Research, prototype in code, ship, measure, repeat.
I come to product design from building and selling things, so my process is biased toward working software and real numbers over decks. Here is what each stage produces and where you can see it in the work.
Six stages. Each one leaves an artifact.
Every screen exists to help someone decide something: buy or not, trust or not, act or wait. I start by writing that decision down in one sentence, then naming who makes it and under what pressure. Artifact: a one-page brief. Example: the KING50 panel audit started with "should I act on this, and why?"
Analytics, support tickets, session recordings, the existing code path, the legal constraints. On a storefront that means conversion by page and device, cart abandonment, and where people actually enter. On a regulated product it means the statute. Artifact: a findings list, ranked. Example: the Ellaverse flow was shaped by COPPA before any screen was drawn.
I order content by the decision sequence first, in text, before anything is visual. If the order is wrong, no amount of polish fixes it. Artifact: a hierarchy outline and low-fidelity layout. Example: the product page moved price and stock above the description because that is the order people ask the questions.
Once the layout is settled I build it in HTML and CSS with real interactions: variant changes, cart behavior, states, mobile. It is often faster than a high-fidelity mock and it doubles as the spec engineering receives. Artifact: a clickable prototype with annotated decisions. Example: the product page prototype and the design system page are both live code.
Production work is built so the owner or team can change it without me: Theme Customizer settings instead of code edits, documented systems, test harnesses. Artifact: the shipped thing plus its handoff notes. Example: the Levels theme exposes every brand decision as a setting.
Conversion, add-to-cart rate, drawer-to-checkout, and whatever the product's real number is. Small changes measured often beat redesigns measured never. Artifact: a metrics note and the next change. Example: 3GRAMS storefront changes were measured against conversion month over month for seven years.
What you get from someone who has run the whole thing.
I've been responsible for revenue, so I ask what a design change is supposed to move and how we'll know. That makes prioritization conversations short.
I can read the code path, prototype in it, and estimate honestly. Handoffs are a conversation between peers, not a wall.
Lead Product Development Engineer at STIIIZY in 2023 and 2024, shipping on other people's timelines with overseas partners. I know what it looks like to be good at that.
Research partners, analysts, engineers, and a merchandiser make the work better than I can make it alone. That's the reason I'm looking for an in-house role rather than the next solo venture.