Available for new projects

Hello, I'm Tristan - a product designer and human factors practitioner.

I have more than 12 years of experience designing and improving products, services, and systems through user-centered design. I've worked with companies of all shapes, sizes, and industries and love the process of diving deep into a problem to envision a better future.

Work

Recent Work

Due to non-disclosure agreements, much of my work cannot be publicly shared online.
Here are a few examples of some recent projects.

NASA

Reimagining NASA.gov

I was a member of the research and design team tasked with consolidating NASA's fragmented websites and content into a unified and compelling experience for the American public.

Avangrid

Modernizing customer experiences with their utility company

I led multiple projects with Avangrid, a utility serving over 3.1 million customers, mapping internal processes and redesigning critical customer-facing digital experiences to increase customer satisfaction and reduce call center volume.

Blue Cross Blue Shield

Improving access to health coverage and plan details

I worked closely with the BCBSMA team on the strategy, design, and execution of their new mobile app - leveraging member feedback and needs to drive the app from a 1.7 to a 4.4 on Apple App Store ratings.

Gesa Credit Union

Redesigning a credit union website with a focus on education and community

I led the interaction design, information architecture, and content strategy approach in the redesign of a well-loved Washington credit union keen to reveal their new brand and identity.

About

Experience

I've been doing user experience, interface design, and product design work for over a decade.

I am currently the Director of Design and UX at HF Designworks, a UX and Human Factors consultancy. I wear a lot of hats, working on everything from website and mobile design to Human Systems Integration efforts for government and DoD projects.

I previously worked at Blink UX from 2013 until mid-2024, most recently as a design director leading the strategy and execution of user-centered design engagements for consumer, B2B, and enterprise clients. I also held the role of Principal Designer.

Director of Design & UX

Director of Design & UX

HF Designworks

HF Designworks

2024 - Present

2024 - Present

Design Director

Design Director

Blink UX

Blink UX

2022 - 2024

2022 - 2024

Principal Designer

Principal Designer

Blink UX

Blink UX

2020 - 2022

2020 - 2022

UX Designer

UX Designer

Blink UX

Blink UX

2014 - 2020

2014 - 2020

Designer & Researcher

Designer & Researcher

HF Designworks

HF Designworks

2009 - 2014

2009 - 2014

UX and Product Designer

UX and Product Designer

Freelance

Freelance

2016 - Present

2016 - Present

Skills

Design Concepting & Ideation

Information Architecture

Interaction Design

UX & Product Design

UX & Product Design

UX & Product Design

Mobile App Design

Mobile App Design

Mobile App Design

Prototyping

Prototyping

Prototyping

Design Systems

Design Systems

Design Systems

Workshop Facilitation

Stakeholder Management

Stakeholder Management

Stakeholder Management

Experience Mapping

Experience Mapping

Experience Mapping

Task & Workflow Analysis

Task & Workflow Analysis

Task & Workflow Analysis

User Research

User Research

User Research

Concept Testing

Concept Testing

Concept Testing

Usability Testing

Usability Testing

Usability Testing

Design Critique

Design Critique

Design Critique

Framer No-Code Design

Framer No-Code Design

Framer No-Code Design

Creative Direction

Creative Direction

Creative Direction

Design Tenets

Design is a team sport

When you encounter an intuitive and delightful digital experience, it can be easy to think "whoever designed this knows what they are doing!" But in reality, teams that deliver top-notch experiences are diverse, multi-disciplinary, low-ego, collaborative, and respect each other's specializations. I appreciate and embrace the contributions of product managers, engineers and developers, user researchers, content strategists, accessibility specialists, and others in the process.

Diverse Teams Do it Better

No matter how long you've been doing product design, at times you will always, always stray into the territory of personal opinion and conjecture. Diverse teams force the sometimes difficult and always valuable perspectives and conversations that are necessary when building products for anyone other than yourself. The best experiences are crafted from diverse teams.

Good Design is Grounded in Evidence

"Evidence" can mean many things and they are all crucial inputs to the design process. Qualitative research with end users to understand their needs and goals, quantitative data about how people behave and use a product, market trends and insights about audience behavior. I believe that the most effective approach to design is one that is grounded in evidence about who you are designing for and what they need.

Communication is Design

I believe communication is inseparable from design - they are one and the same. Whether it is content strategy and how you've determined the best way to talk and express your brand to a user or the methods used to internally communicate interactions or accessibility to an engineering team, design is inseparable from content and how it is communicated.

