Fractional product design for startups with big problems to solve.

  • Lyft

  • Turo

  • Apple

  • Designlab

  • Assembled

  • Atticus

  • Wayback Labs

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

Max Gustofson

Principal

Max Gustofson

Principal

Nice to meet you.

I’ve spent 15 years designing 0→1 products for some of tech’s most ambitious companies. Now, I work with founders as a fractional design partner to bring early ideas to life - fast, focused, and with zero fluff.

As a design partner I will:

  • Shape product strategy without the overhead of endless documentation

  • Prototype at high fidelity to quickly test and validate your ideas

  • Work hand-in-hand with engineering to ship and iterate with speed

  • Build design teams and set up systems for long-term success

Working principles

Proactivity over reactivity

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

Time is money

Sharing early and often is critical.

Show over tell

Storytelling comes from seeing how things work.

Scale when needed

I can bring in experts from my vast network of collaborators across design, brand, and development.

Work that endures

I ensure longevity in the work that I do. That means systems that scale.

Design what matters

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

Industry verticals

*Highly interested

  1. Consumer

    AI&ML

    Healthtech*

    Climate-tech*

    Travel

  2. Marketplaces

    Enterprise

    Fintech

    Social Good

FAQs

What does fractional mean?

Hiring full-time too early is expensive and risky. Fractional design gives you experienced leadership and hands-on execution — without the overhead. I plug into your team 20 hours a week to help you move faster, smarter, and more confidently.

Are you a solo team?

Most of the time, yes. As needed I can bring in expert collaborators across the lifespan of a project. That includes other designers across brand, visual, interaction, or whatever is needed. This is included in my rate.

How does pricing work?

I work on a monthly retainer. I work fast, think like a founder, and care deeply about the details. We can skip the hourly overhead and focus on building great things together—no clock-watching, no nitpicking scope. Just getting work done.

What does fractional mean?

Hiring full-time too early is expensive and risky. Fractional design gives you experienced leadership and hands-on execution — without the overhead. I plug into your team 20 hours a week to help you move faster, smarter, and more confidently.

Are you a solo team?

Most of the time, yes. As needed I can bring in expert collaborators across the lifespan of a project. That includes other designers across brand, visual, interaction, or whatever is needed. This is included in my rate.

How does pricing work?

I work on a monthly retainer. I work fast, think like a founder, and care deeply about the details. We can skip the hourly overhead and focus on building great things together—no clock-watching, no nitpicking scope. Just getting work done.

Drop me a line.

❋ Available starting JANUARY 2026 ❋

Drop me a line.

❋ Available starting JANUARY 2026 ❋