Product Designer
Based in New York, where the city’s chaos teaches you a thing or two about clarity.
Hi, I’m Marika. I design enterprise and user-facing tools that people don’t just use, they depend on.
I partner with AI to streamline busy work, sharpen insights, and keep humans at the center of every workflow.
When I’m not designing, I’m hiking — spotting patterns on the trail, recharging, and occasionally redesigning a switchback in my head. I also paint and throw pottery, both of which remind me that iteration and patience matter as much as speed.
One of my strongest skills is self-directed learning. Whether it’s AI, systems thinking, or clay on a wheel, I dive deep, teach myself fast, and turn curiosity into craft.
Where Senior Living Referrals Clicked
Lead Product Designer | CRM Design | 2025 | 3 months
Problem
The referral dashboard split task lists from lead lists, forcing senior living advisors to jump between screens and lose priorities. Clutter and lag made it worse.
Solution
Unified tasks and leads in one flow, clarified hierarchy, and added AI-powered prioritization to surface the next best action. Incorporated new design systems and built component libraries with the dev team.
Impact
Adoption climbed, senior living advisors’ trust returned, managers gained real-time visibility, and manual effort dropped 38 percent.
What It Took
Collaboration
Partnered with product, sales ops, and ML teams under strict system constraints. Shipped the redesign in just 3 months. Shadowed senior living advisors to learn their workflows and find common patterns.
Lesson Learned
Unifying workflows is not just a UI win. It rebuilds trust and restores focus.
AI Picks But Advisors Know Best
Lead Product Designer | Guided Search | 2024 | 6 months
Problem
A new AI kept reshuffling senior living community matches whenever filters changed. Advisors lost trust, especially veterans who relied on relationships rather than algorithms.
Solution
Designed Guided Search with transparency and flexibility. Introduced a golden “Working List” button, clear match badges, and override options. New hires used it as training wheels. Experienced advisors kept full control.
Impact
New advisors onboarded faster, referred families with more confidence, and reduced support tickets. Veteran advisors retained freedom. Adoption was targeted by tenure for best results.
What It Took
Collaboration
Worked closely with ML engineers, product managers, and advisor research partners to balance algorithmic recommendations with human judgment. Iterated quickly and managed diverse stakeholder feedback.
Lesson Learned
AI can recommend, but trust comes from keeping humans in control. You can't please everyone, and tradeoffs are necessary.
Text Me Maybe
Lead Product Designer | SMS Hub | 2024 | 1 month
Problem
Advisors juggled phones, tabs, and applications just to text families. Conversations were scattered, copy paste culture spread, and efficiency suffered.
Solution
Built an integrated SMS hub inside the CRM. Messages synced in real time, conversation history stayed in one place, and quick reply templates replaced repetitive copy paste.
Impact
Senior Living advisors followed up faster, reduced missed messages, and strengthened family connections without switching tools. Response times improved and conversations finally felt seamless. +$700,000 annual savings.
What It Took
Collaboration
Worked with product managers and engineers to design and launch in just 1 month. It became the fastest release cycle to date. This is the story where everyone was happy. (mostly)
Lesson Learned
The best improvements are often the simplest — meet users where they already work to minimize change management.
My Mom My Budget My Timeline
Product Designer | Mobile Platform | 2024 | 2 months
Problem
Families struggled to schedule senior living tours on mobile. Calls to action were unclear, options were confusing, and busy adult children dropped off before booking on a website that did not respond to mobile devices.
Solution
Designed a mobile first post referral flow with clear calls to action, guided recommendations, and one tap tour scheduling. The new experience gave families confidence to act quickly, even on the go.
Impact
Tour scheduling rates improved, families stayed engaged longer, and mobile conversions increased as the platform finally met users where they were.
What It Took
Collaboration
Worked alongside Hoiyan L, Senior Product Designer, and partnered with PM to define flows, wireframes, and UI under tight timelines. From napkin sketches to digital products. (literally)
Lesson Learned
Mobile clarity is not a nice-to-have; it's the deciding factor between drop-off and action. Clear, intuitive design ensures users follow through.
