You've shipped a lot. You don't know what story to tell.

You've shipped products people actually use. Made decisions that moved real business metrics. Done the kind of work that should be getting you to the next level.

But your portfolio is making you look more junior than you are. When you carve out time on Saturday to fix it, you don't even know where you'd start.

Even when you put something together, recruiters skip over it without telling you why.

Then you start to wonder: maybe the work isn't as good as you think. Maybe this is as far as you go.

I don't believe that.

You've shipped products people actually use. Made decisions that moved real business metrics. Done the kind of work that should be getting you to the next level.

But your portfolio is making you look more junior than you are. When you carve out time on Saturday to fix it, you don't even know where you'd start.

Even when you put something together, recruiters skip over it without telling you why.

Then you start to wonder: maybe the work isn't as good as you think. Maybe this is as far as you go.

I don't believe that.

Where clients are now

Where clients are now

LITH logo
LITH logo
Helix logo
Helix logo
AERO logo
AERO logo
Solvex logo
Solvex logo
Verdant logo

The work is good. The problem is the most important parts never made it to the page.

The decisions you made day to day. The judgment calls. The tradeoffs. They live in your head, not on the page.

That's what employers care most about. But every application feels like starting over.

You have 80 slides and 5 versions, because the project was 3 years of work. You still don't know what story to tell them.

Other coaches hand you a framework and leave you to figure it out.

I help you figure out your story, and write it for you.

One narrative. Used everywhere. Your resume. Your portfolio. Your presentation. Your interviews.

A $300k offer from DoorDash. A 30% raise.

"I'd applied to 22 roles. About one in four turned into a callback, and I made it past every recruiter screen into hiring-manager rounds at Amazon, Visa, and DoorDash. I used the five-slide format we built and the storytelling played a huge part."

Kimberly E. · Senior Product Designer, DoorDash

What clients say

“I hesitated because of the cost, but It’s been 100% worth it. Kai helped shape my case studies to read clearly, very different from if I'd written everything alone."

Caitlin S., Senior UX Designer

“I hesitated because of the cost, but It’s been 100% worth it. Kai helped shape my case studies to read clearly, very different from if I'd written everything alone."

Caitlin S., Senior UX Designer

“I came to Kai with bare-bones material and no idea how to tell my story. Now I have a portfolio I’m genuinely excited about and the confidence to apply for roles that used to intimidate me."

Neil K., Senior Content Designer

“I came to Kai with bare-bones material and no idea how to tell my story. Now I have a portfolio I’m genuinely excited about and the confidence to apply for roles that used to intimidate me."

Neil K., Senior Content Designer

I had to reframe the fee as an investment in the upside. Compared to the increase in total comp, what I paid Kai is a drop in the bucket. Every penny has been worth it."

Kimberly E., Senior Product Designer

I had to reframe the fee as an investment in the upside. Compared to the increase in total comp, what I paid Kai is a drop in the bucket. Every penny has been worth it."

Kimberly E., Senior Product Designer

"He helped me articulate that I'm the 'glue' across teams, and turned scattered thoughts into a coherent, recruiter-friendly narrative."

Simranjeet S., Lead UX Designer

"He helped me articulate that I'm the 'glue' across teams, and turned scattered thoughts into a coherent, recruiter-friendly narrative."

Simranjeet S., Lead UX Designer

Kai finally gave me what I’d been missing for years as a product designer: a clear, rigorous framework for communicating. It wasn’t just a new portfolio: it fundamentally changed how I think and communicate as a designer.

Olivia F. Senior Product Designer

Kai finally gave me what I’d been missing for years as a product designer: a clear, rigorous framework for communicating. It wasn’t just a new portfolio: it fundamentally changed how I think and communicate as a designer.

Olivia F. Senior Product Designer

“Before working with Kai, I kept redoing my portfolio with no confidence it was ‘good enough.’ Now I can finally start applying with confidence. I’d absolutely recommend him to any designer struggling with storytelling.”

Flora B., Staff Product Designer

“Before working with Kai, I kept redoing my portfolio with no confidence it was ‘good enough.’ Now I can finally start applying with confidence. I’d absolutely recommend him to any designer struggling with storytelling.”

