I'm Sam —
I'm Sam —
I'm Sam —
Swiss-army-knife designer, speaker, & comedian helping early-stage teams cut through chaos and build thoughtful, scalable business software.
Swiss-army-knife designer, speaker, & comedian helping early-stage teams cut through chaos and build thoughtful, scalable business software.
Swiss-army-knife designer, speaker, & comedian helping early-stage teams cut through chaos and build thoughtful, scalable business software.
Featured Projects
Featured Projects
Featured Projects

I specialize in building solutions that empower teams to move lightning-fast. My work drives business success, landing contracts and keeping customers happy with intuitive, scalable products.

2022 — 2025

Shaping the Future of Loan Processing for Housing Finance Authorities

I led the design of a game-changing platform that transforms the loan application flow, allowing Housing Finance Authority processors and underwriters to process applications with greater speed and precision.

2022 — 2025

Shaping the Future of Loan Processing for Housing Finance Authorities

I led the design of a game-changing platform that transforms the loan application flow, allowing Housing Finance Authority processors and underwriters to process applications with greater speed and precision.

2022 — 2025

Shaping the Future of Loan Processing for Housing Finance Authorities

I led the design of a game-changing platform that transforms the loan application flow, allowing Housing Finance Authority processors and underwriters to process applications with greater speed and precision.

2022 — 2025

Shaping the Future of Loan Processing for Housing Finance Authorities

I led the design of a game-changing platform that transforms the loan application flow, allowing Housing Finance Authority processors and underwriters to process applications with greater speed and precision.

Summer 2024 — Fall 2024

One Designer, One Mission—Revitalizing a Booming Local Comedy Community

No budget, no team, no problem. I stepped up to completely rebuild my favorite comedy community’s digital home, giving them a platform that drives engagement, scales with their growth, and keeps the laughter alive.

Summer 2024 — Fall 2024

One Designer, One Mission—Revitalizing a Booming Local Comedy Community

No budget, no team, no problem. I stepped up to completely rebuild my favorite comedy community’s digital home, giving them a platform that drives engagement, scales with their growth, and keeps the laughter alive.

Summer 2024 — Fall 2024

One Designer, One Mission—Revitalizing a Booming Local Comedy Community

No budget, no team, no problem. I stepped up to completely rebuild my favorite comedy community’s digital home, giving them a platform that drives engagement, scales with their growth, and keeps the laughter alive.

Summer 2024 — Fall 2024

One Designer, One Mission—Revitalizing a Booming Local Comedy Community

No budget, no team, no problem. I stepped up to completely rebuild my favorite comedy community’s digital home, giving them a platform that drives engagement, scales with their growth, and keeps the laughter alive.

Fall 2022 — Summer 2023

Inventing a Scalable, Flexible Design System to Empower Unlimited Possibilities

My project to design and develop a flexible, white-labeled design system that allowed our team to move at breakneck speed, adapting to any new challenge—even when we didn’t know what it would be.

Fall 2022 — Summer 2023

Inventing a Scalable, Flexible Design System to Empower Unlimited Possibilities

My project to design and develop a flexible, white-labeled design system that allowed our team to move at breakneck speed, adapting to any new challenge—even when we didn’t know what it would be.

Fall 2022 — Summer 2023

Inventing a Scalable, Flexible Design System to Empower Unlimited Possibilities

My project to design and develop a flexible, white-labeled design system that allowed our team to move at breakneck speed, adapting to any new challenge—even when we didn’t know what it would be.

Fall 2022 — Summer 2023

Inventing a Scalable, Flexible Design System to Empower Unlimited Possibilities

My project to design and develop a flexible, white-labeled design system that allowed our team to move at breakneck speed, adapting to any new challenge—even when we didn’t know what it would be.

Spring 2021 — Fall 2022

Building Rapid Relief Tool to Keep Families in Their Homes

Faced with an urgent market need, I led the design of a business tool that processed government mortgage relief funding at lightning speed, saving hundreds of thousands of families from eviction and foreclosure.

Spring 2021 — Fall 2022

Building Rapid Relief Tool to Keep Families in Their Homes

Faced with an urgent market need, I led the design of a business tool that processed government mortgage relief funding at lightning speed, saving hundreds of thousands of families from eviction and foreclosure.

Spring 2021 — Fall 2022

Building Rapid Relief Tool to Keep Families in Their Homes

Faced with an urgent market need, I led the design of a business tool that processed government mortgage relief funding at lightning speed, saving hundreds of thousands of families from eviction and foreclosure.

