Reach your potential by leaning into your strengths and connecting with your inner self

Design Coaching

Coaching for Designers

As a designer, I’m a player-coach: I still get into the work because it keeps me grounded in the day-to-day realities of a practising designer, and it’s how I stay relevant as I coach practitioners and develop design leaders. Trained by the Co-active Training Institute, my coaching style is centred on bringing out your potential, leaning into your strengths, and connecting with your inner self.

What I Can Do For You

I can’t get you a better job: only you can do that.

What I can do is help you get your design practice in full bloom and identify what a “better job” for you actually looks like, and that’s what will get you there.

I can also help you mature your design practice with hands-on skills development. This ranges from technical skills such as systems thinking and hypothesis-driven design to human skills such as stakeholder alignment, facilitation, and coaching.

Whom my coaching programs are designed for

  • Sole practitioner

  • Practitioner on teams of any size

  • Design leader of small teams (fewer than 5 designers).

Sounding Board

These are sessions that you direct: I go where you need me to follow. Sometimes, you just need someone to hear you out, jam on ideas, get a second opinion, or when you're just feeling discombobulated. You could even use these sessions for design critiques.

Outcomes:

  • Clear your mind

  • Get things off your chest

  • See things differently

  • Test or validate ideas

Pricing (á la carte)

  • Early career (fewer than 3 years in practice): C$100 / hour

  • Mid-career (3 to 5 years in practice): C$150 / hour

  • Seniors (5+ years in practice): C$200 / hour

Being Your Best

Do you want to accelerate your design practice? No, I can't magically give you experience, but I can help you plan your path strategically to master your craft and drive your design practice. Owning your design practice puts you in the driver's seat of your career.

Outcomes:

  • A skills matrix framework of your current and future design practice

  • Insights into your level of mastery for the skills in your matrix through self-reflection and my assessment

  • Version 1 of your OKRs (Outcomes and Key Results)

  • Version 1 of your Action Plan to achieve your OKRs

Pricing for core program (3 x 60-min sessions):

  • Early career (fewer than 3 years in practice): C$450

  • Mid-career (3 to 5 years in practice): C$750

  • Senior (5+ years in practice): C$950

You may need more time to achieve these outcomes. You can book follow-up sessions at the following reduced hourly rates.

Pricing for follow-up sessions (á la carte):

  • Early career (fewer than 3 years in practice): C$25 / 30-min session

  • Mid-career (3 to 5 years in practice): C$50 / 30-min session

  • Senior (5+ years in practice): C$75 / 30-min session

Pathfinder

This is a good place to start if you're not sure where to take your design practice or career. I believe there's a difference between our practice which we own and our career which can be subject to organizational and economic externalities that we can't control.

Outcomes:

  • Deconstructed view of the state of your design practice

  • Insights into where you've been, where you might want to take your practice

  • Version 1 of your design practice roadmap: use it for self-directed practice and career development or with your manager

Pricing for core program (3 x 60-min sessions):

  • Early career (fewer than 3 years in practice): C$225

  • Mid-career (3 to 5 years in practice): C$375

  • Senior (5+ years in practice): C$500

You may need more time to achieve these outcomes. You can book follow-up sessions at the following reduced hourly rates.

Pricing for follow-up sessions (á la carte):

  • Early career (fewer than 3 years in practice): C$25 / 30-min session

  • Mid-career (3 to 5 years in practice): C$50 / 30-min session

  • Senior (5+ years in practice): C$75 / 30-min session

How I’ve helped designers

  • Andrea has an uncanny ability to shift perspective and unlock growth in others. Her carefully considered input always came just at the right time, formulated personally for me. Some of her questions and feedback took me months - even years - to understand more deeply. Andrea pushed me to bump against my own limitations, embrace discomfort, lean on my strengths and become a better designer.

    Kristina Rostorosky, Director of Design

  • Like many UX and Digital Product Designers my pathway followed a traditional graphic design education. There were gaps in my UX practice that were holding back my effectiveness and impact in a high stakes enterprise environment. Andrea first outlined areas that would strengthen my UX craft and round out my design practice with clarity and patience. She helped frame up and picture successful outcomes and used tactics as a player-coach to help visualize how to achieve those outcomes with clear goals, tools, methods and self-reflection. As I began to master my craft, Andrea then turned her focus onto developing me as a design leader. Providing me with advice, support and ownership to build an authentic leadership style as I take on a small team of my own. Working with Andrea has been a mentorship journey that I will always be grateful for and would recommend to anyone looking to level up their design practice.

    Adam Brace, Design Lead

  • Andrea is one of the best mentors I've ever worked with. She has deep knowledge of design and business, she’s always committed to her own learning and will humbly teach you what she knows. Whenever we had a chat, she was always a source of inspiration, and she consistently encouraged me to push my boundaries and expand my skills. Whether offering valuable suggestions on various matters or diligently following up with you, Andrea's commitment is unwavering. Over the years, I've learned so much from her. While many may view design as a linear process from research to production, with a focus on measuring KPIs for the business, Andrea's mentorship encompasses this but also so much more. She actively teaches you not only the technical aspects of design but also has the courage to go into the humanity and ethics of this business — areas often overlooked by others. Because of this, I truly believe that she cares beyond just your professional growth, but also your overall well-being as a person. Her guidance provides genuine, practical advice that is rare to find in this field.

    Joana Ferret, Design Lead

  • Whenever I picture a design leader in my mind, I immediately see Andrea. She is the true definition of a mentor who is consistently elevating her team and championing their work throughout an organization. I honestly cannot thank her enough for all of the guidance, supporting and focus on my growth she has given me over the last 3 years. Andrea always made it her priority to make me feel empowered to speak up and grow while always making time for me to speak with her one-on-one to ensure I feel supported. I have been very fortunate in my career to work with some amazing leaders however Andrea takes leadership to the next level. Whether that be discussing how to approach a specific problem, how to communicate my thought process to other team members or even taking time to express how I am feeling, Andrea has always been there to support and make me feel heard.

    Callum Birtwistle, Designer

Book a chemistry session with me. During this session, we'll decide if we're a good fit and can achieve good outcomes together. I'm not obliged to accept you as a client nor are you obliged to hire me as your coach.