Role: Head of Experience Design
I led design strategy and built a design capability that lifted UX maturity and improved business outcomes across web and mobile products.
Context & Challenge
Laybuy’s digital experience lacked a coherent UX strategy, leading to friction in key journeys like onboarding and payments. There was no formal design function to guide product decisions, embed research insights, or drive cross-functional alignment. The organisation needed design leadership that could align user experience with commercial goals and scale up capability.
Approach & Decisions
I partnered with product, engineering and leadership to elevate design as a strategic discipline and strengthen product delivery. Informed by workshops, analytics and stakeholder alignment, I:
- Defined a UX vision that connected user needs to commercial outcomes
- Built and managed a UX and UI design team of six, including hiring, coaching and performance management
- Introduced structured research and testing practices to guide product decisions with evidence
- Strengthened design integration with product and engineering, improving delivery flow and decision quality
The emphasis was on creating a repeatable design practice rather than ad-hoc tactical work.
Outcome & Impact
- Checkout completion increased by around 20 percent through improved user flows
- Delivery velocity grew by 30 percent as design became better integrated with squads
- Onboarding and payments drop-off decreased by approximately 15 percent
- Validated research insights guided about 90 percent of major design decisions
Stakeholders recognised design as a strategic partner rather than a supportive function.
Reflection
The biggest leadership gain was embedding structured design thinking and research into product decision making. By lifting capability and influence, design became a driver of business outcomes rather than a reactive service. Next steps would include defining long-term UX metrics to track ongoing impact.