2 weeks
UX audit
I go through your product as a new user would and note everywhere it slows people down. You get a recorded walkthrough and a list of fixes, starting with the ones that matter most.
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Note 01This headline starts with the client’s problem, not my résumé. Visitors decide in seconds whether I understand them; credentials come right after.
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About these notesTap any blue pin to see the decision behind that part of the page. Type: IBM Plex Sans for reading, IBM Plex Mono for labels. In the interface, orange only ever means “clickable.” Body text has an 11:1 contrast ratio, well above the WCAG AA minimum of 4.5:1.
Work with me · UX research & strategy
I help startups and small teams find what’s not working in their product, and fix it.
Most teams I talk to already know something’s off. Sign-ups stall, people get lost during onboarding, or support keeps answering the same questions. The team usually has a few theories but no time to test them. That’s where I come in.
AK 2026
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Note 02Big numbers with monospace labels read like a spec sheet: fast to scan, easy to compare.
10 yrs
UX research and design at IBM, BMO, and XE
IBM
Enterprise Design Thinking certified
10,000+
Minutes mentoring designers, as an ADPList Top 100 Mentor
Figma
Official partner, through a design venture I co-founded
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Note 03Each offer states its duration up front. Not knowing what you’re signing up for is the biggest hesitation in hiring a freelancer, so the page answers it early. The fourth card leaves room for anything that doesn’t fit.
Ways to work together
Fixed scope · Fixed price
3–4 weeks
Research sprint
I interview your users and come back with what they need, where they get stuck, and what I’d build next.
Half or full day
Team workshop
Hands-on research and design training for your team, taught the same way I teach graduate students at TMU.
Your call
Something custom
Have something else in mind? Tell me what you’re working on, and we’ll shape a scope that fits.
From Design XP apprentices
“What set Design XP apart was that the goal was never perfection of the end product, but developing your personal design process.”
“I feel like I’m becoming more confident in my skills and starting to see how design could actually shape my career.”
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Note 04Every case study names my exact role. Precise credit builds more trust than inflated credit, especially with people who’ve hired designers before.
Selected work
Experience at
Selected work · 01
Taking an engineering company online
- Client
- CESC
- Role
- Lead designer and developer
CESC supplies engineering and equipment for power systems, but had no website to support its sales conversations. Working directly with the CEO, I designed and built their site, including a white paper library where prospects can browse technical papers by topic. CESC now uses the site in discovery meetings to walk customers through its solutions, and we’re still in regular contact.
Visit cesc-consult.com
Selected work · 02
Turning three tools into one product
- Client
- XE
- Role
- Product designer and researcher
XE’s legacy experience split currency conversion, money transfers, and rate alerts into separate tools. I reviewed competitors, mapped the existing flows, and helped design one product with a single sign-in, a simpler path to sending money, and a shared component library. The visual design has kept evolving since, but that consolidated experience is still the foundation XE builds on.
Visit xe.com
Selected work · 03
Helping people get started building AI
- Client
- IBM Conveyor AI
- Role
- UX research and design, with a product team
Conveyor AI was an IBM tool for creating your own AI systems. Our team took the existing work and rebuilt the experience around getting started, grounded in research into how people learn: guided tours and FAQs, contextual tips while exploring, and deeper use cases and documentation. The project has since been brought in-house at IBM, and its findings now shape other tools and experiences.
Selected work · 04
Co-leading a design system for freelancers and founders
- Client
- Espresso UI
- Role
- Co-led with Jacob Olenick, founder of Espresso UI and DesignOps Studio
Espresso UI is a design library for freelancers and founders. Jacob and I led a team of Design XP apprentices through building it in Figma and translating it into code with Tailwind and shadcn.
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Note 05A plain list shows breadth without demanding attention. The depth lives in the four case studies above.
More projects
IBM research system
A research repository covering 46 enterprise clients, plus monthly customer advisory council sessions that keep product teams close to their users.
BMO
I helped lead the redesign of BMO’s Canadian desktop and mobile banking experiences from the research side, using card sorting, tree testing, interviews, and usability testing.
Huiscor
A website and digital experience for a power grid solutions company in Dubai.
Al Barwani Logistics
Digital work for an emerging logistics company in Oman.
Voice agent proof of concept
Through Design XP, I co-led a team of apprentices as they researched, designed, and delivered a proof of concept for a voice agent that helps a medical clinic in BC manage patient calls. Monstrum was the lead agency.
D&D app
Through Design XP, I led a team of apprentices and oversaw the research and design of an end-to-end experience for a Dungeons & Dragons app.
OKC Chesapeake Energy Arena
A digital donor recognition display for the NBA arena.
LA Philharmonic
A digital donor recognition display.
Carnival
A fitness and entertainment app.
Kalory Island
My Master of Digital Media thesis, exploring fitness and gamification.
Design XP
A 12-week UX apprenticeship I co-founded. I co-designed the website and built the curriculum and student experience, and we became an official Figma Partner.
Teaching
UX curriculum and courses for Toronto Metropolitan University, George Brown College, BrainStation, and Design XP.
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Note 07The booking calendar is embedded right here, so getting in touch takes one step instead of three.
How it starts
Book a free 30‑minute call
We talk through your product and goals. If it’s a good fit, I send a short proposal with a fixed scope and price.
Prefer email? m.aadilk96@gmail.com