People, Business, Growth.
My Approach to User-centred Design, Business Alignment + Mentorship
Designing successful products goes beyond just meeting user needs. It’s about balancing user empathy, business strategy, and team growth. As a UX designer and design leader, I’ve built my approach on these three pillars to create impactful digital experiences and develop thriving design teams.
Human-Centred Design
Users First. Always. Every design starts with understanding users, their psychology, motivations, and challenges. This empathy fuels the journey from insights to impactful solutions:
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Discover: Conduct interviews, surveys, and analytics to build personas and uncover pain points. For example, during my work on Mapping Matter 2.0, I led user interviews that revealed the need for a modular menu structure, simplifying workflows for both novice and expert users
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Map: Visualise user flows to design intuitive pathways that align with user goals. In Disguise Space, mapping user journeys highlighted pain points in fragmented workflows, directly shaping the platform’s unified interface.
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Design: Develop wireframes and prototypes to refine structure and usability through iterative feedback.
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Test: Solve usability issues early through interactive prototypes and usability testing.
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Refine: Deliver functional, visually engaging designs that resonate with users and support business goals.
"Joe’s contributions have made a meaningful impact on our approach to user experience and design thinking within the organisation.
His collaborative style fosters strong partnerships across teams, ensuring designs respond effectively to both user feedback and business needs."
Igor Pancaldi
VP of Design
Business Alignment
Design must drive impact. I collaborate with stakeholders to align user needs with business objectives, ensuring every product delivers value. My approach to business alignment involves:
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Understanding Objectives: I prioritise early conversations with stakeholders to clarify goals and identify opportunities where design can directly drive results. For example, during my work on Disguise Space, I aligned feature prioritisation with revenue opportunities by incorporating stakeholder feedback and market insights.
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Balancing Needs: One of my strengths is avoiding feature bloat. I create streamlined designs that meet user needs while optimising for metrics such as engagement, retention, or conversion rates.
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Iterative Validation: My designs are refined through user testing and stakeholder feedback loops, ensuring that both usability and business KPIs are addressed effectively. For instance, prototyping in Mapping Matter 2.0 helped identify cost-saving workflow improvements that benefited both users and the organisation.
"Joe’s impact was immediate in changing our mindset and approach to UX and product design. His ability to bridge design and strategy ensured coherence and quality across projects, driving business success."
Max Dawes
Chief Operating Officer
Mentorship
Great teams create great products. As a leader, I tailor mentorship to each individual, fostering growth and autonomy. My mentorship approach emphasises:
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Collaborative Learning: I create opportunities for designers to learn from each other. For instance, I facilitated design workshops at Disguise, encouraging team members to share unique problem-solving techniques.
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Empowering Autonomy: By assigning challenging projects and providing guidance only when necessary, I help mentees build confidence and ownership over their work. A notable example was guiding a junior designer at Zappar to lead the UX redesign of a high-stakes AR tool.
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Long-Term Development: I regularly review and set growth goals with my team, ensuring they’re equipped for new challenges. Several of my mentees have progressed into leadership roles themselves, a testament to the growth-oriented culture I cultivate.
"Joe’s mentorship has been pivotal in my growth as a designer.
His tailored guidance and encouragement helped me develop new skills and take on leadership roles confidently."
Lucy Nechaeva
Product Designer
Conclusion
Great design is about creating meaningful value through user empathy, business alignment, and team development. By unifying complex workflows in tools like Disguise Space and Mapping Matter 2.0, I’ve delivered impactful solutions that balance creativity with strategic foresight.
Each project offers a chance to refine my craft, listen deeply, and collaborate effectively.
My approach ensures functionality, innovation, and measurable results, driving success for both users and businesses.
"Joe helped reinvent our approach to design, increasing coherence and quality across projects. His leadership and collaborative approach have been instrumental in our team’s success."