Spring 2021 — Fall 2022

Building Rapid Relief Tool to Keep Families in Their Homes

Faced with an urgent market need, I led the design of a business tool that processed government mortgage relief funding at lightning speed, saving hundreds of thousands of families from eviction and foreclosure.

July 2024

Turning Feedback Into Success: Rethinking a Feature That Everyone Hated

After a feature flop, I introduced a new feedback process that let users test and vote on options. I proved its value to management and turned the feature around, setting the stage for future user-driven iterations.

July 2024

Turning Feedback Into Success: Rethinking a Feature That Everyone Hated

After a feature flop, I introduced a new feedback process that let users test and vote on options. I proved its value to management and turned the feature around, setting the stage for future user-driven iterations.

July 2024

Turning Feedback Into Success: Rethinking a Feature That Everyone Hated

After a feature flop, I introduced a new feedback process that let users test and vote on options. I proved its value to management and turned the feature around, setting the stage for future user-driven iterations.

July 2024

Turning Feedback Into Success: Rethinking a Feature That Everyone Hated

After a feature flop, I introduced a new feedback process that let users test and vote on options. I proved its value to management and turned the feature around, setting the stage for future user-driven iterations.

June 2023

A Unified Notification Center to Improve Surgery Center Efficiency

I built a powerful notification center from scratch to ensure surgery center teams received timely, actionable alerts, dramatically improving communication and workflow across all departments.

June 2023

A Unified Notification Center to Improve Surgery Center Efficiency

I built a powerful notification center from scratch to ensure surgery center teams received timely, actionable alerts, dramatically improving communication and workflow across all departments.

June 2023

A Unified Notification Center to Improve Surgery Center Efficiency

I built a powerful notification center from scratch to ensure surgery center teams received timely, actionable alerts, dramatically improving communication and workflow across all departments.

June 2023

A Unified Notification Center to Improve Surgery Center Efficiency

I built a powerful notification center from scratch to ensure surgery center teams received timely, actionable alerts, dramatically improving communication and workflow across all departments.

Speaking & Leadership
Speaking & Leadership
Speaking & Leadership

I love connecting with local early-career designers and small businesses curious about UX design to share all the experience only boots-on-the-ground work with software startups could teach me.

May 2024

The John Rodrigues Podcast: Design Systems for Startups

In my appearance on John Rodrigues' podcast, we dive into the essentials of building effective design systems for startups and small companies, highlighting best practices and innovative strategies for success.

May 2024

The John Rodrigues Podcast: Design Systems for Startups

In my appearance on John Rodrigues' podcast, we dive into the essentials of building effective design systems for startups and small companies, highlighting best practices and innovative strategies for success.

May 2024

The John Rodrigues Podcast: Design Systems for Startups

In my appearance on John Rodrigues' podcast, we dive into the essentials of building effective design systems for startups and small companies, highlighting best practices and innovative strategies for success.

May 2024

The John Rodrigues Podcast: Design Systems for Startups

In my appearance on John Rodrigues' podcast, we dive into the essentials of building effective design systems for startups and small companies, highlighting best practices and innovative strategies for success.

March 2024

My Talk at UCI — "What They Don’t Teach You in School"

Cybercoders designer Kaleb Stegall and I discussed real-life challenges faced by mid-to-senior UX designers—issues that newly educated junior designers often aren’t prepared for—and shared effective solutions for tackling them.

March 2024

My Talk at UCI — "What They Don’t Teach You in School"

Cybercoders designer Kaleb Stegall and I discussed real-life challenges faced by mid-to-senior UX designers—issues that newly educated junior designers often aren’t prepared for—and shared effective solutions for tackling them.

March 2024

My Talk at UCI — "What They Don’t Teach You in School"

Cybercoders designer Kaleb Stegall and I discussed real-life challenges faced by mid-to-senior UX designers—issues that newly educated junior designers often aren’t prepared for—and shared effective solutions for tackling them.

March 2024

My Talk at UCI — "What They Don’t Teach You in School"

Cybercoders designer Kaleb Stegall and I discussed real-life challenges faced by mid-to-senior UX designers—issues that newly educated junior designers often aren’t prepared for—and shared effective solutions for tackling them.

February 2024

My Talk at World Information Architecture Day

A group of Orange County UX designers gathered at UC Riverside to give students an inside look at our jobs and answer their questions.

February 2024

My Talk at World Information Architecture Day

A group of Orange County UX designers gathered at UC Riverside to give students an inside look at our jobs and answer their questions.

February 2024

My Talk at World Information Architecture Day

A group of Orange County UX designers gathered at UC Riverside to give students an inside look at our jobs and answer their questions.

