Designer you're not ready to hire full-time.
A senior designer in your team, week after week.
I work with software companies on product UX, UI and brand decisions in a weekly rhythm. Directly, no agency, no handoffs.
Free 30min Design Consultation
Open until 31 August
The problem
01
A full-timer would sit idle
You don't have 40 hours of senior design a week. But the work you do have is too important for a junior. A full-time hire means paying for time you can't fill.
02
Priorities shift fast
Your roadmap changes weekly. You need a designer who moves with it, holding the craft without stalling on process, not one who needs everything defined up front.
03
Agencies bait and switch
A senior shows up to win the deal. A junior shows up to do the work. You never get the person you were sold.
04
Project freelancers leave
Hired for a project, gone at the finish line. Sometimes taking your momentum, context, or even your files with them. The transactional model rewards leaving, not staying.
There's a middle path!
Hans-Erik Põldoja
Senior product and brand design partner
That's me!
Partnership packages
Design Partner
4 000
€ + VAT / month
Continuous senior design in one product.
I'm embedded in your week across UX, UI, design system and polish.
Monday planning, shipped work every week.
Book an intro call
Design Partner Plus
7 500
€ + VAT / month
For teams with more on their plate.
Roughly half my week in your product, across several surfaces at once.
Monday planning, more shipped every week.
Book an intro call
Market tested solution
B2B SaaS
·
People Data
Partnership length
4 years
B2C SaaS
·
Fantasy Basketball App
Partnership length
6 months
B2C Software
·
Internal Communication
Partnership length
Ongoing
"It’s an absolute pleasure working with Hans, and I would highly recommend him to my friends."
Alo Arro
CEO of AssessioAI
We start where your product needs me the most
How the first month might look like:
Week 0
The first week is context: product walkthrough, your priorities, where design hurts most.
Weeks 1 — 4
Shipped improvements start in the first weeks. Highest-leverage work first.
Review & adjust
End of the first month, we review what shipped, adjust the rhythm, plan our next moves.
Not ready for ongoing partnership yet?
Start smaller
What a month usually produces
Everything on a partner rhythm
AssessioAI
Package
Design Partner
Partnership length
4 years
Typical month's output:
Designed a central hub for list management, created end to end flows as a prototype to work out any kinks before committing any developers to building it. Created some custom UI elements for special cases for key clients. Helped dev and marketing with various requests via Slack.
Scorestars
Package
Design Partner Plus
Partnership length
6 months
Typical month's output:
Redesigned and gamified onboarding. Designed the flow into an interactive prototype to test on various user groups before handoff. Created a visual system for a trading card builder for dev team to generate various rarity card packs with. Supported the team with UX/UI expertise.
How I work
Rhythm is the product
Monday
We review what shipped and pick the highest-leverage design work for the week.
During the week
I work in your product: UX flows, UI, design system, polish. You'll see me multiple days a week, not one. And I'm reachable in your Slack, Teams or wherever your team talks, during business hours.
Handoff
Developer-ready Figma / Framer / Claude Design, notes and next steps.
You work with me directly. The person in the Monday meeting is the person doing the work.
Is this a fit?
🧩
Probably a fit
Your developers ship regularly, and design decisions are the thing slowing them down.
A full-time senior hire is more than you need, but a junior is less than the work deserves.
You want senior judgment on what to build and what to skip, not just someone to draw the screens.
😬
Probably not
You need someone in every meeting.
You're looking for the cheapest production hands.
You see design as decoration, not a lever on the business.
FAQ
Can we start smaller before committing to a retainer?
Yes, and most partnerships do. A “Focus day” or a “Deep dive” is a low-risk way to see how I work and get something useful either way. If it makes sense to continue, we can talk about an ongoing partnership. If not, you still get value.
How do the hours work?
What if our priorities keep shifting?
Will my product stay confidential?
What do you work on?
Do you hand work off to others?
Can I pause?
Can I cancel?
What if you're fully booked?
What tools do you use?
About me
I'm a senior product and brand designer with 15+ years of experience across UX, UI, design systems and visual identities.
The work I'm proudest of isn't just keeping up when priorities shift. It's finding a direction the client hadn't considered. Taking creative risks that move the business and being trusted through the experimentation to come back with something elegant. I work closely with stakeholders and engineers, and stay calm when the roadmap moves. I'm an extra pair of Han(d)s for the ones who need senior craft without the full-time hire.
🏆
ADC*E Young Gun 2019
Estonian Design Awards 2019
🥈
Tooth Rescue Concept (BYNEW)
Estonian Design Awards 2020
Long term partners
What clients say
"Hans is one of those rare designers who really thinks deeply about the user experience that the design has to accomplish, and is able to deliver that experience with clean and beautiful UI. Moreover, he is able to achieve great results even in situations where the task is not very well defined. It’s an absolute pleasure working with Hans, and I would highly recommend him to my friends."
Alo Arro
CEO of AssessioAI
“Hans-Erik always considers the bigger picture, particularly when it comes to product KPIs such as user activation, retention, engagement, and monetization. He doesn’t focus solely on design or individual features; he also has a deep understanding of business and product goals. This strategic approach has helped us find solutions that are not only visually appealing but also support our broader business objectives.”
Martin Lond
Co-Founder of Scorestars
Translated from Estonian. Full testimonial here
“Working with Hans-Erik has always been both enjoyable and productive. He has a strong sense of design and carefully considers usability and how the system works as a whole. Developers find his designs very easy to work with because, in addition to being visually appealing, they are also well-structured and logical. Clients have always been very pleased with the results, and Viru Keskus is no exception.”
Tanel Nigul
CEO of PauseDigital
Translated from Estonian. Full testimonial here
Ways to get started
You know design needs attention but how much?
We check on a short call first, so you never buy a package that doesn't fit you.
Free
·
Open until 31 August
30 min
Free
A working session on your product. I'll point at where design can create the most leverage.
You get a working session on your product. You walk me through it, I give you my honest first read: what I'd fix, what to focus on and where your money goes furthest.
Apply
Focus day
·
1 day
1 200
€ + VAT
Point me at one problem. I'll find what's actually causing it, then spend the rest of the day designing the fix.
If the real issue turns out bigger than a day, you'll leave knowing exactly what it is and what to do about it.
You get an honest diagnosis of the root cause, a prioritized plan, and the fix started or done (depending on size). Video walkthrough, annotated screens and Figma notes.
Start with a Focus day
Deep dive
·
3 days
2 500
€ + VAT
Three days across your whole product. I map what's working, what's hurting, and where to focus, in what order.
Where the quick wins are clear, I design them along the way. What three days can't do is rebuild the product. That's what the retainers are for.
You get a review across key flows, a video walkthrough, a written prioritized roadmap, any clear quick wins designed rather than just listed, and a live session with your team.
Start with a Deep dive
M
Martin Tint
Research Notes
"Your contribution was truly valuable. Talent plus thoroughness always delivers, and you looked at the product as a whole, not just a styling task. I'm very happy with the design review and audit, and that it covered the product, the website, and the Chrome Web Store."
Ready when you are!
Apply for a free session
Free 30-min session is available until 31 August.
Hans-Erik Põldoja
Senior product and brand design partner
Based in Estonia, working with teams anywhere
Links
hans@hanserik.ee