Bringing Bold Concepts to Life

Product Design for Growth & Innovation
Fintech, Health Tech & SaaS

What I do

Product management, UX design, and generative & evaluative research.

I create intuitive, ethical user experiences for fintech, healthtech, ecommerce and SaaS.

Computational product management

Driving innovation with optimized, AI-leveraged solutions.

Experience design & execution (XD)

Intuitive customer experiences that enhance user satisfaction and loyalty.

Product & market research

Generative, evaluative research to create happy, loyal customers.

Let’s connect

Transforming customer success with smarter, faster & better product experiences.

Questions Answered Here

As a design consultant, I specialize in transforming my clients’ visions into tangible realities. My approach is tailored to fit the unique needs of each project, utilizing various collaboration models.

  • In an embedded model, I immerse myself with your team and work closely and collaboratively. In this model, I am essentially a staff member, ensuring ongoing and consistent contributions and leadership for the design project, staying tightly alined with stakeholders on a daily basis.
  • In the fractional consulting model I provide expertise and guidance on a short term or intermittent basis, conducting meetings, design reviews, and presentations to offer strategic insights where and when they are needed.
  • The agency model provides a white-glove approach for companies that don’t have the internal talent to design and develop digital products. With my team, I deliver a comprehensive suite of design services from concept to completion, managing the project independently but in constant communication with my clients to ensure the final product aligns perfectly with their vision.

Each model is chosen based on the project’s scope, client’s preferences, and the desired level of involvement, ensuring flexibility and effectiveness in meeting client needs.

I enjoy working with both. Working as a product design consultant for startups and enterprise companies involves different expectations, processes, and outcomes due to the inherent differences in scale, culture, and organizational structure of these two types of companies.

In startups, projects often involve creating new products or services from scratch, requiring innovative thinking and a willingness to experiment. The scope might be more fluid, with the potential for rapid pivots based on market feedback. With enterprise companies, projects typically focus on improving or extending existing products, with a greater emphasis on scalability, integration with existing systems, and adherence to established brand guidelines and standards.

I have deep experience with early-to-late stage startups as well as Fortune 500 enterprise companies.

My 0-beta approach relies heavily on the principles of Lean UX, which emphasizes rapid iteration, user feedback, and a flexible, collaborative approach to the design process. This methodology allows me to focus on creating value for users from the very beginning.

By quickly prototyping ideas and validating them through user testing, I can identify early on what works and what doesn’t. This reduces wasted effort and resources.

The Lean UX design process not only speeds up the innovation phase but also ensures that the final product is closely aligned with user needs and expectations.

I work remotely from my studio in Northern California, which allows me to collaborate with teams across the globe. Equipped with high-speed internet, a suite of digital tools, and access to various communication platforms, I can seamlessly connect with colleagues, clients, or partners, regardless of their location. My routine use of video conferencing, project management software, and cloud-based services ensures I’m always in sync with global project timelines and workflows.

While the core of my work ethic lies in leveraging the autonomy and efficiency of remote work to bridge time zones and physical distances, I’m available to engage in on-site collaboration, when necessary. I place high value on fostering strong, dynamic relationships with stakeholders worldwide and effectively blend focused productivity with the rich, diverse perspectives of a global team, driving success for projects that span continents.

Even though my calendar is often filled months in advance due to ongoing commitments and projects, I’m genuinely interested in exploring new opportunities and working with new clients. I believe that each new project brings unique challenges and opportunities for growth, and I’m always eager to expand my horizons.

That said, I value delivering quality work and maintaining strong relationships with all my clients, which means I carefully manage my schedule to ensure each project receives the attention it deserves. If you’re considering working with me, I encourage you to get in touch so we can discuss your needs and how we might fit your project into my upcoming schedule. I’m committed to finding ways to collaborate effectively, even if it requires planning further out than usual.

Let’s Make Things Happen

I look forward to working together to create something truly remarkable for your brand.

“Susan provided direction and leadership for everyone on the team. She has deep knowledge of design, whether for mobile, tablet, or web.”

Jeff Honeyman, Sr Product Designer, Sephora

“Susan has a well-earned reputation as Top Talent. Since 2021, I’ve had the opportunity to partner with Susan as she drove strategy and led physical-digital design teams for our innovation portfolio. Susan and her team managed to reduce our innovation cycle while increasing the both number of user touchpoints and design iterations.”

Freddie Williams, Sr Manager, MedTech Marketing & Innovation, Johnson & Johnson

“Susan has a wealth of experience and knowledge, not only about all facets of product/user experience design, but also about the culture of the tech world from startups to large enterprises. She is a dynamic, knowledgeable, rigorous and enthusiastic teacher.”

Mike Bates, Sr Researcher, eBay

“Beyond her help with the UI itself, Susan helped me tremendously in driving the process – advised about next steps, led user sessions, created mocks, and was a valuable sounding board for discussing the different needs and constraints.”

Guy Levit, Product Manager, Google

“She is a formidable strategic thinker, adept at shaping systemic, multi-stakeholder experiences. As a human-centered designer, she led the ideated, design, and user testing for our VisionCare franchise and crafted a holistic end-to-end lens wearer experience.”

Alex Hennen, Global Head of Design, MedTech Digital, Johnson & Johnson

“Susan is simply an outstanding designer. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with her on a major overhaul of one of Google’s products. She led the design effort brilliantly, using the best of best practices, and worked relentlessly to verify her design solved all of our users’ problems.”

Gill Arditi, Product Manager, Google