Feeling stuck in your design career? I can help.

Struggling with challenges at work? Not getting the support you need to grow? Ready to transition into UX design but unsure where to start?

I’ll coach you through your toughest design challenges and empower you to take the next jump in your career.

1:1 mentorship

  • Do full reviews of existing or new features thoroughly, and provide feedback on everything from the high-level UX strategy to specific UI details.

    ↦ Evaluating current products or new ideas
    ↦ Hosting collaborative jam sessions
    ↦ Creating a future vision for your work
    ↦ Unpacking your team’s feedback and prioritizing next steps

  • Build new presentation and storytelling skills to get team and stakeholder buy-in while establishing effective feedback loops.

    ↦ Running alignment workshops with the team
    ↦ Developing and practicing presentations for stakeholders
    ↦ Using tools for asynchronous updates
    ↦ Establishing regular regular meetings to ensure ongoing discussion

  • Advance your skills in conducting user research and in applying insights effectively. Learn to balance user needs with business goals to strengthen your designs.

    ↦ Conducting user interviews
    ↦ Developing of surveys and usability tests
    ↦ Analyzing insights and identifying patterns
    ↦ Reporting findings and building consensus

  • Sharpen your portfolio to best showcase your most outstanding work, and master interview techniques to confidently present your your skills.

    ↦ Framing your transition to UX design
    ↦ Reviewing and improving case studies
    ↦ Conducting mock interviews
    ↦ Updating your curriculum

Together, we'll create a plan to grow your career, focusing on all aspects of product design and soft skills.

Let’s work together

Intro session

15 mins | Free

A no-commitment opportunity to gain clarity on your design goals and challenges while discussing how my mentorship can support your growth.

Design boost session

1 hour | $200 CAD

Ideal for targeted feedback and immediate growth. We’ll tackle your current challenges and opportunities, enhancing both your technical and soft skills to accelerate your development.

1 free session!

Career elevation program

6 one-hour sessions | $999 CAD

Perfect for achieving long-term goals. Enjoy ongoing support, accountability, and expert guidance along the way as we develop a customized plan to help you achieve your design dreams.

  • Ainara was my Design instructor at Vancouver Film School in a course dedicated to solving real problems with a real client, where she mentored me as Lead UX Designer. Her experienced feedback and creative problem-solving were invaluable, especially when our team faced some unexpected roadblocks. While a lesser instructor might have been impatient, Ainara, with grace and quick wit, guided us to a solution that worked for everyone and helped us get back on schedule to deliver collaboratively and on time. I highly recommend Ainara not only as a mentor and leader but also as a talented designer, and I hope to work with her in the future.

    – Kay N. | Senior Product Designer, Getty Images

  • Ainara is the definition of excellence, not only as a professional but also as a person. Working with her has been a true life lesson, teaching me to be proactive rather than reactive, to take details beyond expectations, to listen to a project’s needs, and to push my limits. Through experiencing the real meaning of teamwork, we have become colleagues on multiple projects, building a relationship focused on growth, exploration, and incredible results. A natural-born leader, that will never present herself with problems, but with solutions.

    – Maria G. | Graphic Designer & Conservation Consultant

  • Working with Ainara is as easy as it gets! Outstanding design skills aside, Ainara is a remarkable collaborator, and leader. Her experience working in fast paced environments has given her the unique super power to bring balance, and positivity while biasing towards action, creating actionable next steps, and holding her teammates accountable. Some of the best experiences in my design career have come from working with Ainara on design deliverables under tight deadlines. She is capable, trust worthy, and always driving towards bringing value to the end user.

    – Justin A. | Senior Staff Product Designer, Wealthsimple

  • Ainara is a strong designer, with amazing collaboration & communication skills, and (above all) a great human. Working closely together, we built NBA Top Shot, where her attention to detail and passion for UX resulted in one of the most iconic and smooth web3 experiences in existence. She helped craft it from the ground up, led teams through a variety of features, and worked hand-in-hand with engineering and product to drive deliverables through completion. Ainara is easily one of the most talented UX designers I’ve ever worked with.

    – Arthur C. | VP of Product, Dapper Labs

My work

Let's work together ~

Let's work together ~