Watch a goal come together. Pick an example and follow it from first idea to finished work.
Land a product design role Speak Spanish in Mexico City Start a Saturday supper club
Illustrative projects. Choose one to follow it through.
Direction Role thesis Evidence trail
What do you want to make true? Reveal this set ↗ What do you want to make true? Get interviews for work I want to do. Publish two case studies and approach five small product teams working on tools for learning. What deserves your attention? Reveal this set ↗ What deserves your attention? Show how I make decisions, not just how I make screens. What would count as progress? Reveal this set ↗ What would count as progress? Success: three conversations with teams I would join.
The role of Goals↗ Portfolio review Team signals Reader test
What is actually happening? Reveal this set ↗ What is actually happening? The missing piece is the decision. A portfolio review surfaced a pattern: people liked the final screens but could not explain what I had contributed. What evidence stands out? Reveal this set ↗ What evidence stands out? The onboarding project has the clearest trade-off: fewer setup questions meant a less personalised first session. What does that change? Reveal this set ↗ What does that change? The learning-tool roles ask for collaboration and product judgment. A prettier gallery would not answer either.
The role of Research↗ Roadmap Find a way forward.
The first story Contact path Proof sequence
What is the way forward? Reveal this set ↗ What is the way forward? Build the story before the website. Start with the onboarding case study. Use feedback on that story to shape the second one. Where do you begin? Reveal this set ↗ Where do you begin? Draft the problem, the decision, and what changed. Ask two designers to read it without an introduction. What follows from there? Reveal this set ↗ What follows from there? Publish both stories on a simple site, then write five specific introductions.
The role of Roadmap↗ Execution Make the next move.
Show the trade-off Outcome audit Opening draft
What will you do now? Reveal this set ↗ What will you do now? Make one trade-off visible. Replace the onboarding screen gallery with an annotated before-and-after and a short account of the setup decision. What will make that easier? Reveal this set ↗ What will make that easier? Include the rejected option and why the team rejected it. What will you carry into the next step? Reveal this set ↗ What will you carry into the next step? Send the draft with one question: “What do you think I was responsible for?”
The role of Execution↗ Reader feedback Claim repair Search signal
What did you learn? Reveal this set ↗ What did you learn? A clearer story changed the feedback. Both readers could now describe the setup decision. Neither could tell whether it worked after launch. What changed? Reveal this set ↗ What changed? The gap is evidence of the outcome, not more process detail. What is the next useful move? Reveal this set ↗ What is the next useful move? Next: add the support feedback from launch and distinguish what improved from what we still do not know.
The role of Analysis↗ Writing time Conversation block Portfolio rhythm
When will you make room? Reveal this set ↗ When will you make room? Protect the writing time. Reserve two 45-minute sessions for the first story and one 20-minute review at the end of the week. What did the work require? Reveal this set ↗ What did the work require? The first draft took 70 minutes. Give the second story more room. What needs protecting or changing? Reveal this set ↗ What needs protecting or changing? Keep visual polish to one final session after the narrative is clear.
The role of Time↗ One intention. A system you can return to.