Sam Marks

Design Leadership

Fractional Design Leadership for Product Teams

Senior design leadership for startups, scaleups, and product organisations that need clarity, direction, and execution without hiring a full-time design executive.

01Who I help

Teams that need senior direction

  • Startups without senior design leadership
  • Scaleups with growing UX complexity
  • Product teams struggling with direction
  • Organisations exploring AI opportunities
  • Teams carrying UX debt
  • Design teams needing coaching or structure

02Problems I solve

Common challenges I address

  • Product lacks clarity
  • Design team lacks direction
  • UX quality is inconsistent
  • AI ideas are unclear or poorly defined
  • Design systems are fragmented
  • Product and engineering are misaligned
  • Discovery is weak or missing
  • Teams are shipping outputs without outcomes

03Engagement models

How we can work together

01

Advisory

Lightweight support for founders, product leaders, or design managers.

  • Strategic guidance
  • Stakeholder alignment
  • Design reviews
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02

Fractional Head of Design

Ongoing leadership across product strategy, design quality, team coaching, and stakeholder alignment.

  • Team structure and rituals
  • Product and UX strategy
  • Design quality bar
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03

Project Leadership

Focused support for a specific initiative — AI product concept, design system, product redesign, or UX strategy.

  • Defined scope and timeline
  • Cross-functional leadership
  • Deliverable outcomes
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04

Team Coaching

Support for designers, design managers, and cross-functional product teams.

  • 1:1 coaching
  • Workshop facilitation
  • Skill development
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04How I work

A clear, outcome-focused process

01

Diagnose

02

Align

03

Prioritise

04

Execute

05

Measure

Need senior design leadership without a full-time hire?

Book a conversation to explore how fractional design leadership can help your team.