# Michael Palana > Senior Product Designer | Crafting Human-Centered SaaS Products at the Intersection of UX & AI Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/michaelpalana My focus is distilling complex unknowns into elegant, intuitive experiences defined by a rigorous focus on the details—ensuring every interaction looks, feels, and functions seamlessly for the people who use them. I’m an established Product Design owner and creative blur. For over 8 years, I’ve consistently led and shipped high-impact work across complex products, foundational systems, and business-critical experiences to millions of users. ## Work Experience ### Senior Product Designer @ Vagaro Jan 2023 – Present | Pleasanton, California, United States Calendar & Scheduling Platform (Feb 2026) Led design strategy for a next-generation scheduling calendar, modernizing a complex, high-usage surface without disrupting existing workflows. Reduced cognitive load by removing redundant controls, prioritizing core actions, and using progressive disclosure to support both new users and power users. Partnered with leadership to align design decisions with retention, adoption, and competitive positioning while ensuring smooth transitions between legacy and new experiences. MedSpa & Clinical Workflow Platform (Feb 2026) Led design of HIPAA-compliant MedSpa workflows, including SOAP Notes, clinical documentation, and image-based treatment mapping for injectors, nurses, NPs, and physicians. Designed photo capture, markup, and injection-site plotting tied directly to inventory usage to ensure accuracy, compliance, and operational efficiency. Partnered with compliance, engineering, and operators to meet medical standards while minimizing charting time through structured templates, macros, and streamlined data entry—balancing clinical rigor with fast, intuitive in-room usability. ### Mid-Level Product Designer @ Vagaro Jan 2020 – Jan 2022 Lead designer on features for Vagaro’s ecosystem of Customer and Merchant facing features on all platforms (web & mobile). Led key projects from initial research and planning, through ideation and prototypes to shipping user-focused features that drove utilization and increased revenue both for Vagaro and Vagaro’s merchants. Features include: House Call: Shipped the House Call feature, with service radius controls and real-time driver and client notifications for mobile appointments. Payment and Onboarding Experiences Led the design of first Vagaro’s payment and POS onboarding experience, simplifying setup for businesses while ensuring compliance and scalability. Delivered intuitive flows that reduced friction for new merchants, accelerated time-to-first-transaction, and strengthened Vagaro’s payments adoption across salons, spas, and med spas. ### Product Designer I / Front End Web Designer at Vagaro @ Vagaro Jan 2017 – Jan 2019 Designed feature initiatives that cover all aspects of Vagaro’s robust feature set including but not limited to: customer booking flows (waitlist feature), merchant marketing features (text and email), e-commerce product- buying experiences, employee payroll flows, checkout and payment flows, reporting tools and more. Vagaro Company Sales Pages Designed and managed all company sales pages—including branding, sign-up flows, and feature presentations. This resulted in a ~X% increase in sign-ups and a more streamlined customer onboarding experience. Automated Emails Designed all B2C, Vagaro to Business, Vagaro to customer, and vagaro to third part automated emails like appointment confirmations, checkout receipts, and automated business notifications for B2B and B2C users. Branded App Designed and launched Vagaro’s Branded App platform, enabling businesses to offer a fully white-labeled mobile experience for their clients. Adopted by 746 businesses since 2021, generating $1.1M in direct revenue and creating a scalable, premium upsell channel for Vagaro. ### Creative Direction + Design @ MYKEY Creative Studio Jan 2014 – Jan 2019 | San Francisco Bay Area Mykey Creative is a Art Direction, Branding, and Design studio based in Oakland, CA. We also specialize in Photography and Creative Consultation. ### Graphic Designer @ The Stone Group, Inc Jan 2017 – Jan 2017 | Pleasanton, California ### Freelance Creative Director @ Fresh Ideas Flower Co Jan 2012 – Jan 2017 | Modesto, California ### Co Founder @ Modesto Fashion Week Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 Co Founder & Creative Director ### Marketing Associate/ Junior Designer @ Republic Marketing Jan 2011 – Jan 2012 ## Education ### Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Marketing California Statue University, Stanislaus ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mikeypalana - Website: https://www.michaelpalana.com --- Source: https://flows.cv/michaelpalana JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/michaelpalana/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-05