Design
Turn a clear opportunity into a system ready to build.
Define the product strategy, experience and technical direction before making the larger investment in development.
Format
Typically several focused weeks
Investment
Tailored to scope & complexity
Includes
Product strategy & system direction
UX, interaction & interface design
Validation with users and stakeholders
Technical feasibility with engineering
Development-ready design & build plan
Why can’t we just start building?
Because the expensive questions are better answered before they become code. Designing first lets us explore, compare and change directions much faster than rebuilding implemented functionality.
Doesn’t AI make detailed design unnecessary?
AI accelerates development, but it does not remove the need to decide what should be built. Clear workflows, information architecture, interaction logic and product decisions give AI-assisted engineering better instructions and reduce avoidable assumptions.
Does everything need to be pixel-perfect before development?
No. We design to remove important uncertainty, not to create documentation for its own sake. Reusable design systems and close collaboration with engineering let us focus effort where decisions genuinely matter.
How do we know what development will cost?
That becomes much clearer after Design. Once the scope, workflows, interfaces and technical direction are refined, the Build phase can be estimated against something concrete rather than an idea.
The process
From opportunity to build-ready system
Kick off
We align on the opportunity, existing knowledge, users, business context, technical landscape and what we need to learn.
Design & validate
This is actually the heart of the engagement, and I wouldn't artificially separate Iterate and Validate.
Converge
We incorporate what we learn, increase fidelity and resolve the important product, interaction and technical decisions until one coherent system emerges.
Prepare to build
We finalize the scope with engineering and translate the validated system into a development plan, implementation approach and build estimate.
Lightweight product strategy
A clear product vision, MVP scope and direction for how the system could evolve beyond the first release.
Validated system design
A complete experience shaped and tested with users, business stakeholders and engineering.
Reusable product foundation
A consistent interface foundation that keeps this product on-brand and makes future digital products faster and easier to design and build.
Build plan & estimate
A technically aligned scope, implementation approach and estimate for taking the validated system into development.
Know the opportunity, but not yet the system?
Let’s turn it into a clear, validated and build-ready digital product.
