Design leadership, on tap.
Fractional design leadership for teams that aren't ready for a full-time head of design — but need one in the room. Strategy, reviews, hiring and design ops, a few hours a week.
6–12
Hours per week
2 wks
Onboarding sprint
13+
Years leading design
70+
Products shipped
You probably need this if
Any of this sounds familiar?
No design lead yet
Your engineers and PMs are doing their best, but every decision turns into a Slack thread. You need a design voice in the room.
Design keeps slipping
Sprint after sprint, 'design polish' gets deprioritised. The product works but looks like five different teams built it.
Founders are still the approvers
Every screen needs a founder sign-off. I help build trust, standards and a review cadence so product can move autonomously.
Hiring your first designer
You know you need a full-time lead, but don't know what good looks like. I screen, interview and set the bar before you commit.
The engagement
A few hours a week, embedded in your team. Strategy reviews, hiring help, design-system direction, and a second pair of eyes on every important screen before it ships.
I show up like a team member, not a vendor. Weekly calls, async reviews, shared Slack — and the decisions documented so nothing lives in one person's head.
What you get
- Weekly strategy sessions (60–90 min)
- Async design reviews with timestamped feedback
- Roadmap & scope input per sprint
- Hiring loops & portfolio screening
- Design system architecture & tokens
- Stakeholder alignment decks
- Slack / Loom turnaround within 24h
- Handoff doc for your future design lead
Capabilities
What "fractional" actually means.
Strategy & roadmap
Translate business goals into design priorities. What to ship, what to cut, and what to invest in before the next raise.
Design reviews & critique
Timestamped feedback on Figma files, PRs and prototypes. I catch the edge cases before your users do.
Design systems & ops
Tokens, components, governance and adoption — the system your engineers want to use, not just admire in Figma.
Hiring & team growth
Job descriptions, screening rubrics, portfolio reviews and interview loops. I help you find the designer you actually need.
Stakeholder alignment
Shared vocabulary between product, engineering and leadership. Fewer debates, clearer decisions, faster shipping.
Product direction
Where design can accelerate the business. I flag opportunities, risks and trade-offs before they become expensive surprises.
How I work
Four steps. No theatre.
Diagnose
Two weeks of looking at the product, the team and the roadmap. Where's design helping, where's it slowing things down?
Embed
Standing weekly call, plus async reviews and a shared Slack channel. I show up like a team member, not a vendor.
Steer
Reviews on every major spec, hiring loops for designers, and direction on tooling, tokens, and system maturity.
Hand over
Document decisions, ramp up your in-house lead when the time comes, and step back gracefully.
Principles
The way the work feels.
I don't have a manifesto. I have three habits the work keeps coming back to.
Tools I live in
Earn trust by shipping
I don't write strategy decks you never open. Every week there's a reviewed file, a decision made, or a designer hired.
Push back, then commit
My job isn't to agree with you. It's to argue for the user, help you see the trade-off, and then commit to the call you make.
Build the team, not the dependency
The goal is to make myself unnecessary. I document, hire and hand off so your design org outlives the engagement.
Selected work
Products I've steered.
SaaS
KYRO — Construction Project Management Redesign
Website
Infosys — 3 Years, 100+ Landing Pages & a Brand Refresh
Website
GoldenLocks — 24/7 Locksmith Services Website
Website
DataWise — Dual-Theme AI Analytics SaaS Landing
Outcomes
What changes after we work together.
- ●Design strategy that's actually written down — not just lives in one founder's head.
- ●A team that ships sharper specs and argues about the right things in critique.
- ●A clean hiring plan and handoff doc for when you're ready to bring design in-house.
- ●Faster product cycles because design decisions are made once, not re-litigated every sprint.
"Chintan is one of the best freelancers I have worked with so far. He understood my vision and brought it into life exactly the way I was expecting. From wireframe to logo, every page and the prototype — he helped with every aspect and provided important suggestions."
Verified Upwork client · Web Application Design · 2020
Engagement models
Three ways to start.
Not sure which fits? Book a call and we'll figure it out in 20 minutes.
Advisory
Monthly retainer
A few hours a week for strategy, reviews and async feedback — ideal for seed-stage teams finding product-market fit.
- 4–6 hours / week
- Async + 1 sync call
- Slack access
Embedded
PopularMonthly retainer
I sit in standups, review every major spec, and help hire your first designer. Most popular for Series A+ teams.
- 10–12 hours / week
- Weekly strategy call
- Hiring + system direction
Sprint
2–4 weeks
A concentrated burst — design audit, system roadmap, or hiring sprint. One deliverable, clear handoff.
- Focused scope
- Audit or roadmap
- Handoff documentation
FAQ
Questions clients ask.
Don't see yours? Email me — replies are fast and not from a template.
How many hours per week?
Most engagements run 6–12 hours a week. Anything less starts to feel performative; anything more and you should probably hire full-time.
Do you replace an in-house designer?
No. I help you ship better in the meantime and help you hire one. The goal is to make myself unnecessary.
What timezone do you work in?
I'm in IST but overlap 4–6 hours daily with EU and US East Coast teams. Async by default, sync when it matters.
Do you also do the design work?
Yes — see UI / UX design. Many consultancy clients start with advisory and expand into hands-on design sprints.
How do we know when to hire full-time?
I help you build a hiring rubric, screen candidates, and conduct handoff interviews. You'll know because the roadmap will demand it.
Need a design partner in your corner?
Two advisory slots open for Q3. Book a free 20-minute call — we'll talk about your team, your product, and whether fractional design leadership is the right move.