DESIGN PROCESS

Discovery and story mapping

I follow a process widely used in the industry: user research, ideation, prototyping, testing, and implementation.

For user research, I typically conduct user or client interviews. In addition, I also interview customer support teams, as they often have deep insights into client needs and common pain points.

As for design deliverables, I find user journey maps especially valuable because they create a shared understanding of the problem, ensuring the PM, designer, and developers are on the same page. Sometimes we might also need an empathy map, flow chart, etc.

Ideation and prototyping

In ideation sessions, I collaborate with the product manager to explore possible solutions and decide which ones are worth testing.

For prototyping, Figma is my primary tool because it’s fast and flexible. When the focus is on data rather than form, I test with real client data. For example, to evaluate a new visualization, I’ll paste client data into Excel, build a pivot table, and generate a chart.

Day-to-day process

In practice, the process is often simplified—especially in B2B contexts within a product team. We frequently focus on incremental improvements or new features rather than large “projects.”

In many cases we already know the user need, or we have an explicit client request. This is common in multi-tenant systems with customer-specific adjustments. In such situations, I quickly build a prototype, run a short round of user testing, and move into implementation.

Lean

I apply Lean principles whenever possible: test quickly, validate the solution, and iterate.

Often, user needs can be met with a simple interface and lightweight solution. Teams sometimes invest in unproven requirements, rare scenarios, or highly unlikely edge cases. At every stage I ask, “Can we make this simpler and faster?” to avoid bloated solutions.

That said, I’m not a graphic designer — I focus on interactive elements like inputs, buttons, selectors, sliders, etc., rather than visual assets like illustrations, logos, or infographics. But if needed, tools like ChatGPT make that possible now.

Tools

The best tools in the ideation stage are the most simple ones: pen and paper. Focus stays on thinking and not on tool friction. When I know how to represent a new feature, I move to wireframing and prototyping tools.

For the past five years, Figma has been my main design tool. Before that, I used Axure extensively for advanced prototyping—e.g., I could create interactive flows like this example ↗.

When starting a new project, I often choose Tailwind CSS. It covers most design elements, is easy to work with, and many AI tools generate Tailwind-compatible code.

App experience

Design: Figma, Axure, Sketch, Framer, Adobe XD, Balsamiq, Photoshop, ProtoPie.

Analytics: Fullstory, MS Clarity, Hotjar, PostHog, Pendo, Heap, Retool, Google Analytics.

Collaboration: Notion, Coda, Jira, YouTrack, Asana, Trello, Miro, Whimsical

Rapid application development: OutSystems, Bubble, Airtable, Supabase, Oracle APEX, Caspio, Wavemaker

WHAT I LIKE

Complex tasks

This is what makes design so engaging. You start with a need, define the goal, and work toward a solution.

Unlike many roles that deal with repetitive problems, design often presents challenges with no obvious answer. Those situations require deeper thinking, exploration, and iteration. That’s one reason I focus on SaaS B2B products—they typically involve complex problems that demand thoughtful solutions.

Data visualizations

Through multiple data-centric projects, I’ve seen how impactful visualization can be. For business-oriented charts, I follow the International Business Communication Standards ↗ (IBCS)—a practical rulebook for clear, concise charts.

For discovery and insight, more sophisticated plots are sometimes needed. I’ve worked with tools ranging from Excel and PowerBI to Highcharts and amCharts.

Visualizations don’t always require chart libraries. For one project, we added an in-cell bar column to give users an instant sense of distribution. In another, we built a bubble chart directly in HTML for faster performance and fully custom tooltips.

Many products underuse visualization. Too often, users face raw data tables that are hard to interpret when a simple chart would make patterns clear.

Artificial intelligence

We live in a remarkable time. AI doesn’t just make work faster—it changes how we solve problems.

I treat AI as an all-knowing professor sitting beside me, ready to help with any challenge. This technology will reshape the world in the coming years, and I’m especially excited about projects that engage with this movement.

SIDE PROJECTS

Why it's important

I’ve been building side projects since 2006. They let me experiment, learn, and understand the mechanics behind design.

Beyond project management experience, I’ve become familiar with technologies I might never have encountered otherwise.

These experiences gave me a strong foundation in how systems work, which helps me design better user experiences.

ProductPathPro

ProductPathPro ↗ began as a “what if” idea: what if session recording went beyond heatmaps and playback to show the bigger picture of how users move across pages, tabs, and flows?

Building it taught me far more than design. I dug into screen recording internals, privacy masking, multi-tab sync, and backend optimization with Django and Postgres. On the front end, I experimented with Tailwind layouts, real-time labeling, and dense data visualizations that remain easy to read.

Biggest takeaway: building an analytics product is humbling. You confront performance, infrastructure, and reliability constraints firsthand—and learn to design within them.

Treenga

Treenga ↗ was my attempt to rethink task management. Rigid hierarchies and endless boards felt heavy; I wanted something lighter—where priorities and context were clear without clutter.

It taught me that simplicity is hard. Many “must-have” features became distractions in daily use. Stripping down was tougher than adding more, but far more effective.

The deeper lesson was about product mechanics: how people structure work, what “priority” means in practice, and why clarity often beats flexibility.

UpcomingEvents MacOS app

This project started from a small annoyance: constantly switching to the calendar to check what’s next. The idea—show upcoming events right in the dock icon—reduced friction and kept focus.

It wasn’t just UI polish. I had to handle system integrations, real-time updates, and performance so it stayed lightweight and unobtrusive.

The lesson: meaningful value can come from solving small, recurring pain points. Subtle, well-placed cues can make a big difference—especially when they respect platform conventions and blend in naturally.