My shift from UX/UI designer to Product Designer
I was no longer designing features.
I was now solving problems with design.
My designs went beyond usability and aesthetics.
They now drove results.
Business results.
Here are 4 of the key changes I went through on this journey:
I went from designing screens → to solving design problems
I was no longer assigned problems → I had to discover them
Moved from narrow design thinking to → big-picture thinking
Business strategy became → fundamental in shaping my designs
Let me run you through each of them:
Change 1: I went from designing screens to solving design problems
As a UX/UI designer, I focused primarily on UI improvements.
I was making decisions that enhanced aesthetics and improved the usability of interfaces.
I was optimizing how things looked and functioned over whether the experience was addressing actual user needs.
No wonder my designs had such little impact on metrics once released.
And this wasn't showcasing me in the best light as a product designer.
Let me give you a project example to explain this:
👉🏽 Improving the questionnaire flow for a home insurance quote
Before: My focus would have been on:
✅ Refining the layout
✅ Grouping related questions into different sections
✅ Strengthening hierarchy with typography
✅ Adjusting spacing for better readability
These tweaks improved interaction, aesthetics, and usability but didn't address users' real needs or pain points.
After:
I shifted my focus to understanding the actual underlying problem a user had.
User's problem with filling out the questionnaire:
"I don't always have the required information (e.g., the date my property was built) with me when filling out the questionnaire, especially when I'm on the train doing this after work."
I then designed solutions that solved this problem:
✅ Solution 1: List all required documents before users start the questionnaire so they can prepare.
✅ Solution 2: Allow users to skip questions that require documents and send a text reminder to submit missing documents later via SMS.
Can you see how simply rearranging the form wouldn't have fixed this experience?
I'm not saying UI and usability improvements aren't important, they are. But only after you've addressed the real barriers users face.
In the same way, I won't paint my house's walls until I know the structure is secure.
This shift in focus, from surface-level improvements to real problem-solving, separates UI tweaks from designs that have an impact.
Action tip 💡
Before you start designing, ask yourself:
"Am I just making this look better, or am I helping the user achieve their goal or solve their problem?"
If the answer is mostly about layout, color, or spacing, you haven't uncovered the real issue yet.
Change 2: I was no longer assigned problems, I had to discover them
Before:
I primarily worked on executing ideas.
Delivering high-fidelity designs based on predefined requirements.
I waited for product managers or my manager to assign me a problem.
After:
Instead of being given a problem to focus on, I investigated what problems existed. I helped decide which ones were worth solving.
How did I do this?
Conducting user research to uncover new needs to address
Mapping user journeys to identify opportunities for improvement.
Running design sprints to explore potential solutions.
Reviewing analytics to identify drop-off points.
Performing competitor and market analysis to spot gaps.
Speaking with customer support to hear common complaints.
Looking at heat maps to see potential pitfalls.
This led to:
✅ A stronger voice in product decisions: I was influencing our road map based on high-value opportunities.
✅ More meaningful design work: Rather than tweaking existing flows endlessly,
I discovered and validated new ideas, making my projects interesting and fulfilling.
This is when I really fell in love with design. It was the first time I felt like I was reaching my potential. It was also the most challenging because there wasn't much guidance or process.
Change 3: Moved from narrow design thinking to big-picture thinking
Before:
I concentrated specifically on the screens, flows, and components for which I was directly responsible.
I didn't consider how my design choices would affect the overall product or the business.
After:
I started viewing my work holistically, understanding that even small changes could impact:
Other parts of the product
Business operations
Cross-functional teams and their goals
Design wasn't happening in isolation, it was intertwined with technical, operational, and business systems.
Here are some examples:
Technical feasibility: Some design ideas might be too complex or costly to build (the example we talk about most often)
Marketing: Marketing shapes how the product is perceived; your design needs to complement that narrative.
Sales: Some UI changes can affect how the product is demoed or sold.
Training materials: Your designs might require updates to FAQs, help centers, or onboarding tutorials.
Risk tolerance: Some companies might be more conservative, preferring safer, proven design patterns.
Data privacy: You might need to design flows that handle user consent (GDPR, CCPA, etc.).
Content approvals: Some wording or imagery needs legal review before being publicly used.
Contractual obligations: Partner branding (logos, links) might be contractually required and affect layout or design flexibility.
This shift meant collaborating closely with engineering, product, data, sales, marketing, customer support, and other teams impacted by my design decisions.
What this meant for me:
I spent less time designing in isolation and more time in conversation with stakeholders.
Communication and stakeholder management became as critical as my visual and UX design skills.
I avoided costly rework by thinking beyond the immediate UX and considering downstream impacts for the business.
Change 4: Business Strategy Started Shaping My Designs
Before:
My design focus was purely on the user.
Business goals were an afterthought.
I saw things like revenue, growth, and retention as responsibilities of the product managers, not mine. I didn't think about how to design with these metrics in mind. I assumed improving the experience would magically impact these metrics.
The result?
Even though my final designs looked good, they failed to drive the outcomes that mattered to the company.
Often, they were just pretty visuals.
Creating pretty visuals is easy.
Creating pretty visuals that impact business metrics is the hard part.
After:
Now, I focus on creating user-friendly experiences that also drive business outcomes.
I constantly ask myself: How do my design solutions contribute to the company's goals?
For example, if my project is to improve the purchase flow for users
👇🏽
If the business goal is to increase conversions:
I ask what changes I can make that will push the user to complete their purchase or sign up e.g, auto-filled payment details or express checkout options.
If the business goal is engagement:
I ask what features I can add to make the experience more interactive, such as user reviews, social sharing, or notifications to encourage engagement.
If the business goal is retention:
I ask how I can design the experience to keep users returning, whether through personalized recommendations or progress tracking.
Can you see how your design approach will change based on the metrics the business is trying to focus on?
My approach completely shifted when I began thinking about my designs not just as interfaces but as tools to drive business outcomes.
Suddenly, I was designing with intention, not just aesthetics, and the impact of my designs became clear in the data.
Conclusion
This shift wasn't just a change in my job title.
It was a change in my mindset.
I began designing with a deeper understanding of the problem and how my work contributed to the user's needs and the company's goals.
I was no longer focusing on surface-level improvements, which focused on visuals and usability.
I focused on uncovering deeper user pain points that had a tangible impact on company success.