February 2024

My Talk at World Information Architecture Day

A group of Orange County UX designers gathered at UC Riverside to give students an inside look at our jobs and answer their questions.

June 2024

Fireside Chat with UCI’s Management Information Student Society

Speaking to an auditorium of college students, we discussed what a UX designer's job is truly like and how they can best prepare to land those roles.

June 2024

Fireside Chat with UCI’s Management Information Student Society

Speaking to an auditorium of college students, we discussed what a UX designer's job is truly like and how they can best prepare to land those roles.

June 2024

Fireside Chat with UCI’s Management Information Student Society

Speaking to an auditorium of college students, we discussed what a UX designer's job is truly like and how they can best prepare to land those roles.

June 2024

Fireside Chat with UCI’s Management Information Student Society

Speaking to an auditorium of college students, we discussed what a UX designer's job is truly like and how they can best prepare to land those roles.

October 2023

My Talk for SoCal UX: Building Bullet-Proof Data Tables

In this talk and hands-on demo, I showcased my process for building complex, enterprise-ready data tables in Figma.

October 2023

My Talk for SoCal UX: Building Bullet-Proof Data Tables

In this talk and hands-on demo, I showcased my process for building complex, enterprise-ready data tables in Figma.

October 2023

My Talk for SoCal UX: Building Bullet-Proof Data Tables

In this talk and hands-on demo, I showcased my process for building complex, enterprise-ready data tables in Figma.

October 2023

My Talk for SoCal UX: Building Bullet-Proof Data Tables

In this talk and hands-on demo, I showcased my process for building complex, enterprise-ready data tables in Figma.

October 2022

My Talk about Design Systems for Friends-of-Figma, Irvine

Web developer Ryan Hedges and I discussed how designers can set themselves and their designs up for success when collaborating with development teams to bring their work to life.

October 2022

My Talk about Design Systems for Friends-of-Figma, Irvine

Web developer Ryan Hedges and I discussed how designers can set themselves and their designs up for success when collaborating with development teams to bring their work to life.

October 2022

My Talk about Design Systems for Friends-of-Figma, Irvine

Web developer Ryan Hedges and I discussed how designers can set themselves and their designs up for success when collaborating with development teams to bring their work to life.

October 2022

My Talk about Design Systems for Friends-of-Figma, Irvine

Web developer Ryan Hedges and I discussed how designers can set themselves and their designs up for success when collaborating with development teams to bring their work to life.

Comedy
Comedy
Comedy

Comedy, like UX, is all about reading the room, tweaking on the fly, and making sure the punchline lands.

June 2024

OC Improv Fest 2024

A shot from my long form team's performance at OC's biggest 3-day comedy festival at the Frida Cinema for 200+ audience members.

June 2024

OC Improv Fest 2024

A shot from my long form team's performance at OC's biggest 3-day comedy festival at the Frida Cinema for 200+ audience members.

June 2024

OC Improv Fest 2024

A shot from my long form team's performance at OC's biggest 3-day comedy festival at the Frida Cinema for 200+ audience members.

June 2024

OC Improv Fest 2024

A shot from my long form team's performance at OC's biggest 3-day comedy festival at the Frida Cinema for 200+ audience members.

November 2022

A Set for the Westside

My stand-up set on a Santa Monica stage shared by comics Bill Burr, Ali Wong, & etc.

November 2022

A Set for the Westside

My stand-up set on a Santa Monica stage shared by comics Bill Burr, Ali Wong, & etc.

November 2022

A Set for the Westside

My stand-up set on a Santa Monica stage shared by comics Bill Burr, Ali Wong, & etc.

November 2022

A Set for the Westside

My stand-up set on a Santa Monica stage shared by comics Bill Burr, Ali Wong, & etc.

Febuary 2024

Competitive Comedy

For a six month season, teams play games and compete for audience laughs which are scored for points!

Febuary 2024

Competitive Comedy

For a six month season, teams play games and compete for audience laughs which are scored for points!

Febuary 2024

The Competitive Series Where Audience Laughs Scores Points

For six months, teams play games and compete for audience laughs.

Febuary 2024

Competitive Comedy

For a six month season, teams play games and compete for audience laughs which are scored for points!

2023-2024

A Season of Show Posters

I created over a dozen posters advertising improv shows for the 2023-2024 season.

2023-2024

A Season of Show Posters

I created over a dozen posters advertising improv shows for the 2023-2024 season.

2023-2024

A Season of Show Posters

I created over a dozen posters advertising improv shows for the 2023-2024 season.

2023-2024

A Season of Show Posters

I created over a dozen posters advertising improv shows for the 2023-2024 season.

Still here? Add me on LinkedIn ;)