As confidentiality is a priority at Bain, none of the work shown will show finished visual designs or anything that identifies our clients.

I started at Bain as a freelance senior advisor for a project in Kuwait. During this time I helped create a challenger/neobank. I worked with the other design lead and a team of consultants to align the design, tech and user experience with the business goals as the bank was being developed. 

We created the overall information architecture and user experience. We also identified value propositions that were unique to the region and industry. We testing these hypothesis in different countries in the region and based off feedback shaped both the value props and user experience as the two were intrinsicly linked. 

We separated the experience into smart saving and spending, and create unique features to help facilitate saving, such as round-ups and a feature where the user couldn't see how much money they were saving. 

All features and business goals also had to align with local Islamic laws relating to saving and loans, which are specific to the region. 

Once the bank project wrapped, I was asked to join Bain permanently and settled in their Berlin office. During this time, I worked as a design lead on a software project that provided transparency to the supply chain of various raw materials. We collaborated with a coalition of the largest coffee, automaker, and textile companies on the planet.

I was responsible for the overall user experience, information architecture, development handoff, and leading with junior and intermediate designers. I presented design updates weekly to stakeholders and monthly to the C-suite during steering committee meetings.

The other major project I led was working with the world’s leading document storage company. We created a new internal venture focusing on using AI to streamline the physical document storage and retrieval process. I worked with a senior designer in London to create the user experience, brand, visual interface, and logic behind the AI system. We presented these designs weekly to our direct clients and also to the C-suite in the monthly Steerco meetings.

I also undertook several small projects between the larger ones, which include:

• Creating a brand and visual identity for a €350m environmental VC fund in Copenhagen.
• Conducting competitor analysis for major consumer brands in Germany.
• Creating designs and slides for pitches.
• Leading internal design talks to upskill colleagues.
• Leading design thinking, ideation, and prioritization workshops.
  

After transitioning into a management role, I was important to me that I continue designing. To make this work, I was given a hybrid role that allowed me to upskill in management while also leading design projects. During this time, I led a project for a global healthcare brand.

Working closely with our innovation experts and product owners, I helped create an online pharmacy. The business was tested in Brazil and Italy, requiring me to work in Portuguese and Italian, with English as the common language for internal meetings. I led and managed a team with members based in Germany, Copenhagen, Italy, the UK, and Brazil. I also directed the client’s internal team of designers.

Given the highly regulated nature of the pharmacy industry and the unique rules in each region, close alignment with product owners, product managers and lawyers was necessary. The designs we created were transformed into interactive prototypes, which were then handed off weekly to developers to be created in three languages.

Other projects I undertook during this time include:

• Streamlining the service design for two separate UK non-profits.
• Consulting with seed-stage startups on how design could accelerate their path to profitability.
• Continuing to mentor local colleagues and international direct reports.
• Advising a major bank in Belgium on streamlining its product offerings and showcasing this through refined design.
• Leading ideation workshops.
  
  

During this period, I collaborated with the government of a large Middle Eastern country to evaluate and streamline two of their digital products that were in various stages of development. I worked closely with a team of designers, project managers, and partners to align with the client on roadmaps, prioritization, and product design.

I identified critical issues with one of their products, and after conducting due diligence and testing out options, we decided to shut down the workstream. This resulted in the client saving over one million euros per month in staffing and agency fees. We also suggested an inexpensive path forward that generated the same results without relying on two external agencies and decreased the timeline substantially.

The other project I worked on was with a different government in the Middle East. This project involved reviving a bird species that was near extinction. The client is building a village in the desert, and the systems needed to be automated as much as possible and operated by touch interfaces. I worked with a product owner to gather domain knowledge and translate it into technical documents. From there, I created wireframes, visual designs, and prototypes for the system. As the timelines were tight, we presented our work to the client at least once per day and constantly iterated until we struck a balance of functionality and ease-of-use. 

• Facilitated presentations to the boardroom: I was responsible for presenting my work to the boardroom. I developed the confidence and skills to deliver presentation.
• Managed high-stakes projects: I worked on projects that dealt with billions of dollars. Through this experience, I learned how to get cofortable with decisions that would have massive financial implications, navigate corporate bureaucracy and never take “no” for an answer.
• Led teams across timezones: I successfully ran teams and projects of varying skill levels and in varying timezones. This experience taught me how to effectively communicate with team members and stakeholders, regardless of their location.
• Collaborated with diverse groups: I worked with everyone from non-profits to scientists to CEOs. Through these collaborations, I learned how to communicate the benefits of design and how it relates to business goals.
• Increased knowledge of design in organizations: Overall, I gained a deep understanding of how design fits into an organization and how to champion it. I learned where to apply design to achieve the best results.
• Developed direct reports: I set out a path for direct reports to grow and learn, and held them accountable for their actions. I learned how to give direct feedback to team members to get work done to a high standard in tight timelines.