Iteration is a Superpower

If you get it right on the first try every time, you should play the lottery. But most of us don't, and I respect and appreciate the value of iteration as a critical stage in the design process to ultimately delivering the best possible design solution to any given problem.

Design is Never Done

Design is never done, it's just due. There are ALWAYS deadlines, roadmaps, milestones, project end-dates, and go-live dates. The harsh reality for every design team is that you cannot research and iterate forever and unto perfection - in fact, you often have to release with your flaws apparent and unresolved. But if you are doing it right, your process will include the time and space to iterate on the next cycle and improve.

Design is a team sport

When you encounter an intuitive and delightful digital experience, it can be easy to think "whoever designed this knows what they are doing!" But in reality, teams that deliver top-notch experiences are diverse, multi-disciplinary, low-ego, collaborative, and respect each other's specializations. I appreciate and embrace the contributions of product managers, engineers and developers, user researchers, content strategists, accessibility specialists, and others in the process.

Diverse Teams Do it Better

No matter how long you've been doing product design, at times you will always, always stray into the territory of personal opinion and conjecture. Diverse teams force the sometimes difficult and always valuable perspectives and conversations that are necessary when building products for anyone other than yourself. The best experiences are crafted from diverse teams.

Good Design is Grounded in Evidence

"Evidence" can mean many things and they are all crucial inputs to the design process. Qualitative research with end users to understand their needs and goals, quantitative data about how people behave and use a product, market trends and insights about audience behavior. I believe that the most effective approach to design is one that is grounded in evidence about who you are designing for and what they need.

Communication is Design

I believe communication is inseparable from design - they are one and the same. Whether it is content strategy and how you've determined the best way to talk and express your brand to a user or the methods used to internally communicate interactions or accessibility to an engineering team, design is inseparable from content and how it is communicated.

Iteration is a Superpower

If you get it right on the first try every time, you should play the lottery. But most of us don't, and I respect and appreciate the value of iteration as a critical stage in the design process to ultimately delivering the best possible design solution to any given problem.

Design is Never Done

Design is never done, it's just due. There are ALWAYS deadlines, roadmaps, milestones, project end-dates, and go-live dates. The harsh reality for every design team is that you cannot research and iterate forever and unto perfection - in fact, you often have to release with your flaws apparent and unresolved. But if you are doing it right, your process will include the time and space to iterate on the next cycle and improve.

Design is a team sport

When you encounter an intuitive and delightful digital experience, it can be easy to think "whoever designed this knows what they are doing!" But in reality, teams that deliver top-notch experiences are diverse, multi-disciplinary, low-ego, collaborative, and respect each other's specializations. I appreciate and embrace the contributions of product managers, engineers and developers, user researchers, content strategists, accessibility specialists, and others in the process.

Diverse Teams Do it Better

No matter how long you've been doing product design, at times you will always, always stray into the territory of personal opinion and conjecture. Diverse teams force the sometimes difficult and always valuable perspectives and conversations that are necessary when building products for anyone other than yourself. The best experiences are crafted from diverse teams.

Good Design is Grounded in Evidence

"Evidence" can mean many things and they are all crucial inputs to the design process. Qualitative research with end users to understand their needs and goals, quantitative data about how people behave and use a product, market trends and insights about audience behavior. I believe that the most effective approach to design is one that is grounded in evidence about who you are designing for and what they need.

Communication is Design

I believe communication is inseparable from design - they are one and the same. Whether it is content strategy and how you've determined the best way to talk and express your brand to a user or the methods used to internally communicate interactions or accessibility to an engineering team, design is inseparable from content and how it is communicated.

Iteration is a Superpower

If you get it right on the first try every time, you should play the lottery. But most of us don't, and I respect and appreciate the value of iteration as a critical stage in the design process to ultimately delivering the best possible design solution to any given problem.

Design is Never Done

Design is never done, it's just due. There are ALWAYS deadlines, roadmaps, milestones, project end-dates, and go-live dates. The harsh reality for every design team is that you cannot research and iterate forever and unto perfection - in fact, you often have to release with your flaws apparent and unresolved. But if you are doing it right, your process will include the time and space to iterate on the next cycle and improve.

Testimonials

Feedback from past clients

Real feedback from people I have worked with over the years.

