Hey, I’m Joe Ickes!

I’m a collaborative and visionary UX leader who believes great experiences are built through empowered teams solving meaningful business problems together. My approach is grounded in servant leadership — hiring talented people, trusting them to make smart decisions, and guiding them toward strategic outcomes.

I view UX as the connective tissue between business and user needs, creating alignment that results in elegant, innovative, and scalable solutions. My focus is on building flexible design systems and aligning fragmented experiences to deliver measurable impact across complex ecosystems.

I foster creativity through collaboration and design sprints, ensuring ideas grow through teamwork and shared ownership. As a mentor, I’m passionate about helping others develop the soft skills and confidence that turn designers into leaders.

Ultimately, my goal is simple: create experiences that work beautifully for users, drive success for the business, and build a culture where both thrive.