DESIGN PRODUCER & CREATIVE OPERATIONS PARTNER · PRODUCT & BRAND DESIGN
Creative work is messy. That’s the good part. My job is to make the rest of it easier.
I help brand and product design teams turn half-formed ideas into work that actually ships, without burning out or breaking creative flow.
The goal isn’t process. It’s space: space for good ideas to grow and make it to launch.
I am often the first and most consistent point of contact, and I take that responsibility seriously.
I partner closely with designers to bring clarity, momentum, and care to how creative work gets made. I take on the planning, coordination, and cross-functional wrangling so designers can stay focused on what they do best: thinking deeply, exploring bravely, and making things that matter.
I sit alongside design teams as a steady partner, helping shape fuzzy ideas, untangle dependencies, and keep momentum moving when direction is still evolving.
HOW I SUPPORT DESIGN TEAMS
Structure without rigidity. Forward motion without rushing the work.
I absorb coordination, scheduling, and follow-through so designers don’t have to context-switch all day. Async-friendly workflows cut unnecessary meetings and interruptions, and make real space for deep work, across time zones too.
Protecting creative focus
Early ideas are rarely clear, and that’s okay. I help teams shape them into actionable projects by clarifying scope, priorities, and trade-offs, without flattening creative ambition.
From fuzzy to focused
I make sure design, brand, product, engineering, and leadership have the right context at the right time, while designers stay protected from excess churn.
Keeping everyone aligned, without the noise
I set up rhythms, documentation, and ways of working that scale with the team, supporting speed, quality, and long-term health instead of burnout.
Sustainable momentum
I bring 10+ years of experience supporting brand, design, research, and product teams across startups, agencies, and in-house environments.
I have helped teams launch zero-to-one products, run brand and event production at scale, navigate complex cross-functional programs, and build design production practices from scratch. Along the way, I’ve partnered with designers across disciplines, learning when to step in, when to get out of the way, and how to keep great work moving.
It started with basketball: first as a player and coach, then producing live events with NBA and WNBA teams, where tipoff doesn’t move. Structure only matters if it gives people room to play.
A BIT ABOUT MY BACKGROUND
People often tell me that working with me feels steady, even when the work isn’t.
“Working with Rita is like flying first class.”
Head of Research, Runyon Design Studio
Another leader joked they wished they could clone me.
I take both as compliments, and as responsibility.