Brendan A. Fitzpatrick.
Design leader, change agent.
I was Design Principal at IBM Cloud through December 2025, pairing strategy with hands-on execution. The work — research, information architecture, prototypes, visual design — gets done by me, not delegated. I help organizations design what surrounds the product too — the strategy, the team, the conversations — so the product itself can be good.
A decade in product and strategy at IBM Cloud (2015–2025), where I designed and led across the platform and originated Platform.next, the cloud-as-code strategy now shaping the business. While there I was an early in-house voice on designers using AI to do the work and on designing AI experiences for enterprise customers — most directly through the Watsonx integration into the platform. Before that, FCB Chicago as Director of User Experience for Discover Financial Services and a roster of Fortune 500 clients. And before that, a Christmas Eve handoff of an envelope of cash from the real sausage king of Chicago.
I’m also a partner in Made With Best Practice (a design and experience consultancy) and BARF GARDEN (a creative collective), and ship indie products on the side — Static Radio, Loom, and Emojio Paint Composer.
I’m open to both freelance engagements and full-time roles. Drop a line.
A few working beliefs.
Make, don’t just direct.
I keep my hands on the work — research, IA, prototypes, visual design — alongside the people I’m leading. Knowing the work intimately is what makes the strategy credible and the leadership real.
Design what surrounds the work, not just the work.
Experiences, contexts, strategies, teams, conversations, culture, the business itself. The product is downstream of all of it.
Business value is design value.
Delivering business outcomes matters as much as user value or any best practice we bring to the table. The best work serves both — and design accountable to both is the only kind worth practicing.
Unite to get it done.
The world sees us as one team, not a collection of functions. Bring engineering, product, design, and customers around shared goals; the silos take care of themselves.
Cultivate the conditions for good work.
Psychological safety, sustainable pace, and learning aren’t a soft layer — they’re the soil. Leading from behind the curtain is most of the job.
Brendan has mastered the design leadership behind the curtains approach — always positive and supportive, without compromising on important design principles and achieving awesome outcomes. Director, IBM Cloud Platform Experience
Present in my best work.
Unification through collaboration
Bridging design, development, business, and customer-facing teams so the world sees us as one.
Strategic growth
Partnering with product to align experience with strategy. Business value and user value.
Cultivation
Building sustainable, psychologically safe environments where teams — and underrepresented voices — grow.