S — Situation: set context briefly
C — Challenge: name the real problem
A — Action: your specific decisions
R — Result: outcome + impact
Always link insight → decision → outcome
Name the trade-off — shows maturity
Reframe the problem — senior signal
Land one closing sentence per answer
Harnessing Customer Insight — One-Click Buying
PDP optimisation — exploring one-click buying
Validate demand and understand behavioural risks
156-user survey, insight-led design decisions
Director-level confidence, prevented wrong build
Designed and ran a 156-person structured survey to establish user appetite for one-click on PDP
76.3% likelihood to use — clear price threshold data and specific anxieties: security, accidental purchases, missed discounts
Insight directly changed the design spec: confirmation layer added, price threshold logic, discount visibility — design outputs of the research, not assumptions
Presented to director level — gave commercial and user confidence to progress the concept
Priorities shifted with restructure — research foundation remains available when business returns to it
Explicitly name the design spec changes as outputs of the research — the criterion needs to hear "insight → design decision." The no-ship is one sentence then move on.
"Insight didn't just validate — it shaped what we didn't build."
Commercial Impact — Complementary Products A/B
Basket stage — high intent, low AOV growth
Increase value without disrupting checkout
Lightweight upsell, impulse-based, no detours
£10k+ daily revenue uplift, stat significant
Designed basket upsell keeping complementary items visible at point of highest purchase intent without interrupting checkout flow
Design rationale: low-cost items work as impulse purchases — lightweight and contained, no detours from the basket
Trade-off: consciously protected checkout flow over aggressive upsell — restrained design, not maximum extraction
A/B test across 169,000+ users — 99.9979% confidence, statistically significant
Mobile: £10,057 extra daily revenue · Desktop: 20 additional orders/day · Product uplifts up to +599%
"Small, well-timed interventions outperform heavy experiences."
Problem Framing & Stakeholder Engagement — Main Navigation
Navigation assumed more links = more value
Challenge deeply embedded assumption with SEO
UX audit, 6×6 anchor, collaborative not assertive
Major simplification, no conversion drop, global rollout
Self-initiated UX audit comparing real-world in-store vs online navigation — brought Vee along as a deliberate development opportunity
Reframed the problem: not navigation depth — cognitive overload. The assumption was wrong, not the navigation
As new joiner: called a meeting with stakeholders — collaborative not assertive
Built rapport with Jon Hunter, Head of SEO European markets — 6×6 anchor proposal showed genuine intent not ego. Jon became collaborator not blocker
7×15 → 6×10/12 — significant reduction through influence not authority. No conversion drop post-launch. Now live Italy, rolling out all markets
"The problem wasn't navigation depth — it was cognitive load."
Collaboration, Influence & Relationships — Craig + Network
New joiner, no established relationships
Build trust across functions quickly to deliver
Genuine interest, proactive investment, before needed
Craig trust, reduced friction, prevented launch risk
First designer embedded in a squad — rapidly built relationships with BAs, TPOs and Engineers with no runway to start delivering
Craig (Assoc. Director of Trade) — warned he was difficult. Invested proactively, built genuine personal rapport. Presented Partner Programme, 2 for XX, and Product Customisation directly to him
Craig in a meeting: "I only want to see things affecting checkout — I trust you to do your job." An AD voluntarily reducing oversight = earned trust
Localisation: built relationships with content lead and Finnish copywriter — identified component integrity risk ahead of regional launches. Finnish resolved as direct result
Capgemini (Mastercard / NIF): worked with external partners — bridged business context and design process gaps simultaneously
Principle: don't only reach out when you need something — build the relationship before you need it
Explicitly name breadth of network: Trade, SEO, Content, Copy, Engineering, External (Capgemini). The criterion wants to hear "network across the business."
"Trust reduces friction more than process ever can."
Proactive Process Improvement — Multiple Initiatives
Joined team with gaps in tools, process and capability
Improve ways of working without being asked
Multiple self-initiated improvements across team
Sustained impact — templates, capability, risk prevention
Introduced Design Template drawing on previous role — recognised the gap early, evolved collaboratively, now embedded in team practice
Introduced Innovation Hub concept — sustained enough value to evolve into Creative Lounge
Self-initiated UX Audit — surfaced real problems, directly informed navigation project
Identified vibe coding through personal reading, built Spanish language app to understand it, took Roshan and Jake through it — predated Gavin's PDRX briefing which subsequently identified this as a key team capability
Flagged component integrity risk for non-English languages ahead of regional launches — drew on previous role experience, Finnish resolved as result
Regularly publishes LinkedIn articles raising profile of design practice
Frame as a pattern not a list: "When I join a team I look for the gaps others haven't noticed." Name a cross-team example — localisation risk (content + engineering) or journey mapping with CRO/PM team.
