Patron Sainte is a design consultancy.

Headshot of Kate Pociask, who has blonde hair, green eyes, and a quizzical expression.

Patron Sainte’s principal, Kate Pociask [she/her], has been working in design for over 10 years. Her coworkers and peers have noted her inquisitiveness, ability to see the big picture, and the potential in people.

In 2013, Kate created Patron Sainte in order to select the types of projects and clients she wanted to serve. Patron Sainte works remotely, collaborating with other designers, writers, and tech teams. Most of her work is in UI/UX and Research, but she also does web design, brand strategy, and occasional brand execution (identity, logo, color palette, etc.).

In her spare time, Kate speaks and writes about feminism, and the relationship between creativity, productivity, psychology, and mental health.

UI/UX design - culture consulting - business strategy - brand strategy - identity design

Iris and pupil like shapes that change from blue at the outer to ochre at the inner.

Design Focus

  • Basically anything that has a screen and a user, I design for. Theoretically, it doesn’t need to have a screen - it could be voice commands. Usually I’m producing websites and apps, dashboards or software for internet of things. During projects like these, I am typically working closely with an engineering team.

  • Involving community members and/or stakeholders in the design process from start to finish.

  • Great ideas can come from anywhere at any time. You can increase the chance of lighting striking at the time you need it with a great facilitator. Trained by Gretchen Thomas, currently Design Director at Microsoft.

  • There’s quite a gamut of things I produce within UX. Strategy and scope documents, customer journey maps and storyboards, user flows. User personas, user stories, wireframes, conducting user research, focus groups, field research. Usability reports.

  • Usually the brand re-debut coincides with the launch of a new website. I partner with another designer who excels at logo for these types of projects.

A lecture hall full of light wooden fixed seating.

Courses + Accreditation

  • Human-Centered Design Course by IDEO/Design Kit 

  • Design Thinking  by IDEO

  • Customer Interviews and Business Model Canvas for Startups. I participated in a program for the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps, which is a crash course in entrepreneurship. My local chapter of I-Corps was headed by the UWM Lubar Entrepreneurship Center.

  • Lots of these are ways that software teams work together to keep projects on track. Scrum, Kanban Boarding and Design Sprints.

A collection of beautiful old wooden colored pencils, each width and tip shape different.

Special Tools + Skills

  • • Google Docs (project plans)
    • Google Sheets (research + notes)
    • Gannt Charts (project planning)

  • • Figma
    • Whiteboards and photo document
    • good old pencil and paper
    • Sketch
    • Adobe XD
    • InVision

  • • Figma
    • Sketch
    • Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign
    • Pencil and paper/whiteboard
    • Keynote/Google Slides
    • Canva

  • Script Writing: Google Docs
    Audio Recording: Voice Memos
    Editing: Adobe Premiere Pro
    Graphics: Adobe After Effects

  • • English, Native Proficiency.
    • French, Limited Working Proficiency (ILR Level 2).
    • Spanish, Limited Working Proficiency (ILR Level 2).
    • Italian ILR Level 1.
    • Swedish ILR Level 1

Training + Skills

Rewriting a Script for Imposter Syndrome

Boss Ladies Breakfast at YP Week 2019

High-achieving women are often plagued with shame and self-doubt. Here’s what to do when those familiar feelings sneak up on you.

Follow Your Envy

NŌ Studios Talk for Northwestern Mutual

Envy is vilified, but I'm not sure the reputation is deserved. Envy can be a useful wayfinding tool, so long as you recognize it for what it is and catch it before it ferments into something more sour.

Read the long-form instead

Speaking