In this edition of our employee spotlight series, we are thrilled to feature Ada, our exceptional Product Designer. Ada's creativity and vision have transformed our products, elevating the user experience to new heights. Join us as we briefly explore Ada's professional journey, her impactful contributions, and the passion she brings to product design.
What is your role at ULAM LABS?
As a Product Designer, my role is to act as a bridge between clients, developers and the end users. I must understand all their needs and be able to organize and materialize them in the designs, which should be kept functional, but also simple and beautiful at all times.
How have you grown or what have you learned since working?
Career at ULAM LABS gave me a chance to explore working with larger projects than I used to work with in the past. One of the abilities I’ve developed was to quickly understand complicated business concepts, which allowed me to have a deeper knowledge of the product. In the Product Design career path it is impossible to perform well without seeing a broader perspective and thoroughly knowing the product that you create.
I’ve also seen a huge progress in myself in the field of day-to-day communication with clients - as a huge introvert it was always something that stressed me out the most. But I must admit that having awesome clients also helped with this matter.
Which of our culture's values is most important to you and why?
What I really appreciate in ULAM LABS is that from the very start you can feel that you’re welcomed as a part of the team. Everyone is very warm, helpful and eager to give you all the tools to grow and be a valuable addition to the team. At the beginning of working here, it was really important to me that in every field I had a space to learn, practice, make mistakes and repeat until perfected.
I also really appreciate the constructive, honest feedback. Product design is a field of constant improvement – that is why deliberation of people's observations is crucial in self-development and making the design objectively better.
What are the key factors you consider when designing products for the Fintech industry?
I consider the user's trust as a main objective while working on a Fintech product. In the virtual environment financial services are places where users feel the need of being safe and protected while making the operations and keeping the finances there. Naturally, you can’t achieve this trust by introducing just one isolated solution. From my perspective it should be a compound of transparent communication, providing all the necessary knowledge, trust-building interface and a good error handling.
How do you collaborate with other team members and clients, to develop final product solutions?
I strongly rely on transparent and honest feedback. I’m in everyday contact with the developers and clients to make sure that we’re heading in the correct direction and to be always able to quickly resolve any doubts. From my experience, the more client and development teams are engaged in product creation, the better the outcome of our joint work is.
Can you provide an example of a project you worked on that was particularly successful/interesting? What was the challenge, and what was the outcome?
Some time ago we made a rework of a service which had a history of not the best UX decisions and lack of proper business analysis in the past. Our objective was to rethink the purpose of a product, change the UI completely and deliver the proper UX solutions. And furthermore, perform all this mid-development. Recently we received first feedback from our test users about our refurbished platform and it is very positive. Bearing in mind that there's still a lot to improve, we’re very glad that users have noticed substantial change in the positive direction and they are encouraged by it.
What skills are the most important for your role?
Product Designer is quite an interdisciplinary role. It requires a vast knowledge about technology, design and psychology. In the fast-paced changing environment as the SaaS field, there is constantly a need for research, improvement and pursuit for innovation.
Product Designers should never perceive the work on the product as done - the strength to constantly search for a better solution is a must. Having that in mind, designers should naturally be armed with a huge amount of patience.
What do you enjoy most about working at ULAM LABS?
What I really like is the atmosphere made by people working here. I don’t know how it is possible, but there is no person who wouldn’t be positive, friendly or supportive. I don’t want to use an all time cliché-cringey saying about how we feel here as a big family - but every time I come to the office I have a good time and I feel that I like my job. And if this isn’t an ultimate working goal - then what is?
What was your career path?
Although my career was very divergent, it almost always revolved around design. It started with photography, then it naturally evolved into graphic design. For some time I was working in the field of interior design, but I discovered that the digital environment has a greater opportunity for development and creative possibilities for me.
After a few years work as a graphic designer I decided to extend my knowledge and I started to learn UI/UX. Then, as a freelancer, I designed and developed websites, made brand identities, social media posts, podcasts. I learned to cooperate with clients, understand their needs and be able to quickly learn new things and adjust to the present needs. Working with my clients, I always searched for broader context and wanted to take responsibility in shaping the product - that is why I think that role of Product Designer suits my needs best.
How do you recall your recruitment process?
I really liked the recruitment process in ULAM. It was very friendly and transparent from the beginning to the end. First I had a soft-skill interview with our lovely Natalia, where she asked about my background, skills, interests and also introduced the company. Second step was a technical interview with Piotr, our head of Product Design & Marketing team. My concerns of being eaten alive by stress and killer questions quickly vanished - it was very positive and interesting interview and I left it with high hopes (and as usual post-interview flashbacks of all the stupid things I’ve said 🫢). A week after that I received positive feedback and a job offering.
What advice would you give others interested in working at Ulam Labs as a Product Designer?
If you’re interested, do not hesitate any more - just apply! I really like working here - I never had a healthier, funnier and more supportive workplace environment than UL. 🫠
