Context

Knool is an AI-powered legal platform for litigation discovery. I joined as Founding Designer and shaped the product from concept to $500K ARR.

The Problem

Attorneys spend hundreds of hours manually reviewing case documents. AI could collapse that timeline, but the legal industry is deeply skeptical of AI output. Hallucinated case law has already led to sanctions. We had to earn trust with users trained to be adversarial toward every claim.

What I Did

I ran contextual inquiry sessions at law firms to map real workflows before designing anything. Every AI response is cited with exact source references from uploaded case documents so attorneys can verify before relying on anything. The AI is intentionally constrained to the four corners of uploaded evidence and will not speculate beyond it. I designed this boundary to be visible and understandable, not hidden behind a disclaimer.

The fact-check feature surfaces both corroborating and contradicting evidence, not just confirming results. This was a deliberate choice: attorneys think adversarially, so the tool needed to match that mental model. I chose a conversational interface over traditional search because the target users are non-technical professionals who needed the lowest possible learning curve.

I built a guided onboarding flow that established trust through transparency, showing the AI's reasoning and source material alongside every answer. The information architecture is optimized for legal document hierarchies and cross-reference patterns.

I documented experience principles and interaction patterns for AI features so the team could build on consistent foundations as the product grew, rather than redesigning trust mechanisms for each new feature.

Outcomes

$0 to $500K ARR as a founding team member. Design and UX consistently cited as a favorite among users, especially those new to AI. Sole designer working directly with the CEO and engineering team.

Context

Made Suite is a family of three creative apps (Made, Videomade, and Selfiemade) built under the Instasize umbrella. Each app targeted a different creative workflow while sharing recognizable design DNA.

The Problem

We needed to give each app a distinct personality while maintaining a unified brand experience. Users might move between apps, and the transitions had to feel cohesive without making every app look the same.

What I Did

I developed a shared design system with flexible brand tokens that could adapt per app. I led brand workshops to define each app's unique character, then crafted a motion design language that carried across the suite so transitions and micro-interactions felt cohesive. I created a modular template system so content creators could start fast, used gesture-driven editing to minimize UI chrome, and kept the same core nav pattern across all three apps with distinct color palettes and iconography.

Outcomes

Launched three apps with a unified design system and distinct brand identities. Reduced design-to-development handoff time through shared component library. Consistent 4.7+ star ratings across all three apps.

Context

PaperTrade is a simulated stock trading app designed to teach beginners market mechanics without risking real money.

The Problem

Stock trading apps intimidate beginners. We needed to make learning engaging enough to build a daily habit while keeping the experience grounded in how real markets work.

What I Did

I conducted user interviews with novice investors to understand their fears and motivations. I designed a gamified trading experience with daily contests, social leaderboards, and real-time market data. Rapid prototyping and usability testing helped us find the balance between fun and educational. I chose a dark UI to signal seriousness while using bold green accents to celebrate wins. I introduced a "Daily Contest" mechanic that created urgency and repeat engagement, and simplified chart interactions to three core gestures.

Outcomes

Simplified complex financial data into an interface beginners could use on day one. Designed a gamification system that balanced education with engagement. Validated core interaction patterns through rapid prototyping and usability testing.

Context

Instasize had 150M+ mobile downloads but the business was entirely consumer. We needed to expand into web by repackaging our core editing capabilities as browser-based tools for solo users and small businesses.

The Problem

We had to design an ecosystem of AI-powered tools that felt cohesive while serving a fundamentally different use case than the mobile app. Each tool had to work standalone for SEO and acquisition but also connect into a unified workspace for retained users.

What I Did

I led the design of individual AI-powered tools (background removal, image enhancement, smart cropping, batch resizing) that each solved a specific professional workflow. I designed each tool as a focused single-task interface rather than burying features inside a complex editor. This reduced onboarding friction for users who arrived from search with a specific job to do. I built progressive disclosure from individual tools into the full editor experience, and kept AI processing visible and controllable so users could trust the output for client-facing work.

I designed sharing and export workflows that fit into existing team content pipelines, so the tools worked within how small businesses and solo creators already collaborate rather than forcing a new process.

Outcomes

Individual tools ranked on first page of search for target keywords. Strong adoption among solo creators and small business users. Successfully extended a mobile-first consumer product into a web-based tool ecosystem.