Nobody Told Me I Could Do This

Nobody told me I could do this.

I did not start in design. This is the long way in.

this is me

The route

Three careers before design.

  1. SalesSelling to other businesses
  2. Agency recruitmentFinding people for other companies
  3. In-house recruitmentTwo in-house roles, hiring digital talent
  4. Product designMay 2017. I started calling myself one.

2014 to 2017

I spent three years watching designers get hired. And passed over.

I learned what made stakeholders trust one designer on sight and dismiss another in the same meeting.

I was collecting the playbook before I knew I would need it.

13 September 2017

Made redundant.

Three months of savings. No job offer. No design degree.

The free freelance work I had taken on since May was my only portfolio.

I decided not giving it a real go was the worst risk.

Then the wait

13 Sep 2017Made redundant
days
ApplicationsInterviewsRejection
22 Feb 2018Paddy Power Betfair said yes

After the yes

Getting the job did not end the hard part. It moved it.

February 2018. Junior UX Designer at Paddy Power Betfair, and the least experienced person in every room.

I could not always explain what I was doing or why.

I second guessed work I knew was right, because I had no credentials to back myself.

What happened next

That phase does not last.

Nobody told me it was coming.

Dec 2024 to Apr 2025Acting Head of DesignFour direct reports
Sept 2022Senior UX DesignerJD Sports
2021Midweight designerPaddy Power Betfair
Feb 2018Junior UX DesignerPaddy Power Betfair

It shows in the work

I spotted the problem myself.

Main navigation, JD Sports. Nobody briefed me. I compared the website to the shops and found the gap.

None of that came from a design degree.

Before
After
Click-through rate
£300k+

extra revenue. A 28 day test, both versions live at once.

Over 10 million sessions a month

How I work

Find the problem in the data. Test the fix. Build it.

Find the problem
Google AnalyticsWhere users stop and what they skip
Card sorts and tree testsCheck the structure before anyone commits
Test the fix
MonetateA/B tests, 28 days when it matters
UserTesting and UserlyticsModerated and unmoderated sessions
Build it
FigmaDaily for seven years
Miro, Claude Code, Figma MakeI read the code they generate

Now

Sales taught me the business. Recruitment taught me people. Design let me use both.

I lead product design, and I help design teams work out where AI helps and where it does not.

richardilott.com
Read the story

Nobody told me I could do this. I did not start in design. This is the long way in.

Three careers before design: sales, selling to other businesses. Agency recruitment, finding people for other companies. Two in-house recruitment roles, hiring digital talent. Then product design. May 2017 is when I started calling myself one.

From 2014 to 2017 I spent three years watching designers get hired, and passed over. I learned what made stakeholders trust one designer on sight and dismiss another in the same meeting. I was collecting the playbook before I knew I would need it.

13 September 2017. Made redundant. Three months of savings, no job offer, no design degree. The free freelance work I had taken on since May was my only portfolio. I decided not giving it a real go was the worst risk.

162 days of applications, interviews and rejection. Then, on 22 February 2018, Paddy Power Betfair said yes.

Getting the job did not end the hard part. It moved it. February 2018: Junior UX Designer at Paddy Power Betfair, and the least experienced person in every room. I could not always explain what I was doing or why. I second guessed work I knew was right, because I had no credentials to back myself.

That phase does not last. Nobody told me it was coming. Junior UX Designer in February 2018, midweight in 2021 at Paddy Power Betfair, Senior UX Designer at JD Sports from September 2022, then Acting Head of Design with four direct reports from December 2024 to April 2025.

It shows in the work. I spotted the main navigation problem at JD Sports myself, by comparing the website to the shops. Click-through rate went from 18% to 32%, worth over £300,000 in extra revenue across a 28 day test with both versions live at once, on a site with over 10 million sessions a month. None of that came from a design degree.

How I work: find the problem in the data, test the fix, build it. Google Analytics, card sorts and tree tests to find the problem. Monetate for A/B tests, plus UserTesting and Userlytics for moderated and unmoderated sessions, to test the fix. Figma, Miro, Claude Code and Figma Make to build it, and I read the code they generate.

Sales taught me the business. Recruitment taught me people. Design let me use both. I lead product design, and I help design teams work out where AI helps and where it does not. richardilott.com