Flora B., Staff Product Designer

"A lot of my work is defense-related and hard to show. Kai still reshaped it into shorter, focused decks that completely changed how I present it."

Jeremy O., Lead UX Designer

"A lot of my work is defense-related and hard to show. Kai still reshaped it into shorter, focused decks that completely changed how I present it."

Jeremy O., Lead UX Designer

"Kai completely changed how I present my work. He pulled out the essence of the story and gave me a structure I can reuse for every future interview, even with complex, highly constrained work."

Sarita D., Senior Manager

"Kai completely changed how I present my work. He pulled out the essence of the story and gave me a structure I can reuse for every future interview, even with complex, highly constrained work."

Sarita D., Senior Manager

"I work in highly technical domains. Kai conveys what was done in a way that managers outside the field instantly understand the importance of."

Kristy R., Principal Designer

"I work in highly technical domains. Kai conveys what was done in a way that managers outside the field instantly understand the importance of."

Kristy R., Principal Designer

"He distills complex, multi-layered design challenges into simple, human narratives that reveal how design drives real organisational change."

Jean-Baptiste K., VP of Design

"He distills complex, multi-layered design challenges into simple, human narratives that reveal how design drives real organisational change."

Jean-Baptiste K., VP of Design

How it works

We work together, over 8 1:1 sessions, to find the story of your work and make sure you have everything you need to land your next offer.

Session 1:

Finding your career story

You're too close to your own career to see it. I dig out the thread running through your work: your history, your projects, your decisions.

Then I write the thing that makes you hireable at the next level. Use it on your site, LinkedIn, and your resume.

You walk away with: clarity on what you're actually selling.

Sessions 2-7

Writing your case studies

You bring the raw material for 3 projects: the numbers, the screenshots, the context, and answers to my questions

I write the story of your work in two formats:

  • A 'website version' meant for a recruiter's 30 second scan

  • A slide deck for an onsite presentation.

    You walk away with: three projects, written, in the format that got Kimberly her offer.

Sessions 8+

Providing continuing support

You won't just leave with my words: you'll have the support you need to land your dream job.

I'll provide you with an interview bank, based on projects we've worked on, so you know how to present and talk about your work.

You'll also get access to a community for 6 months, where you can practice interviewing, ask questions, and help prepare to land your dream job.

You walk away ready to present, not just ready to send.

Who am I?


I'm Kai. Before this, I spent 13 years as an in-house product designer.

I've also written 375+ articles on design communication, portfolios, and stakeholder influence as one of Medium's Top Design Writers.

Along the way I interviewed 30+ design leaders and 225+ senior and lead designers about the hiring market: what gets read, what gets ignored, what turns a portfolio into an offer.

One thing came up over and over. Designers don't have a craft problem.

They have a communication problem. The work is good, but it's illegible to the people deciding.

That's the whole job here. I take work that's already strong and make it land.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is this different from other coaches?

Most coaching hands you a framework and a worksheet, then sends you off to fill in the blanks. That works if you need structure.

It doesn't work if you already have a voice and need someone to sharpen it, not replace it. I don't hand you a template.

I write your case studies with you, based on your actual work and decisions. I'm a thought partner, not a course.

Do I need an existing portfolio?

No. If you can talk about your projects, I can rewrite an existing portfolio or create one from scratch. The only requirement: you can talk about the work, and you have screenshots.

How long does this take?

60 days, but many clients start applying in 3 weeks. You don't need to wait for a full rebuild to apply.

What if my work isn't actually as strong as I think?

I've done this long enough to know the difference between a story problem and a work problem. If the work isn't there, I'll tell you on our call, before you pay me. That's not a sales line. It's a filter that protects both of us.

This is built for senior, staff, and principal designers who've done strong work and need it to read that way. If you're earlier in your career and still building the work itself, I'm not the right fit yet, and I'll say so.

Pricing

I provide two options for payment, monthly payments and paid in full. Book a call so I can provide a quote.

The work is good. Let's make sure everyone else can see it.

The work is good. Let's make sure everyone else can see it.

The work is good. Let's make sure everyone else can see it.