Currently open to new engagements

Let's start with your hardest screen.

The pattern across fifteen years is consistent: I do my best work on financial products that are too complex for generalists and too important to get wrong. Tell me what is broken; I will tell you, plainly, how I would approach it.

Engagement Models
001
Open

Fractional

I embed with the product team, own design end-to-end on a defined workstream, and ship alongside the engineers. Payment flows, settlement dashboards, operator tooling, AI interfaces — the screens where the business metrics actually live.

Commitment 2–4 days / week
Duration 3–6 months typical
Best for Teams shipping complex product
002
Open

Advisory

Design strategy, UX audits, and team mentorship for fintech and AI products. I review what has been built, identify precisely where operator trust is breaking down, and help the team raise its own ceiling on complex financial interfaces.

Commitment A few hours / month
Duration Ongoing or project-based
Best for Teams with designers who need direction
003
Selective

Full-time

For the right question at the right company. Staff+ IC design leadership in payments, financial infrastructure, or AI — a surface where the work materially changes how operators trust and use the product.

Level Staff / Principal IC
Domain Payments · Fintech · AI
Location San Francisco / Remote
Galileo (SoFi)
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Treasure Finance
Security First
Moni (Techstars)
HER (YC S15)
Reach Out

Email

Best for first contact. Describe the product problem plainly — I read everything and respond within a day.

vesna.planko@gmail.com →

LinkedIn

Connect professionally. My posts cover payments UX, AI explainability, and design measurement.

linkedin.com/in/vesnaplanko →

Book a call

30 minutes. No pitch deck needed — just bring your hardest product question.

Pick a time →
She didn't redesign the dashboard — she redesigned how the team thought about what operators actually need to trust the system.
— Stakeholder, Galileo Financial Technologies
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