Independent consulting in 2023 is a different practice than it was five years ago. The craft fundamentals haven't changed — research, systems thinking, stakeholder alignment — but AI has expanded what's possible in ways that require a different kind of creative thinking. The canvas is bigger, the palette wider, and the old constraints that used to shape decisions aren't always there anymore.

I've spent this chapter learning to work with that ambiguity — prototyping faster, exploring further, and helping clients understand what's newly possible without losing sight of what actually serves their users.

Selected clients: Scoreboard AI, Pixly AI, Lykas Financial, OpenDoor Legal, NewVoters.org, Push Dance Co.

Key results:

• Grew feature adoption 18% mapping user journeys for fintech, AI, and SaaS products

• Accelerated design delivery 3x integrating AI-augmented workflows using Cursor and Lovable

• Boosted conversion rates 9% through heuristic evaluations and usability audits

• Drove 12x increase in user productivity through iterative AI-capability prototyping

Stockell embedded me inside Climate LLC to design AgTech software for working farmers — people who would rely on this product every single day for the next decade. That scope changes how you think about every decision. There's no room for friction, confusion, or unnecessary complexity when the software has to earn a place in someone's daily life long-term.

Key results:

• Delivered a 4/5 star-rated carbon credit app by leading end-to-end product vision

• Decreased churn 6% by uncovering critical pain points through user acceptance testing

• Cut project timelines from 3 months to 1 with reusable service blueprints and user flows

Improving is a digital services consultancy that embeds designers inside Fortune 500 companies. The real challenge wasn't the design work — it was earning the right to influence decisions and shifting from executor to trusted advisor.

For six months I led a Scrum team of designers, shifting how the team collaborated and delivered — more often, faster, and with better alignment to client expectations.

Key results:

• Drove 40k new users and 21% ARR growth redesigning a B2B SaaS platform

• Cut delivery from 8 weeks to 1 building a scalable design system

• Launched a community app with 1k+ users and a 4.3-star rating

FreemanXP is a global experiential agency where the creative challenge isn't coming up with ideas — it's coming up with the right ideas for a brand you met last week. Every engagement meant rapidly absorbing a new brand's voice, goals, and constraints, then producing work that felt native to them, not generic.

Key results:

• Generated $500k+ in revenue contributing to pitch decks that secured high-profile accounts

• Boosted audience engagement 17% delivering immersive digital experiences for global brands

• Drove stakeholder alignment through wireframes, prototypes, and design assets

The Old State was a small agency where junior designers got handed real responsibility fast. There was a senior layer, but they trusted me with direct client interaction early — presenting work, fielding feedback, learning to translate what a client said they wanted into what would actually work for their business.

Key results:

• Increased site traffic 14% designing responsive websites for agency clients

• Delivered projects on time and within budget through close client partnership and clear documentation