I design complex products
I design complex products
I design complex products
Somehow, this portfolio became one too
Somehow, this portfolio became one too
Somehow, this portfolio became one too
Product Designer / 5+ years
Product Designer / 5+ years
Product Designer / 5+ years
About
About
About
I design complex products that don’t make people feel stupid
I design complex products that don’t make people feel stupid
I design complex products that don’t make people feel stupid
R
R
Ryszard Szeja
Ryszard Szeja
Product Designer
Product Designer
Product Designer
5+ years designing for job seekers at Stepstone and for traders at tastytrade (IG Group).
Mobile and consumer products
Mobile and consumer products
I like working out how to explain complicated systems on a mobile screen so people can use them.
Working out what to build
Working out what to build
I’m comfortable starting with an unfinished brief. I use research to work out which problems need attention and whether the proposed features would help.
Trying the ideas
Trying the ideas
I’ve always liked code. I’m learning to build more of what I design so I can try things out and see what breaks.
Research result · tastytrade
Research result · tastytrade
64% → 87% found the right section, on average
64% → 87% found the right section, on average
I reorganised Account Management around how customers grouped tasks, then repeated the same five tasks with different participants. The results were higher on all five.
Team result · Stepstone iOS app
Team result · Stepstone iOS app
≈35% growth in applications
≈35% growth in applications
I simplified the application flow, removed repeated fields, rewrote the copy and reused saved candidate data.
Team result · Stepstone iOS app
Team result · Stepstone iOS app
≈20% growth in listing views
≈20% growth in listing views
I worked on making job cards easier to scan, including how they showed location, work model and salary.
Team result · Stepstone iOS app
Team result · Stepstone iOS app
≈10% growth in App Store downloads
≈10% growth in App Store downloads
I worked on the App Store screenshots, their testing and the product-page copy.
Recommendations
Recommendations
Recommendations
What my teammates say I’m useful for
What my teammates say I’m useful for
What my teammates say I’m useful for
“Ryszard will dive deep into any area that needs attention, whether it’s copywriting, digging into data to identify opportunities for improvement, or prototyping concepts to get in front of users early and often. He’s as capable of working independently as he is within a team, making him a versatile designer.”
Camille Celone Product Design Manager @ tastytrade
“Ryszard will dive deep into any area that needs attention, whether it’s copywriting, digging into data to identify opportunities for improvement, or prototyping concepts to get in front of users early and often. He’s as capable of working independently as he is within a team, making him a versatile designer.”
Camille Celone
Product Design Manager @ tastytrade
"Ryszard will dive deep into any area that needs attention, whether it’s copywriting, digging into data to identify opportunities for improvement, or prototyping concepts to get in front of users early and often. He’s as capable of working independently as he is within a team, making him a versatile designer.”
Camille Celone
Product Design Manager @ tastytrade
Makes sense of the mess
Makes sense of the mess
“Ryszard has a great ability to bring together quantitative data, customer interviews, usability research, and platform analytics into insights that are easy to act on.”
“Ryszard has a great ability to bring together quantitative data, customer interviews, usability research, and platform analytics into insights that are easy to act on.”
Karolina Johnson
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade
Brought research into the team
“He helped establish our first ever user research practices, coached others on different research methodologies, and provided valuable feedback to his peers about how to improve our experiences.”
Camille Celone
Product Design Manager @ tastytrade
Helps decide what to do
Helps decide what to do
“His work went far beyond conducting research. He was often the person identifying opportunities and helping shape the first direction for UX solutions.”
“His work went far beyond conducting research. He was often the person identifying opportunities and helping shape the first direction for UX solutions.”
Karolina Johnson
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade
Challenges the default answer
Challenges the default answer
“He’s not afraid to ask difficult questions or challenge assumptions, always with the goal of making the user experience stronger.”
“He’s not afraid to ask difficult questions or challenge assumptions, always with the goal of making the user experience stronger.”
Kasia Kołodziej
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade
Catches the small things
“He also has an eye for the small details that are easy to miss but can make a huge difference to the customer experience over time.”
Karolina Johnson
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade
Looks for a better solution
Looks for a better solution
“Ryszard is a collaborative, approachable teammate who’s always focused on finding the best solution rather than the easiest one.”
“Ryszard is a collaborative, approachable teammate who’s always focused on finding the best solution rather than the easiest one.”
Kasia Kołodziej
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade
Challenges the default answer
“He’s not afraid to ask difficult questions or challenge assumptions, always with the goal of making the user experience stronger.”
Kasia Kołodziej
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade
Catches the small things
“He also has an eye for the small details that are easy to miss but can make a huge difference to the customer experience over time.”
Karolina Johnson
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade
Looks for a better solution
“Ryszard is a collaborative, approachable teammate who’s always focused on finding the best solution rather than the easiest one.”
Kasia Kołodziej
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade
Makes sense of the mess
“Ryszard has a great ability to bring together quantitative data, customer interviews, usability research, and platform analytics into insights that are easy to act on.”
Karolina Johnson
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade
Helps decide what to do
“His work went far beyond conducting research. He was often the person identifying opportunities and helping shape the first direction for UX solutions.”
Karolina Johnson
Senior Product Designer @ tastytrade
Brought research into the team
“He helped establish our first ever user research practices, coached others on different research methodologies, and provided valuable feedback to his peers about how to improve our experiences.”
Camille Celone
Product Design Manager @ tastytrade
Selected Case Studies
Selected Case Studies
Selected Case Studies
The two projects I’d start with
The two projects I’d start with
The two projects I’d start with
Additional Work
Additional Work
Additional Work
More projects to look through
More projects to look through
More projects to look through
How I Think
How I Think
How I Think
Five situations I keep running into in product work
Five situations I keep running into in product work
Five situations I keep running into in product work
What I check
1
Is this a real problem, or a feature the team already wants to build?
Where I start
1
I separate facts from assumptions and check what could change the decision before moving into UI.
Seen in practice
1
Stepstone and tastytrade · Testing demand before designing requested features.
The solution arrived before the problem
What I check
1
Is this a problem people actually have, or a feature the team already wants to build? How often does it happen, and what evidence do we have?
Where I start
1
I write down what we know, what we’re assuming and what could change the decision. Then I check the most important unknowns before moving forward.
Seen in practice
1
Stepstone and tastytrade · Checking whether requested AI assistants, Live Activities and filters solved a real problem before moving into UI.
The solution arrived before the problem
What I check
1
Do people actually have this problem? How often does it happen, and what evidence do we have? I also check whether we’re starting with a feature the team already wants to build.
Where I start
1
I write down what we know and what we’re assuming about the problem. Then I check the unknowns that could change whether we build the feature.
Seen in practice
1
Stepstone and tastytrade · AI assistants, Live Activities and filters. I wanted evidence for the ideas before getting into the UI.
UI Archive
UI Archive
UI Archive
Early work from when usefulness was optional and enthusiasm was not
Early work from when usefulness was optional and enthusiasm was not
Early work from when usefulness was optional and enthusiasm was not
Galaxy Fruits • Mobile App
Version Note
Galaxy Fruits • Mobile App
Version Note
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Galaxy Fruits • Mobile App
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