Meet the teams transforming their products with design

“I’m Frodo, and Sam’s my Gandalf. I’m so grateful to have Sam on this project, I don’t know where I would be without him (probably pulling my hair out). If you’re struggling with a big design project, my advice is this: get yourself a Sam.”

“Sam is a UX god. We were blown away by how quickly he broke down our complex goals into a simple, beautiful, intuitive design. Not only did we launch an awesome product on time, but the work went way above and beyond our expectations. He taught us a ton about building great products, and he laid the foundation for our engineers to keep building great designs. Our only regret is that we didn’t book more of his time!”

“I’ve hired Sam for design and executive level storytelling projects at JSTOR twice. He was my first choice because he focuses on organizational impact and hard work, never about his own ego. He’s the only consultant I’ve ever been completely comfortable bringing onto my team, and working daily with our executive team when called for. Sam’s more than a great designer, he’s an expert in coaxing out product strategy and prioritization. I’m regularly looking for more ways to bring him back to support our team!”

“We needed that je ne sais quoi that would take our product from functional to fabulous. Turns out, it was Sam. I initially contacted Sam because I admired his work at FarmLogs, and we needed a similar level of design polish. But what we got was so much more: a better understanding of the journey our prospects take before they become customers, a documented design language that we are applying not just in our product but across our marketing materials, and an appreciation for what is needed at our business’s stage of growth. I could not recommend Sam more highly.”

“We brought Sam in to polish our web app’s design, expecting him to simply tidy up the rough edges. He did that brilliantly, freeing our team to move faster while keeping the bar high. What we didn’t expect was that his UX workshop for our engineers would become one of the most valuable investments we’ve made. Our team now instinctively thinks about user experience as they build.”

“I began reflecting on how the hell I got here, going from a scared college freshman to shipping several features at Google this summer and currently working on a high profile Microsoft AI project. Despite being an UMSI UX student, it was ENTR 390 that taught me the most about what a career in UX might look like. It was the most well taught, high functioning and practical course I’ve taken at UMich. My future projects and portfolio write-ups that would later get me these dream internships were all modeled after the one I made for 390. I know how much work you three put in this course, and I want to convey how grateful I am for it. And beyond the basic design process and projects, you three also put an emphasis on ethics, inclusivity and accessibility in design that is so often overlooked in most courses.”

“Within 5 minutes of Sam starting his talk, I texted my team: “Damn, Sam is good.” All 250 students in the audience were hooked. His session was a fantastic mix of humor and entertainment, technical information, and emotional vulnerability that gives students the confidence to take a shot. I can’t recommend Sam highly enough for anyone interested in creating early-stage products, gathering feedback from potential users, or just learning tips for making it through the emotional grind of startup life.”

“Sam is an incredibly talented product designer and coach. He was instrumental in helping FarmLogs design a product and brand that quickly became recognized for our ease of use, igniting years of rapid growth for our company.”

“I had the chance to work with Sam as a hiring manager as I was recruiting and hiring Designers for his team at FarmLogs. He brought a level of deep thinking and reflection that made him a true hiring partner in every sense. He was always thinking strategically about how we could improve our recruiting process and candidate experience. He was also open to experimenting and trying new ways of finding and attracting talent. At the same time, he made a conscious effort to solicit feedback and iteratively improve his own interviewing and recruiting skills. Any team would be lucky to have him and I’d love the opportunity to work with Sam again in the future.”

“I worked with Sam while he consulting for a startup where I was an intern. And I don’t think it’s too dramatic to say that his coaching alone made my internship feel worthwhile. He was a great coach and mentor, guiding me through different phases of the design process. As industry tools come and go, it’s this type of high-level thinking that I know will serve me well for a lifetime. Thank you Sam!!”

“I worked with Sam very closely for a couple of years at FarmLogs. He was a really talented product designer, a very good partner to engineering, and his commitment to the product was inspirational. One thing I admire about Sam’s approach is that he doesn’t design a solution before deeply understanding the problem domain. Before starting work on a new product, Sam starts by asking a lot of questions to understand what it is that we are trying to achieve—only then does he start designing the product. I saw many examples of Sam turning really complex problems into intuitive designs at FarmLogs. Sam is also easy to work with and doesn’t take feedback on his work personally. Sometimes this quality is easy to overlook! He would make a great addition to any team and I recommend him highly.”

“Sam’s work was simple, concise, and elegant—I can tell that he loves his work. He was super calm, knowledgeable, and patient, and his ability to jump and quickly understand a business and its issues was awesome. Definitely recommended.”