About
Technology changes.
Human needs endure.
A solo practice built on the belief that design is a strategic instrument.
The tools have changed constantly. Websites became applications. Applications became platforms. Platforms became ecosystems. AI is reshaping the landscape again.
Design is how technology earns trust.
What hasn't changed is the challenge underneath all of it: understanding what people need and shaping technology that creates real value in response.
Great design shapes technology to serve purpose and value. It gives products direction before they're built, clarity while they're being built, and meaning once people begin using them.
AI is changing how products are made. It doesn't change what people need from them.
Trends shape taste.
Experience shapes judgment.
Building products at every stage of company growth
Products, teams, and organizations across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia
Designing digital products as technology evolves
Using AI without outsourcing the thinking
From the first question to the thing that ships.
Product Strategy and Discovery
What to build, who it's for, and the evidence behind both.
Product Design
Flows, interfaces, prototypes, and the design systems that keep them consistent.
Build and Delivery
Design through to production, including low-code implementation where it fits.
Measurement
Benchmarks, analytics, and what the product tells you after launch.
Marketing Surfaces
Websites, content, search and AI discoverability, and keeping brand consistent across every digital asset.
Design Leadership
Team structure, process, and the decisions that stay decided.
Product Strategy & Discovery
- Product strategy and roadmap direction
- Problem framing and opportunity assessment
- Product and information architecture
- Concept development and 0-to-1 product definition
Research & Evidence
- Generative and evaluative user research
- Usability testing and validation
- Stakeholder and subject-matter expert interviews
- Assumption mapping and benchmarking
Product Design
- End-to-end UX and UI design
- Complex, data-dense interface design
- Prototyping from concept to high fidelity
- Accessibility and compliance-constrained interfaces
Design Systems & Standards
- Design systems and component libraries
- Design tokens and documentation
- Design-to-development handoff standards
- Design principles and decision records
Build & Delivery
- Design through to production
- Low-code and no-code implementation
- Front-end collaboration and specification
- Release review and launch support
Design Leadership
- Fractional design leadership
- Team structure, hiring, and mentoring
- DesignOps and process design
- Integrating design into the product lifecycle
AI-Enabled Practice
- AI-accelerated design and prototyping
- AI workflow design for product teams
- Evaluation frameworks for AI tooling
- AI discoverability and structured content
Measurement & Analytics
- Analytics instrumentation and event design
- Funnel and conversion analysis
- Experience benchmarking
- Post-launch performance reporting
Brand & Marketing Surfaces
- Website design and build
- Brand identity and visual systems
- Content strategy
- Search and AI visibility
The UI isn't where the work begins.
Before anything gets designed, I start outside the product. The market it serves, the people using it, and the business behind it all have something to teach. Direction grounded in reality survives contact with customers.
From there, every stage is an opportunity to replace assumptions with evidence. Every conversation, prototype, and release makes the product a little more certain. AI shortens the distance between ideas and execution. Evidence still decides what survives.
Every product deserves a clear point of view.
Working across web design, advertising, and product leadership taught me something no single discipline could. Products rarely succeed because of individual features. They succeed because someone kept asking the right questions before those features reached a screen.
Much of that work has been inside fintech, wealthtech, and payments, where product decisions carry real financial, regulatory, and human consequences.
The best ideas rarely survive unnecessary layers. Working directly keeps the thinking and the making connected.
Austin-based. Working wherever thoughtful digital products are being built.
Read more: erictomlinson.com
Start where you are.
Whether you're exploring a new idea or evolving an existing product, I'll start by understanding the work, answering your questions, and recommending the best place to begin.