02Leadership
How I lead design.
I’ve built design functions three times: Legrand’s first UX team, a cross-functional team of 14 at Fishbowl, and product design at Revive Media. These are the habits that carried across all three.
02Leadership
I’ve built design functions three times: Legrand’s first UX team, a cross-functional team of 14 at Fishbowl, and product design at Revive Media. These are the habits that carried across all three.
APrinciples
I sit with engineering instead of handing off specs. At Fishbowl that meant being a sounding board for the engineering directors and their teams, and one component library every platform team pulled from.
At Fishbowl I dealt firsthand with activation, adoption, retention, expansion and margin. I know which levers a design decision actually moves, and that is how I frame the work for executives.
I hire for trajectory, including designers right out of college, and give them trust and independence early. Continued education is built into how the team runs.
When users stall, I go ask them why. Joining live implementation calls and interviewing churned customers has reframed the problem on more than one project.
I came up through the trades in framing, metalwork and fabrication. I respect how things get built and what it takes for them to hold up, in a house or in a codebase.
Balsamiq for a quick conversation, Claude for a clickable prototype to test, Figma for the pixel-perfect dev handoff. The fidelity should match the question being asked.
BTrack record
Founded and built Legrand’s first UX team, established the design workflows, and led multiple 0→1 smart-home applications from discovery through delivery.
Managed designers, product managers and UX writers, including remote hires. Launched the company’s first SaaS platform and introduced a modern design system.
Led end-to-end product design with a small team of designers and product managers, using Claude and Figma to shorten the path from idea to tested prototype.
COperating rhythm
Product design, UX, UI, design systems and research. I build teams that can cover all of it.
It is possible to live in a world where every product or service is designed with an easy-to-use experience in mind.
DFrom my reports and partners
Donny is an incredible manager. His attention to making his team feel comfortable while prioritizing continued education is like no other. He cares about how his team is treated and represented within the company.
Donny believed in me right out of college, demonstrating exceptional trust, support, and an empowering management style that fostered independence and growth.
He was key in helping to move our SaaS product forward; leading the UI/UX team, working closely with the product group, providing subject matter expertise, being a sounding board for this engineering director (and his team) and always making himself available.
What stands out most about Donny is his collaborative nature and commitment to delivering designs that truly meet the needs of the project. Donny’s ability to balance creativity with practicality makes him an asset to any team.