Hiring a UX or Product
designer shouldn't feel like
Bad UX.
Hi, I’m James! You don’t need another portfolio filled with just pretty UI, you need a designer who understands strategy and problem-solving.
Let’s dive in!
What are you looking to learn today?
How I Think, Before I Ever Design
Before I design anything, here’s what I remind myself…
People First, Always
I design with the user in mind first. Not the stakeholder, the system, or my own assumptions. The best solutions come from seeing how real people move through the world.
Strategy Before Screens
I ask why the problem exists, who it’s for, and what ripple effects every choice will have. If I don’t know the purpose, I don’t move forward.
Challenge Everything
I question the defaults. I ask why things were done that way. Not to be difficult, but to make sure the solution still makes sense for the people using it.
Design Without Fear
Fear kills creativity. I don’t design scared. I explore wide before I narrow down. I’m not afraid to pitch the thing no one expected if it solves the problem better. Bold ideas become clear ideas through process and purpose.
Keep It Simple. Make it Work.
Simplicity isn’t basic. It’s built right. When something feels effortless, it’s because the hard decisions were already made. I remove the unnecessary and design for what actually works.
That’s How I Think. Now let me show you How I work
How I Design With Purpose
Good design solves problems. Great design solves the right ones, with purpose, clarity, and care. Here’s how I navigate that process, one thoughtful step at a time.
I Start With Why
Before I design, I align on purpose: what problem we’re solving, who it’s for, and what success looks like.
I Listen To Users
Real insights come from listening deeply. Interviews, walkthroughs, and real-world behavior always reveal more than assumptions.
I Find the Real Problem
Surface problems are rarely the real problems. I dig past symptoms to find the friction that actually matters.
I Lead With Strategy, Not Screens
Design starts with systems, not screens. I map flows, goals, and mental models before a single visual is created.
I Explore Ideas, Then Design With Intention
I start broad with sketches and storyboards, then narrow in on what’s clear, practical, and purposeful. Every screen has a job, and I make sure it does it well.
I Test Early and Often
I test early, I test often. Feedback isn’t failure, it’s how I learn what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to evolve.
I Refine What Matters
Iteration means progress, not polish. I adjust based on feedback, simplify what’s complex, and realign with the goal. Always designing with purpose.
You’ve seen how I think and work now,
here’s how it all comes together.
Real Problems. Strategic Solutions
Each of these projects started with a complex, high-stakes problem, and ended with a system that worked better for the people using it. That’s what I care about.
Law Enforcement Suitability Review Platform
Problem Statement
Suitability analysts were spending too much time trying to search misconduct data in a system that wasn’t built for speed or clarity. It was clunky, confusing, and couldn’t scale under pressure.
My Role
UX Lead & Subject Matter Expert
Key Decisions
- Designed the search experience for both single and batch (CSV) workflows
- Added export and re-run functionality for long-term investigations
- Designed a clean, accessible UI for managing users and permissions
- Integrated validation and print-friendly formatting for official reports
Impact
View Full Case Study
Lavii Smart Locker Experience
Problem Statement
Restaurants were struggling to deliver fast, safe food pickup, especially during the pandemic. Customers needed reliability. Staff needed a system they didn’t have to think about.
My Role
Product Designer & Creative Director/COO
Key Decisions
- Mapped and simplified the pickup flow to reduce pickup time to under 20 seconds
- Designed a touchless, intuitive customer experience for all tech levels
- Designed an admin interface that empowered staff to assign and manage lockers easily
- Led full brand design to ensure the tech felt as human as the service
Impact
View Full Case Study
My past roles are the reasons I design the way I do today.
Let me show you what that leads to...
Experience That Built The Designer
Over the past 15+ years, I’ve worked across startups, government contracts, and internal teams. Always focused on clarity, strategy, and creating solutions that matter.
Where I've Contibuted
Where systems thinking and long-term impact matter
Where empathy, clarity, and access come first
Where messaging, urgency, and mobilization are everything
Where speed, ownership, and resourcefulness are non-negotiable
where I learned early lessons about collaboration, accessibility, and research
Where resources are limited, every decision matters, and solutions have to deliver results
Contributions I've Made
Focused on clarity, trust, and long-term outcomes in complex systems built for everyday users.
Built lean, intuitive products by prioritizing user needs and stripping away the noise.
Helped mission-driven teams move with urgency, reach more people, and tell better stories.
Balanced access, privacy, and usability to serve the right content to the right user at the right time.
Created consistency across products by aligning teams, patterns, and principles at scale.
Turned real-world insight into design direction, shaping decisions, not just validating them.
Challenges I've Faced
Some projects needed working solutions in days. Others spanned months with endless rounds of feedback. I’ve learned how to move with urgency when needed, and how to pace myself when the road is long.
Requirements changed. Scope expanded. Goals moved mid-sprint. I didn’t complain, I adapted, anchored the team, and kept the work grounded in what actually mattered.
I’ve sat between leaders who didn’t agree, teams with no shared process, and devs ready to build without direction. In those moments, I stepped up, connecting dots, clarifying purpose, and getting everyone moving forward.
No research access. Limited Software. No design system. No requirements. I’ve still delivered real outcomes, not by cutting corners, but by leaning into empathy, resourcefulness, and strategy.
Design. Development. Infrastructure. I’ve been the only one in the room responsible for it all. It taught me how to prioritize what matters, move fast, and never wait for “perfect.”
Everything you’ve seen so far? That’s the designer I’ve become.
If it resonates, let’s build something meaningful together.