UX Design Consultants in Boston to Watch

UX Design Consultants in Boston to Watch for in 2025

Boston UX Experts to Know in 2025

Boston may be best known for Harvard, baked beans, and startup unicorns—but those who know the city's design ecosystem understand just how deeply UX design consultants shape the region’s innovation culture. From the Back Bay to Cambridge's biotech boom, UX experts here help startups refine onboarding, government platforms meet accessibility standards, and health systems better serve their communities.

This isn’t a generic round-up. At Digital Reference, we spend months each year researching standout consultants. That means:

• Reviewing client outcomes and project results
• Assessing unique methodologies and the ability to align UX with business goals
• Digging into each consultant’s impact within the Boston ecosystem

Each person on this list has been selected not just for what they do—but how they do it. Some are solo operators, others lead teams or firms, but all share a commitment to human-centered design, measurable UX success, and Boston’s local energy.

Let’s dive into the people and firms changing how Boston designs for the future.

Jared Spool

Co-Founder, Center Centre
LinkedIn | Center Centre

You simply can’t talk about UX design in Boston—or anywhere—without mentioning Jared Spool. He’s been shaping digital experiences since before most UX job titles even existed, and has trained thousands of designers across the world. His contributions through User Interface Engineering (UIE) and now Center Centre (a UX leadership school) have cemented him as a leading thinker in usability, strategy, and user research.

🔹 Why Jared Stands Out:

• 🧭 Jared's work helps teams understand and quantify the value of UX—from ROI calculations to building internal influence with stakeholders. His “Stakeholder Management Intensive” is used by teams at companies like IBM, NASA, and Salesforce.
• 🗣️ If you’ve attended a UX conference, you’ve probably seen him command a keynote stage. Jared’s delivery blends storytelling with deep research insights—always aimed at helping teams become outcome-driven.
• 📈 Beyond his live talks, Jared authors some of the most widely circulated UX strategy content on the internet. His thought leadership aligns perfectly with Digital Reference’s focus on using metrics to influence design choices.
• 🧪 Leader of Leaders: At Center Centre, he trains future UX leaders—not just in design, but in team-building, research ops, and product strategy.

Boston is home for Jared, but his influence is truly global. What makes him especially valuable for teams in 2025 is his approach to teaching teams how to internalize UX as part of their company culture—not just an add-on service. He doesn’t just give you fish; he teaches you how to build the boat.

Veronica Shelton

Co-Founder, Oak Theory
LinkedIn | Oak Theory

Veronica Shelton is a force in visual design, systems thinking, and UX equity. As a partner at Oak Theory, a Black- and AAPI-owned studio based in Boston, she combines design rigor with a mission for justice and inclusion.

🔹 Why Veronica Stands Out:

• 🎯 Design Leadership: She leads branding and UX strategy for early-stage startups and nonprofits, bringing visual systems that speak across cultures, abilities, and platforms.
• 🧠 Inclusive Research: Veronica is known for embedding equity audits and accessibility-first thinking into the research process. Clients frequently cite her for going beyond “check-the-box” inclusion.
• 🤝 Cross-functional Strategist: She works at the intersection of brand, engineering, and design systems—especially for orgs looking to scale fast without losing design integrity.
• 🌱 Mentorship & Advocacy: Veronica mentors underrepresented designers, runs workshops on ethical UX, and has been featured for championing social design practices.

Oak Theory reflects Digital Reference’s themes of system-level thinking, visual UX storytelling, and measurable brand experiences. Veronica leads with clarity, empathy, and an edge in storytelling design.

Hannah Ryu

Co-Founder, Oak Theory
LinkedIn | Oak Theory

Hannah Ryu is both a creative technologist and a user advocate. At Oak Theory, she balances technical precision with human connection, bringing ideas to life for clients who value inclusive UX.

🔹 Why Hannah Stands Out:

• 🧩 Bridge Between Design & Code: Hannah’s strength lies in engineering-informed UX decisions. Her work ensures that interfaces don’t just look good—they work beautifully across environments.
• 🔍 Accessible Product Thinking: She develops flows for multilingual, multi-device, and screen-reader-compatible systems. Clients note that her work increases engagement across underserved groups.
• 🛠️ Design System Development: Hannah’s approach to scalable component systems ensures design consistency while enabling growth—especially valuable for fast-moving SaaS and B2B teams.
• 💡 Emerging Tech Enthusiast: She's also experimenting with AI in design tools, helping teams prototype and test faster.

She shares Veronica’s passion for inclusion, and together they create frameworks that reflect Digital Reference’s emphasis on repeatable, measurable design outcomes. Hannah’s work proves that function and accessibility are not trade-offs—they’re imperatives.