We Moved Them, Did You?
Lead Product Designer | CRM for Community Partners | 2025 | 3 months
Problem
Community partners were stuck in spreadsheet purgatory. Reporting moves required double data entry, no systems talked to each other, and visibility into which families had moved was almost nonexistent. Manual retyping led to errors, wasted time, and growing frustration.
Solution
Redesigned the move reporting flow inside the CRM. Integrated directly with partner communities for filtered logging, stripped data entry down to essentials, and added real time sync between systems. The new UI guided partners step by step and confirmed completion without guesswork.
Impact
Platform logins grew 40 percent. Site utilization jumped 406 percent compared to May 2025. Move reporting scaled from 100 to 600 entries, with a 40 percent faster recording time and 20 percent more successful placements from improved visibility. In the first month alone, 112 moves were reported and over 5,000 communities visited the landing page.
What It Took
Collaboration
Partnered with product managers, engineers, and community partners to scope integrations and align on high-priority pain points. Shipped on time in 3 months.
Lesson Learned
When workflows are painful, adoption suffers. Remove friction, and partners lean in.
A fresh smile, digitally delivered
Product Design Consultant | Design & Consulting | 2022 | 3 months
Problem
A newly opened dental practice in Williamsburg had no online presence. Without a website, they struggled to attract new patients, highlight that they were a family-owned business, or promote unique offerings like weekend family appointments.
Solution
Designed and launched a modern, mobile friendly digital experience that introduced the practice to the community. The site featured clear service descriptions, a welcoming visual identity, and an easy appointment booking flow tailored for families.
Impact
The practice built credibility from day one, gained new patients through search optimized pages, and established itself as a trusted local option for families seeking flexible care.
What It Took
Collaboration
Worked directly with the practice owners to understand their business goals and translate them into a digital presence that resonated with the neighborhood.
Lesson Learned
A strong digital foundation is critical for small businesses. It communicates trust as much as it does convenience. For startups, this foundation can be the difference between attracting or losing potential customers.
A Job Hunt Without the Sludge.
Product Designer | Digital Platforms & Campaigns | 2019 – 2021
Problem
Creative job seekers faced a messy, corporate-heavy job hunt. Employers struggled to post roles quickly and connect with remote talent.
Solution
Redesigned the platform with a clean, accessible interface, simplified job posting, and a friction-free search experience tailored for creatives.
Impact
Designers and writers found work without wading through clutter. Employers posted roles in minutes, increasing engagement and retention on the platform.
What It Took
Collaboration
Partnered with founders and engineers to deliver iterative design updates while keeping the platform live for an active user base.
Lesson Learned
Accessibility and speed are not extras; they are the foundation of adoption and growth. Adding a blog and free resources was a smart move to drive traffic and increase engagement.
Donations Without the Drag
Product Designer | Consumer + Enterprise Modules | 2020 | 4 months
Problem
GiveGreen needed to boost donations for climate-action candidates. Donors faced a repetitive checkout process when supporting multiple candidates, while campaign staff lacked flexible tools to set up and edit fundraising modules quickly.
Solution
Designed a dual experience. For donors, a consumer-facing event donation module that enabled contributions to multiple candidates in a single, friction-free flow. For campaign staff, a flexible creation and editing module on the enterprise side that made setup and adjustments fast and intuitive.
Impact
Donors gave more, faster. Conversion rates rose as the friction of repeated transactions disappeared. Campaign staff managed fundraising pages with ease, strengthening GiveGreen’s ability to keep pace with fast-moving political cycles.
What It Took
Collaboration
Partnered with campaign strategists and engineers to deliver within political compliance requirements and under tight timelines during peak fundraising season.
Lesson Learned
Designing for both sides of a platform means balancing urgency with flexibility. Frictionless flows are key to driving action where momentum matters most—especially during critical fundraising moments.