I’m Phoenix, a Service Designer who questions the “obvious.” When teams say “turn this into mobile,” I find 8-16 hours of daily waste from location switching. Then I fix the real problem and prove it with data.
How I Got Here
Systems Analyst → Developer → Designer.
I’ve lived inside the architecture, the codebase, and the user’s reality. That mix lets me diagnose the real issue fast and get cross-functional teams rowing in the same direction.
I pair that with an MBA and a Harvard ALM in Digital Media Design. And, I’m the accessibility person who will call out gaps and show you the path to WCAG 2.2 compliance without slowing down momentum.
How I Work
Three principles:
1. “Yes, and”
I build partnerships, not resistance. Understanding why people made past decisions helps us move faster. When developers are critical of the benefit UX can have, I acknowledge where the frustration is coming from and get them invested in a more harmonious value-driven course, where I strive to protect them from needless rewrites stemming from misunderstood requirements.
2. Deep system research first
Before scheduling meetings, I dive into docs, competitor products, regulatory requirements, Slack threads, support tickets. This lets me ask better questions. When I talk to a cybersecurity SME, I’m not asking “What’s SAST?” I’m asking “Why does the triage workflow assume developers understand custom views?”
3. Accessibility adds value for everyone
I don’t lead with compliance. I lead with: power users go faster, developers get better specs, marketing gains competitive advantage. Legal risk mitigation is a side benefit. Example: At Black Duck, positioning accessibility as “win government contracts and meet EAA requirements” retained multi-million-dollar contracts and made it a strategic priority.
My process: Map what’s actually happening. Find what nobody’s saying. Redesign the service, not just screens. Prove it with data.
What I’m Good At
Finding real problems, aligning skeptical people, service architecture thinking, speaking engineer, accessibility as competitive advantage, building partnerships, research under constraints, proving outcomes.
Real Examples
- Coverity: “Make it look modern”
Reality: 1.5-year learning curve losing deals
Result: Aligned 16 stakeholders, secured first frontend developer for 15-year-old product - Black Duck: “We need bulk operations”
Reality: 3,000+ configurations managed one at a time
Result: $3M sales, 100+ hours saved quarterly per customer - ReMatter: “Design a mobile app”
Reality: 8-16 hours daily waste from location switching
Result: $1M funding secured, became industry leader - Design System: “Make designs faster”
Reality: Designers avoiding broken component library
Result: 33% faster delivery, 100% adoption in 12 weeks
Where I Do My Best Work
Complex B2B/enterprise environments where multiple stakeholders disagree, the obvious solution failed, and service architecture matters more than pixel perfection. Worked across: cybersecurity, healthcare, logistics, recycling.
What’s Next
Exploring Service Designer and Staff Product Designer roles where messy problems need strategic thinking and measured execution. If your team keeps saying “just modernize the UI” and you suspect something deeper is broken, let’s talk. Remote or Boston-based.
phoenixehmann@gmail.com (206) 913-1201
Phoenix Ehmann Product and Service Designer 