I support teams and help businesses grow.
I bring my 20+ years of experience in product design leadership to every engagement, drawing from my experience in branding, identity and product design across a range of companies. I am passionate about creating innovative and impactful design solutions that align with brand identity and market trends. My approach integrates mentorship and management, connecting creative decisions to business outcomes and ensuring that creative decisions align with business goals (while also helping individuals advance in their careers).
I love designing products and building teams
I focus on translating creative intuition into data-driven results through systematic brand development, product innovation, and organizational growth for various clients and agencies, mentoring designers for career growth, and collaborating with clients on product design projects from initial concept to final execution.
In short: I support teams and help businesses grow.
Hiring and Mentorship
Hiring the best design talent to scale teams and building a design-centric company culture.
Team Management & Advocacy
Mentorship, career development, and design advocacy for small to medium size design teams.
Service Design
Creating seamless experiences by aligning an organization’s operations, technology, and people
Design Systems
Developing themable, large-scale design systems in Figma. Working with FE to optimize design system implementation.
Visual Design
My work focuses on beautiful visual design to enhance user experiences.
Copywriting
Micro copy, marketing copy, and more. Leading copywriting workshops for designers.
Jack of Most Trades, Mentor to Some
Throughout my design career I have had the chance to hire and build design teams; partner with PMs, engineers, VPs, and copywriters; and advocate for design’s role in the org. I’ve helped scale teams as the org grows and thrive best as a player/coach design leader and individual contributor.
Product Design
- User-centered design thinking
- Two-sided market for e-commerce, video streaming, and more
- Business-minded design thinking
Design Management
- Team building, hiring, recruitment
- Mentoring designers in their IC/management carreer paths
- Advocating for design team growth and balancing personnel budgets
Branding and GTM
- Branded and launched new products
- Rebrand/reposition without loss of existing brand equity
- Lead the organization in branding definition to create brand guidelines and positioning
Copywriting
- Copywriting for marketing/funnel as well as micro copy throughout the user journey
- Style guides for copywriting
- Lead workshops to teach copywriting to others
“What Justin accomplished at TPT was impressive – he grew our team from two to twelve designers while significantly improving how design functioned across the company. He implemented systems that measurably increased our efficiency and has a real talent for connecting design decisions to business outcomes. He consistently translated complex design concepts into clear business value, backing his recommendations with data.
Any organization looking to strengthen their design practice and better connect it to business strategy would benefit from Justin’s leadership. If you want to build something meaningful and have a strong design impact, Justin is your person.”
James Aylward
CPO, Teachers Pay Teachers
Design Portfolio
Design Skills, Leadership, Recent Writing Samples
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Shared Language: How Design Helps Define a Company’s Glossary
In any organization, words matter. The terms a company uses—internally and externally—shape how people understand the product, collaborate across teams, and communicate with customers. However, as companies grow, misalignment in terminology can create friction. Marketing may call something one name, while the product team uses a different name, and customer support hears yet another variation…
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Design Principles: Creating Alignment & Consistency
Design evolves as organizations grow. What begins as a focus on fundamental execution inevitably transforms into strategic influence that shapes both product development and company direction. This evolution doesn’t happen by accident—it’s guided by principles. What Are Design Principles? Design principles are foundational guidelines that help teams create consistent, intentional, and user-centered experiences. They serve…
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Design Team Management: Leading with Structure, Growth, and Visibility
Building and Leading High-Performing Design Teams Managing a design team requires a balance of mentorship, strategic leadership, and adaptability. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to build teams from the ground up, step into existing teams in need of direction, and navigate difficult moments like team reductions. Through these experiences, I’ve developed a toolkit…
Justin Dickinson 