Build: From Ideas to Reality
Turn validated ideas into products people want to use. A flexible build approach helps balance speed with quality, so you can test ideas thoroughly without overinvesting.
Great products need more than just great design.
I like to operate in a way that allows me to be flexible and adapt to the needs of the project. Sometimes a quick wireframe tells us what we need; other times we need functioning code with real data to get meaningful feedback.
Finding the right balance in how you build can make a huge difference in both time-to-market and product success. I've watched teams spend months perfecting features nobody ended up using, while others rushed to market with something so rough it hurt their reputation. There's usually a middle path that helps you validate what matters without wasting resources, and that's what I help teams find.
And now, with AI-assisted tools, scrappy projects can be built quickly and tested with real users without worrying about the details. The goal isn't always perfection, sometimes it's just getting something in front of users to see if it's even worth polishing.
When the goal is production-level quality, I like to operate in a hybrid role that combines design and development to help keep quality high and turnarounds fast.
My Build Process
I lean more towards a fast, iterative approach of building quickly, testing in the real world, and adapting based on feedback. While I don't usually rely on rigid frameworks to execute complex projects, I do thrive when there's clarity on what we're building and why.
“Building a product” can mean completely different things depending on its stage. It could be refining an existing feature or bringing a new idea to life, the goal is always the same: learn fast and make meaningful progress.
What I Build
Just Enough to Learn What You Need
Not everything needs perfection from day one. By matching the prototype to the specific question we need answered, you can often learn what you need without overinvesting in unproven ideas. This tends to help teams validate concepts faster and iterate more times with the same resources.
Full-Stack Design
I understand the whole stack of front-end and back-end development, and can spin up a fresh project or modify an existing one to get the job done. Beyond simple HTML/CSS, I can talk in detail about the impact different choices make on the user experience.
Component Libraries
I build and manage components in Figma and use tools like Storybook to communicate how they should be used in development. Wherever it takes places, I find it crucial to create a shared design language that anyone can use.
Getting More Value From What You Already Have
Sometimes small, strategic changes to existing products can lead to meaningful improvements in user experience and conversion rates without requiring massive rebuilds. By identifying these high-leverage improvements—optimizing key user flows, improving mobile experiences, removing unnecessary friction—you can often see substantial gains without months of development work.
Tools I Use
I pick tools that support rapid iteration, collaborative workflows, and systematic building:
Design Systems
Figma for creating components and libraries that document your product. From Material UI to shadcn/ui to homegrown solutions, the right amount of systems can make a huge difference in the mental load while designing.
Modern Front-End
React, Next.js, TypeScript, and Tailwind for building front-ends that last. This stack works for me because it creates maintainable, type-safe code that works across all devices. The dev experience is great, and the community is still strong, which usually means faster iterations and easier fixes.
AI Enhancement
AI tools like Claude, Midjourney, and Perplexity accelerate exploration and research without replacing human taste. They help generate variations, assist with routine code, and handle repetitive tasks, so I can focus on the work I enjoy and do best.
User Feedback
Testing platforms like Usertesting.com, Hotjar, and direct user interviews reveal how people actually use what we cook up. These tools can help separate what users say from what they actually do, so you aren't stuck wondering why the numbers don't match what sales said.
Timeframe & Collaboration
Build projects generally adapt to your specific needs and have a wide spectrum of timeframes, but each cycle typically follows this timeline:
- Initial setup and architecture (3-5 days)
- Core UI implementation (1-3 weeks)
- Functionality development (2-4 weeks)
- Testing and refinement (1-2 weeks)
Projects that are well-defined and ready to go usually require between 60-120 hours of my time, with approximately 12-20 hours of your team's participation. This includes regular check-ins, feedback on iterations, and collaborative decisions at key milestones. The goal is partnership and no surprises, so you're always in the loop.
Don't get stuck always building what's next
Take a step back and reset with a proper strategy or dive deeper into metrics and feedback to help make decisions.
Define
Assumptions often creep in and blur any true focus the team has over time. Keep them in check and move forward with shared understanding and confidence.
See how
Manage
An established product still needs focus. Use metrics to help your product grow based on reality and talk to existing users to stay in touch with what matters.
See how
Want to turn your ideas into something people will actually use?
Let's discuss how to bring your ideas to life through iterative building and testing.