Open for full-time or contract roles
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Mary Stanton,
Lead Design Strategist
Mary Stanton,
Lead Design Strategist
for Digital Solutions
Mary Stanton,
Lead Design Strategist
If it’s ambigous, I clarify it.
I’ve spent the last decade designing complex B2B systems, translating messy requirements and competing priorities into products people can actually use. My range extends beyond what I’ve been formally hired to do, and I bring that breadth into every project. AI helps me move faster, but it doesn’t replace how I think.
If it’s ambigous, I clarify it.
I’ve spent the last decade designing complex B2B systems, translating messy requirements and competing priorities into products people can actually use. My range extends beyond what I’ve been formally hired to do, and I bring that breadth into every project. AI helps me move faster, but it doesn’t replace how I think.


Recent Case Studies
Recent Case Studies
Kind words from collaborators
Kind words from collaborators
Mary is a true advocate for UX research. She conducts her own research studies, she uses the data to drive product decisions. What impressed me even more was her curiosity around AI.
She's been actively exploring how tools like NotebookLM can accelerate research insights, and she was generous enough to organize a learning session for our researchers to share what she'd discovered. It was one of the most engaging and practical knowledge-sharing sessions we've had. She came prepared and sparked great conversation.
Mary elevates people around her.

Linlin Yi
UX Research Manager
ServiceTitan
I was continually impressed by how strongly Mary connects user insight, storytelling, systems thinking, and real business impact.
She has a talent for helping teams get to the actual user problem. She asks thoughtful, strategic questions that challenge assumptions and help teams avoid building the wrong thing. Her work consistently elevates product strategy, not just validates it.
She’s incredibly effective at making research actionable, translating insights into clear direction for product, design, and leadership partners. She pairs this with strong visual and interaction design instincts, ensuring the final experience reflects the same level of thought as the strategy behind it.
Mary Walton
Staff Product Designer
ServiceTitan
During her time at Flashpoint, Mary was able to get up to speed quickly by understanding both customer and stakeholder friction points within our search experience. Her ability to digest complex data and feedback while iterating in a short amount of time was impressive.
Mary always came to the table ready to participate and provide valuable dialog around UX best practices. Her passion for design was undeniable, and she could articulate user value and outcomes.
I highly recommend Mary as she quickly meshed with the teams and provided valuable UX insights to the Flashpoint search experience.
Stacey Fatica
Senior Director of Product Design
Flashpoint
Mary is a talented designer and a great teammate. She brings a valuable perspective and thoughtful approach to all of her work. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to work together with Mary at Avvir and iterate on the core Inspect product - features that Mary designed and researched dramatically improved the user experience!

Evan Perlman
Senior Software Engineer
Avvir
Mary was a core driver of our research practice as a design team, and our efforts to create a working design system. She's great at digging deep into a problem, surfacing hidden complexity, and validating assumptions.
Mary would be an asset to any team, especially a smaller org that is looking to grow and establish its design practice further.You can expect a deep-thinking design guru, who will also very likely become your friend.

Matt Klein
Staff Product Designer
Avvir
Within months of joining the company Mary got up to speed and inspired a fresh perspective on the mobile Search UX/UI. Throughout our multi-variant testing, her research backed solution consistently drove a statistically significant increase in our primary metric.
After over a year of unsuccessful testing, Mary’s solution was a breakthrough and we implemented her solution with confidence across all user groups on our iOS & Android mobile applications.
In addition to her unique and thoughtful perspective on design, Mary was a huge benefit to the culture of our cross-functional scrum team. She was excellent at forming relationships with members of our squad as well as championing several Employee Resource Groups within the broader organization.

Caitlin Ohara-Baker
Senior Product Manager
iHeart Radio
I worked under Mary during my first Internship in UX/UI. I learned so much during this time, and gained a lot of pertinent experience that has really helped me in my career thus far.
I am so thankful for the time that I got to spend working with Mary - she was a great mentor, both professionally and personally.
I would work with Mary again in a heartbeat and anyone would be lucky to have her on their team.

Asha Bacchus
Product Designer
SwiftIQ
Mary was a wonderful addition to our small, fast-growing startup. She arrived as the Lead and Founding Designer playing an important role in modernizing existing applications and then launch of our new and critically valuable analytical interface that now makes up over half of our usage. The platform usability and capability were central to the acquisition of SwiftIQ.
In addition to her product contributions, Mary brought nothing but positivity and generosity to enhance our culture.