Elizabeth Rosenzweig

Founder, World Usability Day, Bubble Mountain Consulting
LinkedIn | World Usability Day | Bubble Mountain Consulting

If UX had a civic holiday, you’d have Elizabeth Rosenzweig to thank. As founder of World Usability Day, she’s built a global movement advocating for design that works for everyone.

🔹 Why Elizabeth Stands Out:‍

• 🌍 Global Design Leadership: With events in over 40 countries, World Usability Day fosters accessibility, ethical tech, and public awareness. She’s built more than an event—she’s built a UX cause.
• 🧪 UX Practitioner & Evaluator: Beyond her advocacy, Elizabeth is a usability consultant with experience across government, enterprise, and consumer tech. Her book, Successful User Experience: Strategies and Roadmaps, is a staple in UX libraries.
• 🏔️ Strategic Innovation through Consulting: As the founder of Bubble Mountain Consulting, Elizabeth has spent two decades helping clients—from Fortune 500 companies to research labs—design better experiences through mixed-methods research, roadmap strategy, and intellectual property development. Her work spans domains from healthcare and scientific publishing to voting systems and intelligent UIs.
• 🔬 Human-Centered Research & Expert Insight: Elizabeth’s consulting projects blend usability, ethnography, and human factors, and she’s served as an expert witness on interface design in major patent disputes. Her leadership workshops bridge innovation with collaboration, helping organizations unlock team potential.
• 🧑🏫 Policy-Focused Design: She advises on UX frameworks for national and international organizations.
• 💬 Speaking & Advocacy: Elizabeth speaks worldwide about universal design, ethical tech, and inclusive development models—always rooted in measurable outcomes.

Her vision aligns with Digital Reference’s values: UX isn’t optional—it’s foundational to fair, scalable, and human-centered tech ecosystems.

Kristen Ransom

Founder, IncluDe Innovation
LinkedIn

Kristen Ransom wears many hats—engineer, tech consultant, diversity advocate, and TEDx speaker. As the founder of IncluDe Innovation, she helps mission-driven orgs build inclusive tech with purpose.

🔹 Why Kristen Stands Out:

• 🌈 Equity-First UX Thinking: Kristen focuses on empowering nonprofits, schools, and public orgs with tools that reflect their audiences—especially BIPOC and low-income users often left behind in UX cycles.
• ⚙️ Engineer-Led Design: With a background in software development, she blends technical feasibility with user experience—avoiding common friction between design and dev teams.
• 🗣️ Thought Leadership: Her TEDx talk, “Tech Has a Diversity Problem,” helped spark national conversations about inclusion in both UX and code.
• 🧑🏽‍🤝‍🧑🏾 Community Impact: Whether mentoring high school students or advising civic tech initiatives, Kristen brings deep community ties to every engagement.

She embodies the Digital Reference principle of storytelling through design that includes everyone—not just the default user. Her work inspires meaningful design built around real people and real outcomes.

Peter Winston

Founder, Boston UX / Integrated Computer Solutions (ICS)
LinkedIn | Boston UX

Peter Winston is the founder of Boston UX, a UX and development consultancy working with med-tech, aerospace, and manufacturing companies on complex design challenges. With deep experience scaling products, Peter is known for leading with research, not assumptions.

🔹 Why Peter Stands Out:

• 🧠 UX for Complex Systems: He leads teams that specialize in mission-critical UX—think operating room interfaces, medical robotics dashboards, and IoT platforms.
• 🛠️ HMI Expertise: Human-Machine Interface design is Boston UX’s specialty, and Peter’s team combines field observation, heuristic analysis, and prototyping to reduce cognitive load in high-stakes environments.
• 📈 Process-Focused Consulting: Peter is an evangelist for repeatable UX processes that reduce time-to-market without compromising on usability.
• 🤖 Future-Ready Tools: Boston UX also integrates advanced technologies like gesture recognition, embedded systems, and voice interfaces, bringing modern thinking to traditional industries.

With deep Boston roots and a technical toolkit, Peter and his team reflect Digital Reference’s emphasis on process, measurement, and research-driven UX—especially in the B2B and med-tech space.

Wrapping Up: Boston's UX Impact & Why It Matters

This isn’t just a list of practitioners—it’s a map of the UX ecosystem in Greater Boston. These consultants are influencing city government platforms, national health policy, startup onboarding experiences, and equity in education systems.

They represent what makes Boston’s UX scene so dynamic: intellectual rigor, cross-sector influence, and a commitment to inclusion and ethics. Each of them reflects one or more themes at the heart of Digital Reference’s work: strategy, storytelling, research, systems design, and social equity.

Digital Reference is your partner in identifying UX excellence, supporting your journey from design problem to user impact. Whether you need a consultant, a fractional head of UX, or a full project team—we’re ready to match you with experts like the ones above.

Let’s build something human-centered, measurable, and made to last.