Design : Gradient
I specialize in helping AI startups unlock the potential of their tech through expert product design.
Who?
Hi, I'm Clayton Farr.
For 25+ years I've helped startups as a designer and strategist. You can see more on my background here.
I help early-stage AI startups as a fractional Principal Product Designer get the right work done with greater speed, affordability, and flexibility than FTE options.
I collaborate closely and confidentially with a small number of teams, to maximize their design investment and continually learn from diverse products.
- Principal-Level Product Designer
- Fully Committed & Integrated Team Member
- On-Demand, Variable Help as Needed
- Excellent Fluency in AI, Product, and Engineering
- High Impact, Output, and Flexibility
- Less Expensive than a FTE Junior Designer
Currently Available —
How Can I Help?
Design Strategy
Collaborative design planning & strategy that focuses product functionality and user engagement.
AI / LLM Native Design
Design grounded in an exception fluency in ML & LLM functionality for AI-first experiences.
Application Product Design
Expert UX and UI design to create seamless, high-caliber product experiences for your users.
Rapid, Live Prototypes
Full-stack, rapid prototyping to evaluate product concepts and decisions against real-world behavior.
User & Market Research
Key insights that reveal your audience‘s needs to drive informed product and design decisions.
Testing & Validation
Iterative, fast testing to validate and refine product concepts against real-world user behavior.
Scalable Design Systems
Intelligent and cohesive design frameworks that ensure consistency across user experiences.
How Would We Work Together?
I‘ll integrate with your team, adapting to your workflows and tools while gaining a deep understanding of your business needs and priorities.
We‘ll collaborate to identify the most impactful design work. You set the priorities, and I‘ll work closely with the team to execute them.
Through clear communication and iteration, we‘ll ensure all design work meets the right goals.
As your business and product needs evolve, we can adjust my level of help to however most effective.
How Much Would It Cost?
Monthly cost is determined by the velocity and live collaboration time your product needs – which can be adjusted (or stopped) any month.
A common case — a velocity and collaboration level equal to a full-time designer on staff is $11k / month.
Gain principal-level design expertise and senior output without hiring pains, benefits overhead, or long-term commitments.
As product needs evolve, easily increase, decrease, or pause the design help needed and prioritize your product's most important needs.
I‘d Love to Help You – for Free.
Get my full help for 2 weeks – completely free. Let me demonstrate first-hand how I can enhance your product and help you gain new insights or address known challenges – with zero risk or commitment.
I‘m able to gain a deeper understanding of your business - and demonstrate firsthand the tangible value I can provide for your unique needs. You‘ll have real-world output to best evaluate the potential fit and impact of working together.
We'll identify and execute the most impactful design project for your business within 2 weeks. My aim is to deliver substantial value, regardless of our future collaboration. Expect iterative development with your team and clear communication throughout.
Curious About?
Costs, Results, Flexibility
As an early-stage startup you can utilize principal-level product design expertise earlier, for less money and risk — gaining consistent, senior-level expertise while retaining flexibility for the unforeseen.
Strategic to Tactical : Design to Full-Stack Prototype
I can help you quickly determine the right product and design work to pursue – and execute the tactical work to realize it – from user/market research, to product UX/UI design and design systems, to testing real-world prototypes.
As Fast (or as Slow) as Your Team Needs
We can move as quickly or as deliberately as your team needs. My level of help can be adjusted at any time, whether you need to sprint fast or take a measured, consistent approach.
Proactive, Collaborative & Communicative
Through proactive communication and collaboration we‘ll align all design activity and velocity to your product‘s needs, giving you full visibility and control over priorities.
No Surprises, Just Right
With clear communication and iterative collaboration we‘ll ensure there are no surprises or ‘black boxes‘. We‘ll work together to refine work as needed to craft ideal solutions for your team and users.
The Standard Hits → When In Rome
I‘m highly proficient in the industry standards for design, development, and collaboration (Figma, VS Code, Git, Jira, etc.) and equally comfortable adapting to the workflows and tools that work best for a specific team and the work at hand.
1. Simple 2. Knowable 3. Transparent
You will always have clear and knowable pricing that is tailored to your current needs. You can easily modify, pause, or cancel my help month-to-month. You‘ll have fixed monthly billing based on your current needs – with zero surprises.