Justin Smith
Smith Design Studios
UX/UI Director building systems and infrastructure.
About
15 years across research, strategy, design, development, and documentation.
I’m a UX/UI Director who builds systems. The operational kind and the visual kind.
I’ve worked across the full stack of design deliverables: research, wireframes, visual design, front-end development, analytics, documentation, and presentation design. Not because I couldn’t pick a lane, but because that range is what taught me where projects actually break. Handoff gaps. Unstated assumptions. Specs that look clean in Figma and fall apart in development. I’ve been close enough to every stage to see the friction that most directors have stopped looking for.
That execution depth is what makes the strategic work accurate. When I scope a project, the estimate holds. I’ve done the work that lives inside the estimate. When I build a design system, it ships with documentation and logic that a team can maintain without me. The goal is never just the deliverable. It’s the system that outlasts the engagement.
How I Work
Philosophy over process.
Principles over checklists.
Discovery before decisions
I start heavy in research. Not because it’s a line item on a proposal, but because it’s how ambiguity dies early instead of late. I’d rather spend two weeks understanding the real problem than two months building the wrong solution. The output of discovery isn’t a deck. It’s shared clarity across everyone who touches the project.
Systems, not artifacts
A website is a system. A brand is a system. The way your team collaborates on design decisions is a system. I build all of them with the same mindset: documented, maintainable, extensible. If the work falls apart when I leave, I didn’t finish the job.
Alignment is the actual skill
The hardest part of complex projects isn’t the design or the code. It’s getting marketing, development, leadership, and stakeholders operating from the same understanding. I’m good at this. Translating research into shared direction, surfacing disagreements before they become blockers, and keeping cross-functional teams moving without losing signal.
Close to the work, on purpose
I’ve managed teams and I’ve shipped pixels. I don’t treat those as different career phases. Staying hands-on is a choice. It keeps my strategic judgment grounded in what’s actually involved in execution, and it means there’s no translation layer between the plan and the work.
Focus
Applying systems thinking to the biggest operational shift in a generation.
Lately, I’ve been deep in research on how organizations integrate AI into their operations. Not the tool selection part. That’s the easy decision. The harder questions: how does an AI workflow fit into what a team already does? What governance needs to exist so adoption doesn’t outrun accountability? How do you measure whether AI is actually improving outcomes, or just adding complexity?
I’ve spent hundreds of hours on this, approaching it the same way I approach any design systems problem: starting with how people actually work, and building from there.
Industries
My experience working with clients across diverse industries has equipped me to provide tailored solutions that drive success.
- Advertising
- Apparel
- Athletics
- Consumer Electronics
- CPG (Packaged Goods)
- Cyber Security
- Commercial Printing
- Dental Insurance
- Distilled Spirits
- Health Insurance
- Interior Design
- Manufacturing
- Digital Media
- Municipal Transit
- Retail
- Travel
- Advertising
- Apparel
- Athletics
- Retail
- Travel
- Digital Media
- Consumer Electronics
- Cyber Security
- Architecture
- Interior Design
- Dental Insurance
- Health Insurance
- Manufacturing
- Commercial Printing
- CPG (Packaged Goods)
- Distilled Spirits
- Municipal Transit
- Nonprofit
Capabilities
What I bring to engagements.
Design Systems · UX Strategy · Front-End Development · User Research · Analytics & Measurement · WCAG 2.1 AA Accessibility · Technical SEO · Documentation & Knowledge Transfer
Currently serving as UX/UI Director at Modern Impact.
Good Work Starts With Good Fit
I take on 1-2 engagements at a time. If you’re thinking about working together, start a conversation and we’ll figure out what the right engagement looks like.
See the Work
Portfolio access is available on request. Tell me a bit about what you’re looking for and I’ll send the link.