How great design gets done.

Your designers already know how to design. So why isn’t your product better?

Good design is hard. There are stakeholders, opinions, conflict, hacks, complexity, customers... the list goes on.

Designers need more than pixel skills to succeed. They need to learn new ways to communicate, to test hypotheses quickly, to talk to users, and to manage feedback.

I've talked with too many designers who are struggling to get help with these skills. That's why I'm compiling everything I've learned and taught over the years into this book.

Directed Design is a lean product design process that guarantees better products, faster shipping, and lower stress.

Where great design meets great execution

Directed Design is the only product/UX design framework that marries a user-centered design process with agile software development teams.

Meet your guide

Hi, I'm Sam! I've been a product designer, design director at a YC startup, engineer, founder, and design teacher at the University of Michigan. I work with clients as a part-time design leader and do strategy work through my product studio.