Jason Lobel
Founder & CEO
SwiftIQ
Mary is awesome! Not only is she very detail-oriented and dedicated to doing awesome work on every project she touches, she also brings a unique perspective and inquisitive nature that is really refreshing to work with.

Will Shandling
UX Program Director
Flatiron School / Designation
🧰 Tools in my Toolbox 🧰
Kind words from collaborators
Mary is a true advocate for UX research. She conducts her own research studies, she uses the data to drive product decisions. What impressed me even more was her curiosity around AI.
She's been actively exploring how tools like NotebookLM can accelerate research insights, and she was generous enough to organize a learning session for our researchers to share what she'd discovered. It was one of the most engaging and practical knowledge-sharing sessions we've had. She came prepared and sparked great conversation.
Mary elevates people around her.

Linlin Yi
UX Research Manager
ServiceTitan
I was continually impressed by how strongly Mary connects user insight, storytelling, systems thinking, and real business impact.
She has a talent for helping teams get to the actual user problem. She asks thoughtful, strategic questions that challenge assumptions and help teams avoid building the wrong thing. Her work consistently elevates product strategy, not just validates it.
She’s incredibly effective at making research actionable, translating insights into clear direction for product, design, and leadership partners. She pairs this with strong visual and interaction design instincts, ensuring the final experience reflects the same level of thought as the strategy behind it.
Mary Walton
Staff Product Designer
ServiceTitan
During her time at Flashpoint, Mary was able to get up to speed quickly by understanding both customer and stakeholder friction points within our search experience. Her ability to digest complex data and feedback while iterating in a short amount of time was impressive.
Mary always came to the table ready to participate and provide valuable dialog around UX best practices. Her passion for design was undeniable, and she could articulate user value and outcomes.
I highly recommend Mary as she quickly meshed with the teams and provided valuable UX insights to the Flashpoint search experience.
Stacey Fatica
Senior Director of Product Design
Flashpoint
Mary is a talented designer and a great teammate. She brings a valuable perspective and thoughtful approach to all of her work. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to work together with Mary at Avvir and iterate on the core Inspect product - features that Mary designed and researched dramatically improved the user experience!

Evan Perlman
Senior Software Engineer
Avvir
Within months of joining the company Mary got up to speed and inspired a fresh perspective on the mobile Search UX/UI. Throughout our multi-variant testing, her research backed solution consistently drove a statistically significant increase in our primary metric.
After over a year of unsuccessful testing, Mary’s solution was a breakthrough and we implemented her solution with confidence across all user groups on our iOS & Android mobile applications.
In addition to her unique and thoughtful perspective on design, Mary was a huge benefit to the culture of our cross-functional scrum team. She was excellent at forming relationships with members of our squad as well as championing several Employee Resource Groups within the broader organization.

Caitlin Ohara-Baker
Senior Product Manager
iHeart Radio
I worked under Mary during my first Internship in UX/UI. I learned so much during this time, and gained a lot of pertinent experience that has really helped me in my career thus far.
I am so thankful for the time that I got to spend working with Mary - she was a great mentor, both professionally and personally.
I would work with Mary again in a heartbeat and anyone would be lucky to have her on their team.

Asha Bacchus
Product Designer
SwiftIQ
Mary was a wonderful addition to our small, fast-growing startup. She arrived as the Lead and Founding Designer playing an important role in modernizing existing applications and then launch of our new and critically valuable analytical interface that now makes up over half of our usage. The platform usability and capability were central to the acquisition of SwiftIQ.
In addition to her product contributions, Mary brought nothing but positivity and generosity to enhance our culture.

Jason Lobel
Founder & CEO
SwiftIQ
Mary is awesome! Not only is she very detail-oriented and dedicated to doing awesome work on every project she touches, she also brings a unique perspective and inquisitive nature that is really refreshing to work with.

Will Shandling
UX Program Director
Flatiron School / Designation
Mary was a core driver of our research practice as a design team, and our efforts to create a working design system. She's great at digging deep into a problem, surfacing hidden complexity, and validating assumptions.
Mary would be an asset to any team, especially a smaller org that is looking to grow and establish its design practice further.You can expect a deep-thinking design guru, who will also very likely become your friend.

Matt Klein
Staff Product Designer
Avvir
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Common Queries Answered
What is your design process?
My design process typically involves four key phases: research, design, prototype, and test. In the research phase, I gather insights about the user and their needs. In the design phase, I create wireframes and visual designs that meet those needs. In the prototype phase, I create interactive models of the design for testing. In the test phase, I collect feedback from users to refine the design.
What is your design process?
What tools and software do you use for UX design?
How do you measure the success of your UX designs?











