The company we keep.

At DesignMap, the senior partners lead every client engagement. No handoffs. When an engagement calls for more, we bring in people and firms we trust: independent specialists, chosen for the work at hand, working alongside us, never instead of us.

Collaborators

Independent practitioners, each with a practice of their own, brought in when their specialty is what the work needs.

Bruce McCarthyOrganizational design, product strategy, team coaching

Author and founder of Product Culture. Bruce helps teams work together to build better products.

Gretchen AndersonProduct and service design strategy, team coaching, facilitation

A product and design leader who helps clients shape product strategy and improve how teams collaborate.

Janice FraserBusiness strategy, product strategy, leadership coaching

Investor, speaker, and expert in management practices that support innovation at scale.

Jesse James GarrettDesign leadership coaching

Executive coach to design leaders, author of The Elements of User Experience, and a co-founder of Adaptive Path.

Jorge ArangoInformation architecture, UX design, research

Information architect, author, and educator. Jorge brings structural clarity to complex digital products and services.

Margot MerrillContent strategy and design, information architecture

Margot helps teams solve complex problems with language, from positioning to UX writing to cross-channel content.

Peter MerholzDesign organizations, design management

An independent consultant focused on making design organizations effective.

Rachel GogelFractional design leadership

Creative director and fractional design executive. Rachel’s practice draws on both in-house and agency experience.

Steve PortigalUser research

A user researcher who helps organizations build mature research practices and bring what they learn into product decisions.

Alumni

Since 2006, nearly a hundred designers have worked at DesignMap. The best of them stay close: fluent in how the partners work, and ready when a project calls for them.

Firms we work with

Some work reaches past design. When it does, we can fold development, brand, research, and more into one scope of work, with firms we know and trust.

Product practice

Jeff Patton & Associates: A consultancy that helps teams build the culture, process, and practices behind good products.

Product Discovery Group: Coaching for product leaders and teams, from early stage startups to large enterprises.

Silicon Valley Product Group: Senior product experience and practice, shared with technology companies.

Thrv: Product roadmapping software built on the Jobs to be Done framework.

Development and technology

Dynamo: A technology services and consulting firm that provides executive leaders with the teams and tools to build high performing organizations.

Trility: Technology consulting that helps mid-market and enterprise companies define, design, and deliver custom software.

Vicert: A software development company building digital health solutions.

Brand and creative

Iron Creative: A digital agency that works across the whole customer journey.

Zero-G: A design company that helps organizations change, connect, and grow.

Research, facilitation, and accessibility

Level Access: Software, consulting, and training for accessible and inclusive digital experiences.

PH1: A research and strategy consultancy that uses service design to investigate business problems and prototype what comes next.

Voltage Control: Facilitation and collaboration training for organizations working through change.

The bookshelf

Books by the collaborators above.

The Elements of User Experience, Jesse James Garrett

Aligned, Bruce McCarthy and Melissa Appel

Farther, Faster, and Far Less Drama, Janice Fraser and Jason Fraser

Mastering Collaboration, Gretchen Anderson

Living in Information, Jorge Arango

Information Architecture (4th edition), Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville, and Jorge Arango

Org Design for Design Orgs, Peter Merholz and Kristin Skinner

Interviewing Users, Steve Portigal

Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries, Steve Portigal

Audrey Crane, one of the three partners, wrote a book too: What CEOs Need to Know About Design, a guide for business leaders on working with design and designers.

Where engagements begin

Strategic Alignment Session

Most engagements begin here: one structured working session that gets your leaders to a decision they will act on. It ends with a direction, an owner, and a next move. Sometimes it is all you need.

Talk to a partner