📌 Product Design Retainer Program

Chanel Medeiros

Starting at

2,500

/wk

About this service

Summary

Need ongoing product design support—without the commitment of a full-time hire?

My flexible retainer service allows you to get expert UX and UI design assistance tailored to your needs—for as long as you need it. Whether you need help refining an existing product, designing new features, creating a 0-1 product, or conducting research, I’ll adapt my process to fit your goals and budget.

🔥 Priority Access: Retainer clients get priority scheduling and faster turnaround times compared to one-off projects.

👤 Perfect For... → Startups, scale-ups, and product teams in need of ongoing design support → Teams needing a UX designer that’s a strong “generalist” who can autonomously work on a project at all stages (Discovery → Delivery) → Teams working on XL projects or products and want to prioritize design → Integrated collaboration on strategy & execution

⏳ Timeline: → This service has a 2-week minimum commitment. We can work together as long as you like, depending on your budget and project scope. → 3-month commitment recommended for best results, but I offer flexible terms.

📦 Deliverables (vary depending on needs): ✅ UX/UI design for web or mobile applications ✅ Wireframing, prototyping, and visual design in Figma ✅ UX audits and heuristic evaluations ✅ Design strategy and consulting ✅ Competitive and usability research ✅ Collaboration with stakeholders and developer

To get started, I'll need: ✔ A brief on your product, users, and key priorities ✔︎ Any relevant existing user research, analytics, or design files ✔ Brand guidelines or existing design system (if available) ✔ Preferred workflow and communication tools ✔ An understanding of your design backlog and timeline

Process

My process is flexible and tailored to where your website or app currently stands. Whether we start with deep user research or jump straight into optimizing a specific feature, I’ve got a range of processes and tools to help move your project forward. My goal is to ensure that the design serves both your business objectives and your users’ needs. Here's a general outline of what you can expect:

📋 Intake Form I'll send you a short form to gather some background information about your product, goals, competitors, etc.

📞 Discovery Call (Free - 30 min) We’ll discuss your needs, goals, and challenges to determine how I can best support your team. Typically via Google Meet.

📋 Kickoff & Strategy We’ll define the scope of work, priorities, and key deliverables. If needed, I’ll review existing research, analytics, and customer feedback.

👩🏻‍💻 Ongoing Product Design Work → Planned sprints or timelines with structured deliverables → Collaboration with stakeholders, engineers, and product teams → User research, wireframing, prototyping, and testing as needed → Iteration based on feedback and performance data

🗂️ Handoff & Documentation Seamless transition of strategic insights and Figma files with comprehensive design assets, including: UI elements, style guides, and interactive prototypes. This package ensures a smooth development process while maintaining design consistency across your product.

📌 Product Design Retainer vs. Fractional Design Program — What’s the difference?

Product Design Retainer is best for teams that need flexible, on-demand design support on a recurring basis. It’s perfect for tackling ongoing design needs like feature updates, UI refinements, usability audits, or quick-turnaround tasks.

Fractional Design Program is a deeper engagement where I act as an embedded UX leader, working alongside your team. This is ideal for companies that need not just execution but also strategic design thinking, user research, and process guidance.

💡 Choose the Retainer if you need occasional design help. Choose the Fractional Program if you need a strategic design partner integrated into your team.

FAQs

Why should I work with you on retainer?
With 7+ years of experience, I provide strategic, user-centered design while adapting to your specific needs. Whether you need small design tweaks or larger UX improvements, I offer seamless, reliable support with a deep understanding of usability, aesthetics, and development constraints.
What do you need from me to get started?
To get started, I'll need some context on your product, target users, and business goals. If you have any existing user research, analytics, or design files, that would be helpful. If not, I’m happy to guide you through a discovery phase to gather the information we need to kick things off.
Can you work with existing designs or do you only create new ones from scratch?
I can work with existing designs! Whether you need a full redesign or just some optimization or tweaks to your current interface, I’m happy to collaborate and build upon what you already have. My goal is to make sure the final design is user-friendly, visually engaging, and aligned with your objectives.
Do you work with teams or solo?
I’m comfortable working both independently or collaborating with your in-house team 🙌 . If you have a developer or project manager already on board, I can seamlessly integrate with them to ensure smooth communication and successful project delivery.
Will you work with my development team to implement the designs?
I’m happy to collaborate with your development team to ensure the designs are implemented as intended. When you're ready for your designs to go into development, you can find this listed as an additional service that is charged by a flat monthly rate.

What's included

Design Services
I'll provide whatever UX/UI design support you need. I'm excited to partner with small businesses and companies who are driven to help people or create exciting, innovative products. Below are a list of my tailored strengths👇:
✨ Product Design for Engaging Experiences
I specialize in creating intuitive, visually stunning experiences for both consumer-facing and SaaS products. Whether refining an existing product or designing something new, I focus on delivering meaningful, user-centered solutions that drive engagement and business impact.
📲 Product Design for Web & Mobile Design
Need high-fidelity designs for your website or app? I create pixel-perfect UI designs that align with platform guidelines and user expectations, ensuring seamless usability across devices.
💬 Product Design for Customer Service Experiences
I have deep expertise in designing experiences that improve customer support flows, from in-app help centers to self-service solutions. I craft designs that enhance efficiency, reduce friction, and elevate the user experience, ensuring both customers and support teams benefit.
🔍 UI Consistency & Polish Audit
A fresh set of expert eyes on your product’s UI! I conduct a detailed audit of your interface to identify inconsistencies, outdated patterns, accessibility gaps, and areas where a design system could streamline workflows. You’ll get clear recommendations to enhance visual cohesion and usability without needing a full design system overhaul.
🖍️ Prototyping & User Testing
From low-fidelity wireframes to interactive prototypes, I bring ideas to life with Figma-based designs that allow for quick iteration and user validation.
🗂️ Deliverables and Artifacts Examples
This will range depending on your needs. Some examples: journey maps, content maps, low-fidelity wireframes, high-fidelity Figma mocks, Figma or Framer prototypes, organized Figma files ready for development handoff, workshops, concept validation and insights reporting, evaluative research insights or usability recommendations.