My team and I work with SaaS companies that want to build new features or enhance their current tool.
Most of our clients are teams that have developers that have been handling all the design, and the team is now ready to get a UX eye on things.
We work with organizations that don't want an in-house full-time designer, but still but still need a dedicated person or team who can:
- Be really hands-on and understand the business inside and out
- Guide user research and product design
- Find a balance between the business priorities and what keeps the users coming back for more- be more than a random Upwork wireframe maker
"Whatever you did, you hit it right on the the frickin' head of the nail...To be honest, I would take it in the field right now."
Conversations with customers like this are why we do what we do.
Relationships with my clients are a huge part of why we're here. We only work people that:
- Give a shit about their customers.
- Feel their blood boil when they think about the challenges they are solving
- Value user research and incorporate their customers feedback into decisions to make the product better
- Don't view UX as "screen artists" but value strategy and design thinking
I fell in love with a process called Object Oriented UX. I do traditional steps of UX that you may know: user research, flows, wireframes, prototypes, all of that jazz. But I use an extra secret sauce called OOUX to:
1. Untangle complexity in the domain and concept
2. Gather requirements beyond a checklist provided by the stakeholders
3. Bring folks from every team together from the start in order to avoid silos and to get everyone on the same page
In a nutshell, OOUX is requirements gathering on stereoids.
My fascination with this process grew and grew as I've seen how it can bridge the gap between design and development in a way I had never seen before.
I've worked on countless teams, and much to the chagrin of the UX internet community, the reality always was a relatively robotic relationship between the designers and developers.
"Collaboration" sounded great, but in reality it was just adding the developers to more Zoom meetings they didn't want to be on, asking "what do you think?" while they mutli-task.
Design and development want to collaborate, but never have an environment that truly sets it up for success.
I don't want to make screens and walk away, but rather be a partner and...
Every designer and UX studio / creative agency always talk about the same thing: being customer-centric.
Being customer-centric with your products should be a bare-minumum, not a key differentiator. If you're not using research, factoring in the user's needs, and testing with target audience - you're doing something wrong.
I want to take it a step further. I want to build products that give the team the same amount of TLC that the customers are getting.
Let's create products so intuitive that your customers think you can read minds!
1. Two years ago, I said f%# it, and got paid $10,000 to Tulsa, OK on a whim from New York City without knowing anyone. I launched Anele, built a house and the rest is history.
2. Biggest accomplishment ever, I completed an entire move in under 2 hours because I project managed the whole process and sent my friends (I have the best friends) this presentation.
3.I've solo travelled to Nicaragua, Chile, Argentina, Ireland, Poland.
4.I launched a UX mentorship program and completed cohort 6 in 2023. (Think curriculum, applications, TAs, office hours, homework)
5. I'm a big of rock climbing, Kan Jam, and spicy jam.
You can learn more by following on Linkedin.
Elena is a fast learner and is quick to integrate into any design team, she works hard at it but makes it look easy. She has a great attitude and puts everyone at ease. She will always find the answer for any design challenge with a thoughtful, creative solution.
Miguel Blanco
Vice President, Design and Product Management, FOX
Elena's one in a million. She came on as an Interaction designer and quickly became a key resource for the team and the project. She proved to be a reliable designer, leading voice and educator for both onboarding designers and stakeholders alike.
Rafa Torres
Interaction Design Director at Code and Theory
I was blown away at how much we were able to uncover in the OOUX workshop. My team was almost ready to launch our web platform for athletic coaches and wanted to be 100% certain we had everything needed. The workshop ensured we laid everything out, dove into the details to discern what was missing, and understood how everything tied together. We were able to identify any gaps and cover them before launch. Plus, the object guide was really helpful to keep the entire team on the same page, especially for those that couldn’t make the workshop.
Nyla Pollard
Co-Founder, Ballin'