  • Tristan is one of the most talented and thoughtful designers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. From the moment he joined our account, I felt reassured that our redesign work was in good hands. Tristan knows how to handle a room filled with stakeholders and subject matter experts at various levels and he has a delicate approach to challenging existing processes and addressing opportunities for improvement. He organized the team to ensure that the full, end-to-end, and behind-the-scenes journey was designed to truly deliver the best customer experience.

    Samantha S.

    Head of Marketing & Customer Journey

    Working alongside Tristan it was evident how thoughtful, detail-oriented, and professional he is. In addition to his drive to deliver high-quality, evidence-based designs, he brings an exceptional level of partnership to all of his projects. That relationship building is critical to the success he brings to every project. For me personally, Tristan was a designer I always looked up to and a key person that sparked my journey to becoming a UX Researcher.

    Tim B.

    Senior UX Researcher

    Tristan is a strategic Design leader and his knack for identifying opportunities and navigating complex challenges is second to none. He knows how to work effectively with executives and not only understands their unique needs and priorities but also has the finesse to influence change at the highest levels of an organization. Tristan's insights and recommendations have consistently made a significant impact on our clients strategic design decisions. 

    Brett C.

    VP of Revenue Growth

    Tristan led our team effortlessly in our work to redesign a complex, technical title search product. He aligned a team of stakeholders on a vision and helped define a product strategy that went hand-in-hand with streamlined, user-centric designs. As a designer, I felt supported and empowered to do my best work as Tristan guided the project through twists and turns. He is calm under pressure, can read situations well, and knows how to be an advocate for design that respects clients’ processes while pushing them in forward-thinking directions

    Alex P.

    UX Designer

    I had a great experience as a researcher working under Tristan's design direction. I appreciated his knowledge and understanding of the research process, where it best fit, and what questions it best helped answer throughout the human-centered design project we partnered together on. His expertise in design, navigating client communication and project management made an impression not just on the clients themselves but certainly on me – I'd love an opportunity to work with Tristan again!

    Angie M.

    Principal Researcher

    Working with Tristan was a delight from start to finish. His expertise in design thinking made him an excellent partner when working on redesigning a highly complex user journey that impacted a variety of both internal stakeholders and end customers. Tristan approached each day of the project and it’s challenges with equal parts professionalism and inspiration — always able to think critically, creatively and innovate whenever pivoting was required. He led workshops with executives and traveled for stakeholder interviews, always willing to do what was needed to accomplish the goals for his client and the project.

    Meyrav L.

    Senior Project Manager, Customer Journey

    I had the pleasure of working with Tristan as part of a multi-year initiative to reimagine our flagship product.  Tristan keenly understands the balance of time and resources when determining which UX / UI activities and deliverables will provide the most value.  He has a remarkable aptitude to quickly assimilate information and new concepts, and synthesize those into efficient workflows.  On top of providing next-level design, he is extremely personable and fun, and my team thoroughly enjoyed our collaboration with him.

    Chris N.

    Director, Solution Management

    Tristan brought a unique collection of skills to our organization. Certainly, he’s a great designer, but his ability to communicate product vision and empathy for the customer to executive stakeholders and delivery teams alike made him a very valuable part of our team. Working with Tristan never felt like working with a third party, it felt like working with a fellow team member, collaborator and friend. He always checked pride of ownership at the door on his ideas and took feedback willingly to influence his decisions.

    Daniel B.

    Vice President of Enterprise Applications

    Tristan was an invaluable resource on a very complex healthcare project where we required UI/UX resources to assist in the design of a new and innovative approach to our platforms. Not only did Tristan bring a level of professionalism and standard methodology in the realm of UI/UX to our team, he became a large contributor in innovating our platform overall.  His approach also created a level of loyalty and trust on the team that is rarely experienced with a third party consultant.

    Kim C.

    Chief of Product

    Tristan was the first employee I hired for my then-fledgling company back in 2008. To this day, no other candidate has done the research on the company, the products, or the customers like he did. This innate skillset and attention to detail carries over to everything he does. Tristan is my go-to designer but also my thought partner when working with a variety of clients across industries. He can initiate a project, plan it out and maintain time and budget, create brilliant designs that meet both client and user needs, and most of all he builds wonderful relationships with clients and team members. Tristan has been an instrumental part of my company and our projects for years and I am proud to have his support professionally and personally.

    Scott S.

