Flexible full-stack design to take you from idea to launch
Lightweight solutions that delight users + satisfy your business goals
I specialize in product design and strategy for startups.
I work closely with startup founders to design new products from the ground up, and with maturing startups to optimize, scale, or reposition their products to (re)gain competitive advantage.
I work in partnership with CEOs and PMs in defining MVP and developing short and long-term product design strategies and roadmaps. I advise in establishing agile UX design processes and in growing in-house UX teams.
I take products from initial idea to successful launch - and every step in between - through close partership and alignment with clients and leveraging of my agile design process.
I tackle redesigns of all sizes: from optimization of key user flows to global redesigns/re-architectures targeted at dramatic repositioning, extension, and/or improvement of a company's product offering.
I create interactive demos to accompany pitch and sales decks, to visualize project proposals to internal executive teams, and to provide end users with online product walkthroughs and support material.
I use design sprints as a quick and efficient method of answering business critical questions through rapid conception, prototyping and testing of new product features and concepts.
I conduct in-depth analysis of an existing product, evaluating the extent to which it follows established platform conventions and usability principles, prioritizing key issues, and providing recommended resolutions.
Leveraging qualitative and quantitative user and market research, I map out short and long-term plans for businesses seeking to launch a new product, reposition it, or pivot in an entirely new direction.
Every client is different; every project is unique.
Startups, in particular, are always looking to move more quickly, efficiently, and economically in designing and building products, and bringing them to market.
I get it. And, I've refined my design practice to be as lean and agile as the startups I work with - tailoring design and strategy services and process to match the specific needs of each client and project.
For startups and agile organizations, I use formal UX design process as a framework, rather than protocol, focusing on being adaptive, collaborative, and pragmatic in order to move quickly and resolutely to realize client goals.
Based on my understanding of a client's needs and constraints, I create a custom design process that is both agile and user-centered, while accommodating project objectives, priorities, timeline, budget, internal processes and workflow.
Discover task focuses on gathering requirements from the project team, stakeholders and users, reviewing the existing product, requirements, user and competitive research, and any relevant assets available. Discovery can also be used to conduct research if it has not been done previously.
Taking the information synthesized in the Discover task, the Define phase focuses on reviewing recommended approaches for tackling the project - including process steps and individual services - and finalizing a strategic plan of attack, based on client timeline, resources, and budget.
Through iterative mapping, diagramming, and wireframing methods, the Conceive step translates requirements into a clear, concise, and thorough blueprint of the final UI - from global information architecture to the most granular of UI interactions and elements.
Building upon the UI blueprint finalized in the Conceive task, the Design phase focuses on developing and applying a consistent, refined Visual Design and Branding system.
Similarly, the Prototype task builds upon the UI blueprint to further develop and polish global interaction design patterns and animations.
Testing can be formal or informal, conducted at the end of the design process—to evaluate the holistic user experience—or at earlier stages to gather feedback on information, interaction, or visual design.
Over the past 10+ years, I've taken on a variety of projects, strategically planning and delivering user-centered experiences across a range of platforms, devices, and industries.
I see my work as creating a bridge between business, technology and design, while providing definition, understanding, and advocacy of user needs.
Hi, I'm Astrid Javier. I launched Studio Astrid in 2006, with the goal of partnering with early and mid-stage startups to design and release successful, user-centered products quickly and efficiently.
I'm a pragmatic and entrepreneurially-minded designer, as passionate about realizing the vision for a product and company, as I am about designing the optimal user-centered product experience.
Outside of office hours, I'm an ardent foodie, home cook, and dabbler in indie perfume.