"I don't just follow process — I build ones that scale."
Craft Mastery & Personal Growth — Journey Mapping + AI
Team lacked structured problem framing tools
Elevate craft beyond screen design across team
Journey mapping, vibe coding, writing, AI exploration
Skill propagated beyond me — Jake owns it independently
Brought deep journey mapping expertise into JD — created "Buy a Mars Bar" template, took design and CRO/PM teams through it. Now the team's recognised journey mapping person. Predates PDRX identifying it as a core skill
Jake now independently shares journey mapping with the team and brings work to me first — created a practitioner who propagates the skill further
Colour coding (red = major pain points) makes maps immediately readable by non-designers
Proactively explored vibe coding through personal experimentation before it became strategically relevant
Publishes on design thinking — "UX work before the screen": real UX happens in conversations before a single screen is drawn
"AI won't replace designers but it will expose weak ones"
Author of Designing with AI: Prompt Thinking for Product Designers — published on Amazon. Not just aware of AI's implications, but produced a body of work on it
"The real UX work happens before the screen."
Mentorship & Team Growth — Jake, Vee, Roshan, Usmaan
Junior designers lacking confidence and direction
Build independent thinking, not dependency
121s, coaching not solving, shared real work
LinkedIn recs, Jake propagates skills independently
Regular 121s with Jake, Vee, Roshan and Usmaan — safe, non-judgmental space to work through ideas
Philosophy: coaching not solving — help them find answers they probably already know. Builds confidence and independent thinking
Jake and Vee both provided LinkedIn recommendations — third party validation of mentorship impact
Took Vee through the UX audit as a deliberate development opportunity — real work, real learning
Took Roshan and Jake through vibe coding proactively
On joining: diagnosed systemic UX knowledge gap — created and delivered "UX — What is it?" presentation, followed up with deeper practice sharing
The criterion needs to hear output quality improved, not just confidence. Say: "The quality of what the team produces changed — Jake now brings journey maps to me before sharing with the wider team."
"Good mentorship scales impact beyond your own work."
Future Trends — Gamification, AI, Personalisation
JD is currently transactional — low habitual engagement
Shift from destination to platform people return to
Lead with gamification — distinctive, proven POV
Habitual engagement, hype, retention, brand loyalty
JD is currently purely transactional — users only open the app to buy. Gamification transforms it into a platform people return to habitually
Brand-sponsored free-to-play games around product launches — creates hype and engagement upstream of purchase intent
Push notification hooks through gameplay — gives JD a legitimate re-engagement reason that isn't just "here's a sale"
Proof point: at Paddy Power built free-to-play engagement mechanic — grew from 500 → 35,000 daily users. Not theory — done it at scale in a different industry
After gamification: "Therefore JD's design team needs to develop games and engagement mechanic capability — moving beyond screen design into behaviour design." For AI: "Therefore designers need to invest in strategic and intent-setting skills, not just execution."
Hyper-personalisation — right product, right size, available now. If you only buy Nike and Adidas, that's all you should see. Intent-led journeys over browse-led
Sustainability storytelling — Gen Z values shifting. Nike revival built on genuine sustainability credentials. JD's PDP needs to surface this credibly, not badge-slap it
Google Stitch + AI tools — "vibe design" starts from business objective and user feeling, not wireframes. Already ahead of this personally
AI will expose weak designers — those who thrive have strong strategic and craft foundations. Author of Designing with AI: Prompt Thinking for Product Designers
Already ahead across the board — vibe coding before PDRX, journey mapping before service design strategy, AI fluency shared with the team
"The role of a Senior Designer at JD isn't just improving screens — it's helping the business decide what's worth building next."
Across multiple topics — vibe coding, journey mapping, navigation usability, service design thinking, component localisation — you consistently showed up ahead of where the organisation subsequently decided it needed to go. That's not coincidence. That's someone with genuine strategic instincts, broad experience, and the proactive character to act on what they see before being asked to.