Fractional Design
for startups big and small.

About me

Over the last 15 years I have worked for the world's most reputable tech companies solving 0-to-1 problems.

Today I work with founders as a design partner — bringing clarity to new ideas and ensuring customers will love it.

As a design partner you can expect:

  • Shaping of product strategy without the overhead of documentation

  • Creation of high fidelity prototypes to rapidly test

  • Hands on collaboration with engineering to ship and iterate with speed

  • Building and crafting design language for long-term impact

Max Gustofson

Principal

Max Gustofson

Principal

About me

Over the last 15 years I have worked for the world's most reputable tech companies solving 0-to-1 problems.

Today I work with founders as a design partner — bringing clarity to new ideas and ensuring customers will love it.

As a design partner you can expect:

  • Shaping of product strategy without the overhead of documentation

  • Creation of high fidelity prototypes to rapidly test

  • Hands on collaboration with engineering to ship and iterate with speed

  • Building and crafting design language for long-term impact

Max Gustofson

Principal

What we do

Product design

Branding

User research

App design

Prototyping

Web design

Web design

Web design

Product strategy

Workshops

Journey mapping

Journey mapping

Sound design

Org design

Process

Unlock product opportunities and align on business and user outcomes.

  • Stakeholder interviews

  • UX audit + competitive analysis

  • 30/60/90 design roadmap

  • Early brand identity

Turn ideas into a testable product - rapidly define, design, and ship what matters most to learn from real customers.

  • Wireframes

  • Rapid prototypes

  • User testing

  • MVP design

Get stakeholders and investors excited - visualize the possibilities through a compelling, high-fidelity concept.

  • High-fidelity UX/UI

  • Motion driven prototyping

  • Visual language polish

  • Brand design system

Bring attention to detail where it matters most. Drive adoption and growth that scales.

  • Diagnose drop-off in critical moments (onboarding, checkout, activation)

  • Simplify complex interactions/reduce cognitive load

  • Align design with growth metrics

Build lasting systems - scale your team, processes, and tools for sustained product wins.

  • Set up design systems and workflows

  • Up-level team capabilities with playbooks and rituals

  • Integrate the right tools to improve hiring, collaboration, and speed

  • Prepare the org to adapt and grow

Method

Proactive in nature

I keep on top of what's happening while proactively problem solving.

Work fast — build faster

Sharing early and often is critical and helps get decisions made quick.

Show along the way

Storytelling happens throughout the design process via Loom recording.

Expertise at your disposal

I work with a network of collaborators across design, brand, and development.

Work that endures

I ensure longevity in the work that I do by thinking and building in systems.

Design what matters

Ideas are dispensable. We can explore endlessly until we find the right one.

Trusted by

Ask me anything

  1. Max Gustofson Studio

  2. © 2025

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Local time

8:15:32 PM

  1. Max Gustofson Studio

  2. © 2025

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Local time

8:15:32 PM

  1. Max Gustofson Studio

  2. © 2025

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Local time

8:15:32 PM