About Me
In a nutshell:
A versatile product designer focused on clarity, craft, and collaboration
- Successfully shipped complex SaaS products and managed multi-phase projects from ideation through iteration for 7 years
- 20 years of design experience
- Alum of the Harvard Graduate School of Design
- Wide expertise across interaction design, visual design, information architecture, research, and more
Find me online and say hi:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kirstenhively/
Substack: tangleandflow.substack.com
Instagram: instagram.com/catasterist
Combining strategy and craft for impact and adaptability
I start by understanding the goals, the available resources and constraints, and the users’ context in order to create a strategy and align the team. Those insights enable me to tailor my design methods to each situation so I can deliver impact at all scales and in all kinds of contexts from quick, tactical improvements to large-scale feature creation and planning.
I’ve learned from a diverse career in architecture, graphic design, product design, and more
I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking my career trajectory has been a bit all meandering. I studied music in college & architecture in graduate school, I've worked in non-profits and on Wall Street, and I've been surrounded by scientists at some times and artists at others… and because I love learning, I wouldn’t have it any other way. A few of the places I’ve been:
Product Design at Scale
Most recently I designed web page creation tools at HubSpot for marketers at small- and medium-sized companies. I worked closely with my team as the sole designer, creating AI agents, moving metrics, and making complex software work better for a broad user base.
FinTech Product/UX
For more than five years I designed complex SaaS products at a fintech startup, where I worked at all scales and through all phases of product design. I wore many hats and so learned a ton about all kinds of things including collaboration, leading teams, bringing clarity to complex content, delivering business impact, and mastering a complicated domain.
Architecture
As an architect I was immersed in design and learned an enormous amount that continues to impact my work in the digital world including project management, prototyping, the power of aesthetics, how to think through every detail at every scale, designing for a diverse range of end users, intense collaboration (with engineers, landscape architects, contractors, etc.), articulating design decisions, and working with clients.
Web Design & Coding
Working directly with a wide variety of clients as an independent freelancer was a masterclass in communication and empathy, visual design, business skills, delivering viable solutions, and working independently.
These experiences and more have given me the tools to adapt to a wide variety of contexts and take a flexible approach to solving complex design and business problems.