    Founder and CEO

  • Tristan is one of the most talented and thoughtful designers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. From the moment he joined our account, I felt reassured that our redesign work was in good hands. Tristan knows how to handle a room filled with stakeholders and subject matter experts at various levels and he has a delicate approach to challenging existing processes and addressing opportunities for improvement. He organized the team to ensure that the full, end-to-end, and behind-the-scenes journey was designed to truly deliver the best customer experience.

    Samantha S.

    Head of Marketing & Customer Journey

    Working alongside Tristan it was evident how thoughtful, detail-oriented, and professional he is. In addition to his drive to deliver high-quality, evidence-based designs, he brings an exceptional level of partnership to all of his projects. That relationship building is critical to the success he brings to every project. For me personally, Tristan was a designer I always looked up to and a key person that sparked my journey to becoming a UX Researcher.

    Tim B.

    Senior UX Researcher

    Tristan is a strategic Design leader and his knack for identifying opportunities and navigating complex challenges is second to none. He knows how to work effectively with executives and not only understands their unique needs and priorities but also has the finesse to influence change at the highest levels of an organization. Tristan's insights and recommendations have consistently made a significant impact on our clients strategic design decisions. 

    Brett C.

    VP of Revenue Growth

    Tristan led our team effortlessly in our work to redesign a complex, technical title search product. He aligned a team of stakeholders on a vision and helped define a product strategy that went hand-in-hand with streamlined, user-centric designs. As a designer, I felt supported and empowered to do my best work as Tristan guided the project through twists and turns. He is calm under pressure, can read situations well, and knows how to be an advocate for design that respects clients’ processes while pushing them in forward-thinking directions

    Alex P.

    UX Designer

    I had a great experience as a researcher working under Tristan's design direction. I appreciated his knowledge and understanding of the research process, where it best fit, and what questions it best helped answer throughout the human-centered design project we partnered together on. His expertise in design, navigating client communication and project management made an impression not just on the clients themselves but certainly on me – I'd love an opportunity to work with Tristan again!

    Angie M.

    Principal Researcher

    Working with Tristan was a delight from start to finish. His expertise in design thinking made him an excellent partner when working on redesigning a highly complex user journey that impacted a variety of both internal stakeholders and end customers. Tristan approached each day of the project and it’s challenges with equal parts professionalism and inspiration — always able to think critically, creatively and innovate whenever pivoting was required. He led workshops with executives and traveled for stakeholder interviews, always willing to do what was needed to accomplish the goals for his client and the project.

    Meyrav L.

    Senior Project Manager, Customer Journey

    I had the pleasure of working with Tristan as part of a multi-year initiative to reimagine our flagship product.  Tristan keenly understands the balance of time and resources when determining which UX / UI activities and deliverables will provide the most value.  He has a remarkable aptitude to quickly assimilate information and new concepts, and synthesize those into efficient workflows.  On top of providing next-level design, he is extremely personable and fun, and my team thoroughly enjoyed our collaboration with him.

    Chris N.

    Director, Solution Management

    Tristan brought a unique collection of skills to our organization. Certainly, he’s a great designer, but his ability to communicate product vision and empathy for the customer to executive stakeholders and delivery teams alike made him a very valuable part of our team. Working with Tristan never felt like working with a third party, it felt like working with a fellow team member, collaborator and friend. He always checked pride of ownership at the door on his ideas and took feedback willingly to influence his decisions.

    Daniel B.

    Vice President of Enterprise Applications

    Tristan was an invaluable resource on a very complex healthcare project where we required UI/UX resources to assist in the design of a new and innovative approach to our platforms. Not only did Tristan bring a level of professionalism and standard methodology in the realm of UI/UX to our team, he became a large contributor in innovating our platform overall.  His approach also created a level of loyalty and trust on the team that is rarely experienced with a third party consultant.

    Kim C.

    Chief of Product

    Tristan was the first employee I hired for my then-fledgling company back in 2008. To this day, no other candidate has done the research on the company, the products, or the customers like he did. This innate skillset and attention to detail carries over to everything he does. Tristan is my go-to designer but also my thought partner when working with a variety of clients across industries. He can initiate a project, plan it out and maintain time and budget, create brilliant designs that meet both client and user needs, and most of all he builds wonderful relationships with clients and team members. Tristan has been an instrumental part of my company and our projects for years and I am proud to have his support professionally and personally.

    Scott S.

    Founder and CEO

Contact

Let's make something together.

©2025 - Made with 🤍 in Framer

Contact

Let's make something together.

©2025 - Made with 🤍 in Framer

Contact

Let's make something together.

©2025 - Made with 🤍 in Framer