Alaina Gardner โ€“ Lead Product & UX Designer

Lead Product & UX Designer

I lead the design and strategy behind intuitive, scalable user experiences for software products, eCommerce, websites, and mobile applications. Focusing on interaction design, usability testing, and continuous improvement, I specialize in UX overhauls, streamlined user flows, and design systems that make your users happy and your business grow.

Email me at alainavirginia@gmail.com for access to full case studies with detailed process and impact. Iโ€™d love to share more one-on-one and discuss the value I can bring to your product.

This site is hand-built for instant load times because portfolio sites don't need to be bloated or over-engineered. ๐Ÿ™‚

Selected Projects

Truly Free Home eCommerce Platform

UX leadership across subscription, retention, and design systems

  • Redesigned the Member Portal from the ground up to increase retention, trust, and usability
  • Overhauled cancellation flow and reduced churn with dynamic alternatives like pause, discount, and product switch
  • Built and documented a mobile-first UI system with scalable components across 50+ screens
  • Invented perks logic and bonus item flexibility to turn surplus inventory into a retention tool
  • Led UX strategy across CRO, loyalty tiers, subscription logic, and A/B testing initiatives
Lead UX design for CoApp enterprise SaaS platform with streamlined onboarding and design system

CoApp Enterprise SaaS Platform

Enterprise UX for high-scale B2B performance

  • Redesigned end-to-end UI for enterprise SaaS used by optical chains nationwide
  • Reduced time to first value (TTFV) 8ร— through new onboarding flow
  • Invented workflows and interaction patterns for features previous teams couldn't ship
  • Led design system creation and MUI X implementation for scalable rapid growth
  • Built intuitive user management and rule creation flows for complex enterprise roles
Lead UX design for Syracuse University Self-Study web app with accessible layout and accreditation-focused navigation

Interactive Self-Study Report

Web app for Syracuse University reaccreditation

  • Led UX and information architecture for an accessible, easy-to-navigate platform supporting accreditation standards
  • Designed flexible content templates that let Newhouse input and update detailed reports without developer support
  • Built in user controls and visual clarity to support both content authors and the accrediting council
  • Defined strategy and roadmap to align cross-functional team and deliver MVP before content was provided
  • Gathered feedback via user testing and in-app tools to drive iterations that made a complex process feel seamless

Led while Head of UI/UX Design & Development at Idea Kraft

UX overhaul for QUALITYstarsNY education platform with improved site architecture and accessibility-first design system

QUALITYstarsNY Platform

Education platform UX overhaul for New Yorkโ€™s statewide QRIS

  • Redesigned site architecture and navigation for educators and families with distinct user flows
  • Mapped UX strategy and prototyped new features to support growing platform needs
  • Led accessibility-focused design system implementation for long-term scalability
  • Integrated third-party tools for smoother content management and engagement

Led while Head of UI/UX Design & Development at Idea Kraft

Insights