NOT_AN_AGENCY
Direct access to senior expertise without the overhead.
After 12+ years leading product design at startups and enterprises, I've seen what works and what doesn't. I bring that experience directly to your project — no layers, no learning curves, no surprises.
Agency vs Independent
- Account managers between you and the work
- Junior designers learning on your budget
- Bloated timelines and scope creep
- Generic solutions from templates
- Lost context between handoffs
- Hidden costs and change requests
- Design by committee
- Direct line to senior expertise
- 12+ years shipping real products
- Lean process, fast iterations
- Custom solutions for your context
- Single owner from start to finish
- Transparent pricing, no surprises
- Decisive, opinionated guidance
How I Work
My process is designed for speed without sacrificing quality. Every engagement follows a proven framework, but adapts to your specific needs.
Ownership
I take full responsibility for outcomes, not just deliverables. If something isn't working, I'll flag it — even if it's outside scope.
Communication
Async-first with Loom walkthroughs, documented decisions, and responsive Slack. You're never left wondering what's happening.
Speed
Senior velocity means I can move fast without cutting corners. Most projects ship in 2–8 week engagements depending on scope.
Handoff
Dev-ready Figma with auto-layout, proper variants, and spacing systems. Your engineers ship without guessing.
Track Record
Selected engagements from my career. Each shaped how I approach design problems today.
Gcore
Product Design LeadLed product design for a global edge cloud platform serving 140+ locations worldwide. Built and maintained the design system, redesigned the core dashboard experience, and established UX research practices.
What clients say
What set Dennis apart was how he approached problems before a single pixel was touched. He'd map out the technical constraints, ask the questions engineers hadn't thought to raise, and challenge assumptions that would have caused rework three sprints later. Working with him felt less like briefing a designer and more like having a second technical lead — one who happened to also understand users.
Valentins G.
Product Manager
Dennis doesn't just think in user flows — he thinks in ROI. He was constantly framing design decisions in terms of what they'd cost to build, what they'd save in support overhead, and where they'd unlock real growth. The redesign he led wasn't just cleaner — it was a business case that paid for itself in the first quarter. That kind of commercial clarity is rare in design.
Arthur K.
Chief Product Officer
Dennis led the design function across a complex, multi-team environment — and he did it without noise. He knew how to prioritise across competing workstreams, allocate his time where the leverage was highest, and bring structure to a team that hadn't had real design leadership before. The design system he built outlasted the project. That's the mark of someone who builds for the long term.
Dmitry S.
Chief Product Officer
What set Dennis apart was how he approached problems before a single pixel was touched. He'd map out the technical constraints, ask the questions engineers hadn't thought to raise, and challenge assumptions that would have caused rework three sprints later. Working with him felt less like briefing a designer and more like having a second technical lead — one who happened to also understand users.
Valentins G.
Product Manager
Dennis doesn't just think in user flows — he thinks in ROI. He was constantly framing design decisions in terms of what they'd cost to build, what they'd save in support overhead, and where they'd unlock real growth. The redesign he led wasn't just cleaner — it was a business case that paid for itself in the first quarter. That kind of commercial clarity is rare in design.
Arthur K.
Chief Product Officer
Dennis led the design function across a complex, multi-team environment — and he did it without noise. He knew how to prioritise across competing workstreams, allocate his time where the leverage was highest, and bring structure to a team that hadn't had real design leadership before. The design system he built outlasted the project. That's the mark of someone who builds for the long term.
Dmitry S.
Chief Product Officer
EXECUTION_STACK
Full-stack coverage across design, product, and growth — so you don't patch together five specialists for one project.
Design
From visual system to interaction flow
- • Modular UI systems
- • Scenario-based UX research
- • User flow mapping
- • Rapid prototyping
- • Usability testing & synthesis
- • Figma / Adobe / Sketch
Strategy
From market noise to product direction
- • Competitive landscape teardowns
- • Value/risk roadmapping
- • Stakeholder interview synthesis
- • Market hypothesis formation
- • KPI modeling & tracking
Product
From idea to shippable scope
- • User story & flow mapping
- • MVP blueprint definition
- • Backlog structuring
- • A/B test hypotheses
- • Sprint & launch planning
Tech
From design to working prototype
- • HTML/CSS component coding
- • JS/API logic integration
- • CI/CD pipelines
- • Data pattern extraction
- • GitHub / Vercel / Heroku
Growth
From traffic to revenue
- • Monetization UX design
- • Conversion funnel audit
- • Landing page optimization
- • Email flow design
- • Analytics interpretation
Team
From solo to coordinated
- • Design team leadership
- • End-to-end project ownership
- • Cross-functional sync
- • Talent vetting & hiring
Operations
From chaos to repeatable process
- • Budget & effort estimation
- • Process documentation
- • Team scaling decisions
- • Contractor coordination
- • Tool stack decisions
Let's Talk
30-minute call. No pitch, no pressure. Just an honest conversation about your challenges.