Find the friction. Design a better way forward.
MZM Labs helps growing teams turn complex products into clear, usable experiences. We improve existing products, design new features, and provide senior design leadership when you need ongoing support.
Led by Pheak Meas, with 11+ years improving products and the work behind them.
Three ways to work with MZM Labs.
Every engagement starts with a conversation. From there, we assess an existing product, design or improve one, or bring senior design leadership onto your team, whichever fits what you're facing.
When people can't finish what they came to do.
We review the product experience and show what's helping, what's getting in the way, and what's worth changing. Not every conversation needs this step; it's for when a closer look will genuinely help before design work begins.
- What's working The parts of the experience worth keeping as they are.
- What's not Where the experience creates friction or confusion.
- A prioritized path What to address first, and what can wait.
When an idea needs shape before it gets built.
From a single flow to a full product surface, we design the experience: researched, reviewed with your team and specified clearly enough to hand to an engineering team, matched to the scope the work requires.
- Researched Grounded in how people actually use the product today.
- Designed with your team Reviewed and refined with the people who will build and use it.
- Ready to hand off Specified clearly enough for your engineering team to build.
When a team needs design direction it doesn't have in-house.
For teams that need senior design judgment on an ongoing basis, but not full-time, we join part-time as design leadership: guiding the work, reviewing decisions and collaborating with the team already in place, not replacing it. Unlike a defined design project with its own start and end, this continues for as long as the team needs the direction.
- Part-time, embedded Senior design leadership sized to what the team needs.
- Ongoing ownership A named point of contact rather than a one-time handoff.
- Room to adjust Involvement that scales up or down as the work changes.
The outcome
From open questions to a practical starting point.
For founders and product leaders responsible for a digital product, whether something isn't working yet, needs to be designed, or needs senior direction it doesn't have.
- See where the experience is breaking down
- Know what to design or fix first
- Get senior design judgment where you need it
- Choose a practical next step
How it works
What happens after the first conversation
You do not need to choose a service before we talk. Discovery helps us understand your product challenge and whether an assessment, focused product design, or fractional design leadership makes sense.
The process
Book a discovery callWe talk through your product, your team and what you're trying to achieve, so we understand the challenge before proposing anything.
Together, we choose the support that fits your needs: a product assessment, focused design work, or part-time design leadership. We agree on the scope and what you will receive before starting.
We investigate, design and guide the agreed scope, whether that means acting on the assessment's findings, moving into product design work, or starting an ongoing fractional leadership engagement.
We validate the work together and decide on next steps, whether that means implementing what we found, continuing the design work, or extending fractional support.
The scope and cost are agreed before you commit. If the work needs to expand, we explain why and agree on the change with you first.
Bring us the product challenge that needs a closer look.
You do not need to diagnose it first. Tell us where the product experience feels confusing, inconsistent or harder to use than it should. We will help you decide whether a closer look is worthwhile.
Book a discovery callCase studiesWhat changed, and what improved.
Two connected examples from Katipult show the problem, the decisions made and the result that was measured. Pheak led this work as Katipult's Head of Product Design.
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Investor onboarding workflow Investor onboarding workflow Investor onboarding cut from 45 to 12 minutes Challenge 60% of investors abandoned onboarding at document upload. What changed The work was reorganized into clear steps with save and resume, while requirements adapted to each investor behind the scenes. Result Completion time fell from 45 to 12 minutes, while activation increased from 47% to 85%. Read the case study -
Multi-tenant platform Multi-tenant platform One shared platform replaced repeated work across three products Challenge Twelve manual handoffs separated a deal from closing, and 40% of agreements arrived not in good order. What changed Three product lines moved onto one shared platform, while each client kept the settings, branding and requirements they needed. Result Document issues fell by 98%, and median time from offering launch to closing improved by 48%. Read the case study
Questions worth asking before you bring someone in.
Straight answers about discovery, assessments, product design and fractional design leadership.
Most engagements start with something specific: a confusing flow, a feature that is not landing the way it should, or a product that needs clearer direction before it is built. If you are not sure it is a fit, discovery is the fastest way to find out.
Experienced design guidance and direction on a part-time basis. Rather than hiring a full-time design leader, you get someone senior helping prioritize the design work, review decisions and support the team you already have.
A freelancer typically executes a defined piece of work; an agency usually staffs a team around a project. Fractional design leadership is closer to hiring a full-time design leader, just part-time: it is about direction and judgment over time, not a one-off deliverable or a large team.
We work alongside your existing team, not instead of it. Depending on what is needed, that might mean guiding designers already on staff, reviewing decisions with product and engineering, or handling focused design work directly while your team builds it.
It depends on the challenge and the scope, so we do not quote a rate without a conversation. Discovery is where we understand what is needed and, if it makes sense to move forward, scope the cost together before you commit to anything.
No. Discovery is the only required first step, and it is a conversation, not a commitment. From there, we might recommend an assessment if a closer look would help, or move straight into product design or fractional design leadership if the need is already clear.