Design Thinking
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When I first started working in UX, I thought of design thinking as a process: understand the problem, talk to users, generate ideas, design, test, and improve.
More than a decade of designing real products has made my understanding of that process much less linear.
A stakeholder request isn't necessarily the problem.
A user request isn't necessarily the solution.
And the first design isn't something to defend.
My job is to understand what people are trying to accomplish, uncover the constraints around them, and translate that understanding into experiences that make complex things easier to navigate and understand.
There are no perfect answers in a user interview—but the questions we ask can shape the answers we receive.
I use them to make ideas tangible, create conversations, expose assumptions, and learn. The objective isn't to prove that the first solution was right. It's to get closer to the right solution.
The underlying systems may be complicated. The experience doesn't have to feel that way.
That means considering information architecture, interaction, visual hierarchy, accessibility, data, business requirements, and technical feasibility as parts of the same experience—not separate design exercises.
My role isn't simply to translate requirements into screens. It's to help teams understand the problem, explore possibilities, make trade-offs visible, and arrive at decisions we can stand behind.
Ten years ago, I wrote about UX as a way of making products easier for people to understand and use. That part hasn't changed.
At the heart of my work is still shaping experiences that make people’s lives feel easier, clearer, and more human.
UX = solve problem
How I Think About Design
UX is about solving the right problem.
When I first started working in UX, I thought of design thinking as a process: understand the problem, talk to users, generate ideas, design, test, and improve.
More than a decade of designing real products has made my understanding of that process much less linear.
A stakeholder request isn't necessarily the problem.
A user request isn't necessarily the solution.
And the first design isn't something to defend.
My job is to understand what people are trying to accomplish, uncover the constraints around them, and translate that understanding into experiences that make complex things easier to navigate and understand.
Have conversations, not interviews.
Good research isn't about working through a list of questions. It's about listening closely enough to understand people's behaviors, frustrations, workarounds, expectations, and the context surrounding what they tell you.There are no perfect answers in a user interview—but the questions we ask can shape the answers we receive.
Design without attachment.
Wireframes and prototypes are thinking tools, not finished answers.I use them to make ideas tangible, create conversations, expose assumptions, and learn. The objective isn't to prove that the first solution was right. It's to get closer to the right solution.
Complexity should not become the user's burden.
Much of my work today involves complex products: healthcare workflows, enterprise systems, dashboards, data visualization, and products with significant business and technical constraints.The underlying systems may be complicated. The experience doesn't have to feel that way.
That means considering information architecture, interaction, visual hierarchy, accessibility, data, business requirements, and technical feasibility as parts of the same experience—not separate design exercises.
Design is collaborative.
Product design doesn't happen in isolation. The strongest solutions emerge through collaboration with users, Product, Engineering, business stakeholders, and other designers.My role isn't simply to translate requirements into screens. It's to help teams understand the problem, explore possibilities, make trade-offs visible, and arrive at decisions we can stand behind.
What hasn't changed
Ten years ago, I wrote about UX as a way of making products easier for people to understand and use. That part hasn't changed.
At the heart of my work is still shaping experiences that make people’s lives feel easier, clearer, and more human.