design Tools: Why Your AI Tools Are Getting Worse
I was working on client team headshots in August 2025. Ran the first photo through my usual background removal tool – the same one I'd used reliably for two years. The edge looked chewed. Like someone attacked it with a chainsaw.
Social Media Marketing Essentials for Designers Who Hate Marketing
If you've been avoiding social media because it feels like a scam, the algorithms just caught up to your instincts.
New on HackerNoon: why Tanya only takes one type of mobile app client now
Tanya wrote about the button that trains users to ignore you for HackerNoon