Hello. My name is Deb.
I'm a UX and Product Design Leader living in San Francisco.
I enjoy solving puzzles, untangling knots, and making complex tasks feel easy.
What I Do
I specialize in transforming complexity into clarity for B2B and B2C apps. With over 24 years of experience including four years as a Director of UX Design, I bring deep experience in taking designs from concept to completion and strive to elevate the UX maturity of an organization.
I apply DesignOps and cross-team collaboration to ensure that Design is integrated in all phases, from defining a problem to assisting QA. I’m passionate about improving efficiency through process optimization and fostering trust through communication.
My preferred approach balances the ideal design with more practical, iterative releases that are negotiated with Engineering, Product Owners, Product Management, and stakeholders. When encountering obstacles, I reach across teams to find a solution that fits our requirements for time, quality, and scope. I am thorough, dedicated, versatile, and eager to make a significant impact in a new organization.
My Philosophy
Processes should start with a framework but be flexible and adapt to fit the team you're working with and the feature you're working on.
MVP should reflect Minimum Valuable Product, not Minimum Viable Product. If the first iteration isn't usable and doesn't add value, then it may not be adopted and you may not get the chance to iterate.
Document as much of your design as possible so engineers and testers have clear instructions, but don't toss a spec over a wall; communicate early and often to reduce confusion later.
We don't have to address every edge case or even every use case right away, but we should think of as many scenarios as possible so that we acknowledge what we're choosing to ignore.
Step up and step back: as a design leader, I provide the context to let team members do their best, stepping in only to unblock them. I step back when things are running smoothly and step up to facilitate a decision.
It is a poor workman who blames his tools. I'm a fan of pen, paper, sticky notes, and anything else that can communicate ideas, whether it's low or high fidelity.
Sometimes, you have to slow down to speed up. Take a beat to work smarter on the right things.
Strong opinions, loosely held. Have a guiding principle, but be open to change when presented with new evidence or situations.
Consistency is important, as long as we avoid foolish consistency. Have a visual language, but remember that one size doesn't always fit all.
Iterating is good, as long as we don't abandon our long-term goal for short-term gains.