Mara.

Independent product designer

I design useful digital tools for the beautifully complicated parts of life.

I work with ambitious teams to turn uncertain ideas into clear, considered products—balancing evidence, craft, and the human details that make software feel calm.

Currently partnering with teams in health, civic technology, and field operations.

Product designer working at a desk in a bright studio

Based in

Brooklyn, New York

Selected work

Making complexity feel navigable.

A small selection of product work across systems, services, and the decisions that connect them.

Layered product interface cards on a desk
Product2024

Fieldnote

A calmer field operations workspace that turns scattered observations into aligned next steps.

Reduced weekly reporting time by 38%

Person reviewing notes beside a laptop
Research2023

Lumen Care

A care planning experience shaped with patients, nurses, and coordinators across three clinics.

Raised plan completion from 52% to 81%

Color swatches and interface components arranged on a canvas
Systems2022

Atlas Kit

A shared visual language and component toolkit for a growing suite of civic services.

Shipped 64 reusable interface patterns

How I work

Clarity is a team sport.

My practice sits between product strategy and interaction craft. I bring people into the room early, make the fuzzy parts visible, then build a shared path toward something real.

01

Listen closely

Interviews, journey maps, and careful observation.

02

Prototype early

Tangible ideas create better decisions than decks.

03

Build the system

Patterns that make the next good decision easier.

Notes from practice

A few things I keep returning to.

Essay

On good defaults

The best default is often an act of respect for someone’s time.

Essay

Designing for handoffs

A service becomes real at the moment one person passes context to another.

Essay

The shape of trust

Trust grows when a system explains itself at exactly the right moment.

Have a thoughtful problem?

Let's make the next decision feel obvious.

I take on a small number of focused collaborations each season.

Built with GenMB
Built with GenMB