Senior UX Engineer

Architect of Fly-By-Wireframing — a research-backed methodology for live browser prototyping and rapid team decision-making.

Current Exposés & Writing
Exposé · In development

The Hero Spectrum

Six ways to begin an experience, and when each pattern creates clarity or gets in the way.

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Exposé · In development

Buttons vs. Links

How one semantic choice affects keyboard behavior, browser history, accessibility, and loading states.

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Exposé · In development

Iconography in Micro-Interactions

A closer look at hit targets, accessible names, tooltips, and when icons clarify or add noise.

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Exposé · In development

Form Flow Architecture

Choosing between single-page, stepped, and conversational flows without hiding what comes next.

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Writing · May 20, 2026

User Experience Engineering: Origins, Organizational Impact, and the Interface Evolution

Learn how UX Engineers bridge the gap between design and code, translating creative visions into performant, accessible user interfaces.

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Writing · Mar 1, 2026

The Invisible Interface: Why the Best UX Goes Unnoticed

Great design isn't seen — it's felt. When an interface demands attention, it has already failed. Here's how I think about building experiences that get out of the user's way.

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Writing · Feb 18, 2026

Latency Is a UX Problem, Not a Backend Problem

Every engineering team I've ever worked with treats performance as infrastructure. It isn't. Every millisecond of delay is a design decision with measurable consequences on human cognition.

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Hello, I'm Charles Frelund. I help teams turn complex systems into clear, human-centered products by building in conversation, testing assumptions, and following the evidence.

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As the creator of Fly-By-Wireframing, I developed a methodology designed to kill the “waiting tax” in modern software development—replacing endless debates over static comps with real-time, live browser prototyping. I believe the biggest waste in product design isn’t writing bad code; it’s dead time: sequential handoffs, mockups debated in a vacuum, and expensive rework when untested assumptions hit production.

My work sits at the intersection of product architecture, behavioral validation, and organizational flow. By moving cross-functional teams straight into functional code—running on a continuous loop of testing interactive logic before visual polish—I help startups and enterprise teams make high-velocity decisions, eliminate meeting latency, and ship battle-tested software in record time.

01 — My Philosophy: Fly-By-Wireframing

The familiar myth

“Cheaper, faster, better—pick two.”

That trade-off comes with a hidden tax: dead time. Static mockups get debated in endless meetings. Work waits in sequential handoffs. Then untested ideas hit production and trigger painful rework.

Fly-By-Wireframing changes the order. We build interactive, behavioral blueprints directly in live browser code. Once the behavior is proven, visual design can elevate the foundation instead of decorating an educated guess.

The process

From big idea to real product

Talk it through. Build it live. Prove it works. Then polish.

  1. 01 / WOW!

    Wireframe Over Words

    A big vision lands and everyone goes, “WOW!” Before the room disappears into specs and speculation, open the browser and prototype the idea live.

    The test: If you can argue about it for ten minutes, you can test it in five.

  2. 02 / TBD

    Talk. Build. Decide.

    At the start, most feature details are To Be Determined. Talk through the logic, build it in live code, and decide together based on how it actually feels.

    The rule: Don’t leave TBD in a spec doc. Resolve it live in the browser.

  3. 03 / MVB

    Minimum Viable Behavior

    The result is a working answer to the important question: does this do what we thought it should, could, or would do? Test the interaction and flow before visual polish.

    The principle: Function before finish. Prove how it works before deciding how it looks.

  4. 04 / MVP

    Minimum Viable Product, in Sprint 1

    Because the MVB is already live browser code, shipping doesn’t mean starting over. Visual design wraps the validated behavior to deliver a polished, production-ready MVP in Sprint 1.

    The reminder: Never decorate confusion. Build your MVP on a proven MVB.

02 — My Philosophy in Practice

Two projects, two different design problems. These case studies will document the constraints, decisions, and iterations behind each one.

MCCS · E-commerce wireframe

MCCS MyMCX

A low-fidelity working wireframe for MyMCX. The case study will document its structure, interaction paths, and design decisions.

Case study in progress

Oarfish Marine · Product website

Oarfish Marine

A static marketing site for Oarfish Marine. The case study will document the visual system, product storytelling, and build decisions.

Case study in progress
03 — The Exposés

Exhaustive teardowns of web mechanics, semantic integrity, and interaction patterns: the small decisions that shape how an interface works.

Three mechanics, examined closely

01 / Macro patterns

The Hero Spectrum

Six ways to begin an experience. When does each pattern create clarity, and when does it get in the way?

Layout · hierarchy · failure modesDeep dive in development

02 / Component mechanics

Buttons vs. Links

An architectural line with consequences for semantics, keyboard behavior, browser history, and loading states.

HTML · keyboard · accessibilityDeep dive in development

03 / Visual systems

Iconography in Micro-Interactions

Hit targets, accessible names, helpful tooltips, and how small symbols either clarify a moment or add noise.

ARIA · hit targets · visual balanceDeep dive in development

04 / Form architecture

Form Flow Architecture

Single-page, stepped, or conversational: choosing the flow that reduces friction without hiding what comes next.

Forms · cognitive load · recoveryDeep dive in development
04 — Writing & Thoughts

Notes on the decisions behind the interface: how people think, how systems behave, and where design meets engineering.

Latency Is a UX Problem, Not a Backend Problem

Feb 18, 2026
Every engineering team I've ever worked with treats performance as infrastructure. It isn't. Every millisecond of delay is a design decision with measurable consequences on human cognition.

All writing

05 — Background & CV

Designing where people and systems meet.

I work across UX engineering and full-stack development, bringing behavioral insight, interaction design, and implementation into the same conversation.

A downloadable CV is not published here yet. For inquiries and collaboration, head to contact.