Fractional principal design partner
I’m Joel. I help software teams work out what matters, design how it should work and, when we agree the scope, build it into the product.
Unlimited queued requests. One active priority at a time.
Guidance and hands-on work from the same person.
Bring the hard part
Start with a decision, a workflow or the system your team builds on. We shape the priority together, then work through it in useful stages.
01 · You bring
A full backlog, an unclear product problem or a decision the team keeps revisiting.
What I do
I work through the evidence and options with you, make the trade-offs explicit and help choose the next useful move.
What you’re left with
A shared decision and a plan for the first step.
02 · You bring
A flow people work around, a new feature to shape or screens that no longer fit together.
What I do
I map the flow, explore concepts, prototype and design the screens, then refine them with your team’s feedback.
What you’re left with
Reviewed flows, prototypes and interface designs your team can build from.
03 · You bring
Patterns that drift between design and code, or an agreed design that needs frontend implementation.
What I do
I define the component patterns and implementation guidance. On Design + Build, I also implement and test the agreed frontend in your codebase.
What you’re left with
Component guidance, or working frontend and checks, depending on the scope we agree.
A real working relationship
Inn-Flow started with a small update to an aging hotel-management platform. The work grew into a ground-up redesign, launch and ongoing maintenance.
Inn-Flow · Hospitality operations
I presented concepts, worked through alignment workshops and research, and created, launched and maintained the redesigned platform. More than 15 modules were built around a design system I created that scaled with the product.
Read the case studyExplore more product workHow the partnership works
01
Add requests, questions and half-formed ideas. There’s no limit on the queue, and you don’t need a perfect brief.
02
Together we choose one active priority, agree its scope and set the next review point.
03
You get senior guidance and hands-on work from the same person. While you review, I move to the next ready request; feedback goes back into the queue.
Pace depends on complexity, inputs and feedback. We agree the scope and next review point for each priority, rather than promising fixed hours or turnaround times.
Choose the work you need
Design is $5,000/month. Design + Build is $9,000/month. Fixed-scope projects start at $20,000, with a final quote based on scope.
Design
Product strategy, flows, prototypes, interface design and design-system guidance, alongside your team.
See Design examplesDesign + Build
Everything in Design, plus scoped frontend implementation, testing and release support through your team’s process.
See Build examplesA good working fit
You need someone senior to challenge assumptions, make trade-offs clear and do the hands-on work. Your team can share context, review progress and help decide what comes next.
We discuss access, ownership and engineering responsibilities before starting. If the priority is specific to water software or AI-assisted UI work, there’s a focused starting point too.
Before we begin
You get a principal-level partner through an ongoing monthly working relationship. We agree the work, responsibilities and availability directly. This page does not promise a fixed number of hours.
Strategy and design are part of the same relationship. I help decide what is worth doing, then do the agreed hands-on design work. Design + Build can add scoped frontend implementation, testing and release support through your team’s process.
Yes. The queue is unlimited; active work is focused on one priority at a time. We choose what is ready and most useful together. Complexity, inputs and feedback affect the pace.
Your current product or prototype, the evidence you already have and the people involved in the decision. Access to users, code and review environments depends on the priority. We agree that scope before starting.
Bring your backlog or the one problem at the top of it to a 30-minute intro. We’ll discuss fit, the first priority, scope and availability. We confirm scope, responsibilities and availability before starting.
Start with your product
We’ll talk through what matters, whether the partnership fits and what a useful first priority could be.
No obligation to proceed.