In this episode of If U Seek, Nikol sits down with Ramona Ziemann, growth designer, founder of Ahead Studio, and one of the clearest voices on what it really takes for design to drive business results.
Ramona’s path started in graphic design and packaging, but everything changed the moment she joined the growth team at Crunchyroll. Watching tiny UX decisions ripple across 120 million users taught her something most teams learn the hard way that design isn’t done when the screen looks good, it’s done when the outcome improves. Today she helps companies and government teams build digital experiences that don’t confuse people, backed by real evidence instead of assumptions.
n this conversation, Ramona breaks down what growth design really looks like in practice, from using data to uncover the real problems behind poor conversions, to running lean experiments that outperform full redesigns. She shares stories from Crunchyroll, public sector projects, and her own studio to show how early testing, clear systems, and a culture of accountability help teams move faster and make better decisions.
You can find If U Seek on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Youtube Music.
Preview
In this Episode:
Ramona talks about how she doesn’t believe growth design replaces UX.
In her opinion, the next generation of designers will:
- read data without fear
- run experiments instead of relying on opinions
- collaborate across functions
- connect user needs with business performance
Let’s see how Ramona believes designers will be strategic partners shaping product direction and not some “pixel movers”:
Transcript
Ramona: I think every designer had this moment, you improve a flow, you launch the design, everything feels like great. And then after six months, one year, the exact same problem comes back. It’s coming back even worse. Or no one knows whether the change actually worked. And that’s actually the worst part of it. So that usually happens when teams design features, but they don’t build necessary systems around that.
Ramona: So for me, data infrastructure is what makes a good idea, actually reusable. So it’s not just a one-time fix. And for organizations, great infrastructure is when they keep using the system which you created. Otherwise, every new feature becomes a guesswork if you don’t have any infrastructure set up. So every new designer needs to start from [00:01:00] zero.
Nikol: What we seek shapes what we build, this is If U seek by Useberry. Hello everybody, this is Nikol Fotaki. Welcome back to If U Seek. Today’s guest is someone who’s redefining what it means to design for impact. Ramona is a growth designer and the founder of Ahead studio, Moldova’s first growth focused design agency.
Nikol: She started her career in Germany designing beautiful packaging, but soon realized that beauty alone doesn’t fix conversion funnels. That insight pulled her into the world of product and growth design. She later joined Crunchyroll where 120 million anime fans taught her that even a tiny UX change can make thousands of people hit subscribe.
Now, Ramona helps companies and governments design digital services that don’t confuse humans. Through UX [00:02:00] audits, experiments, and smart design systems, she proves that sometimes a two line copy fix can outperform a 30 page redesign. She also teaches workshops, mentors, young designers, and advocates for experimentation over assumptions.
Nikol: Her mantra says it all, design shouldn’t guess. It should prove. Welcome, Ramona. It’s great to have you on.
Ramona: Thank you, Nikol. Thank you for the nice introduction and I’m very happy to be here and have a nice conversation with you.
Nikol: It’s gonna be very exciting. So let’s get started. You, you started as a graphic designer and evolved into leading UX and growth focused projects.
Nikol: What sparked that shift from pure design to using design as a tool for business growth?
Ramona: Yeah, so I started back in the days [00:03:00] as a designer and as a graphic designer actually. And, graduated as well in design and began my career into the packaging world at Group in Germany. And I was working there on, uh, packaging projects for, uh, big consumer brands.
Ramona: Later on I moved into, you know, creative agencies that focus mostly on print campaigns. Everything what is around advertising posters, annual report design and branding. And, you know, back in the days that was like the thing, you know, this is what, what was the world about design.But then the world changed.
Ramona: iPhones appeared and apps. Became now the thing. And suddenly, businesses didn’t just want people to see their brand, right? So they wanted the people to interact with it. So to click, to [00:04:00] buy, to sign up and to reach out. And that’s when I realized the moment a design becomes static like a print advertising, its power to kind of create growth kind of ends here. You know, like, don’t get me wrong, I mean, a graphic design is still a great thing. It has all the beautiful facets and it’s definitely, uh, not that if we follow this you know, designer’s that print is that and so on. But it wasn’t where I wanted to be anymore. You know, I liked and I like projects that kind of move and are big, are complicated and definitely are digital and products that grow, that have as well an impact on both sides. On the business especially, and as well, for the users who are using that product. You know, at the time it wasn’t a common talk about that design [00:05:00] impacts business. You know, that’s recently something new that design impacts business and it was all about how things were looking. That was the past The thing.
Ramona: which is, you know, the, the visual aspect was still dominating, which is of course important. But what I wanted to hear is someone saying, Ramona, because of your design, our signups went up. Because of the flow, our retention improved. Yeah. So that, that’s what I was looking for. And before I had even a language or a name for it.
Ramona: So the real spark, if we speak about the spark, uh, was coming during my time at Crunchyroll, which is one of the biggest streaming platforms for the anime world. And I was part of the growth team, and that’s where design basically finally met the data. Uh, so we were not just, um, [00:06:00] redesigning features, we were basically mapping out user journeys, how people are signing up, where they drop and what makes them stay. That’s, that was the important part. And it was almost like, you know, running UX audits in real time. So, we looked at the acquisition, right? We looked at the retention, we looked at the churn. So we really looked into the data and trying small design experiments, how we call that, to see what actually moved the metrics.
Ramona: So. You have design A, we change something, test it, and see what’s the difference between, the A and B in, in terms of, uh, the metrics. And I still remember one test. Uh, where we changed like the upgrading flow for an existing free user, uh, what we did, we basically offered less steps, a clearer language, so it was [00:07:00] really about the content and suddenly the retention improved. You know, people were signing up and that was the moment where I realized, that’s it. That, that’s exactly what I wanted. I want that somehow, my work is driving growth, not just for the end user, but as well, like I’m part of impacting the business for which I’m working and I think once you see how one change in the, you know, user flow can move thousands of people in a different, uh, or can move people differently. You never go back to like, some static design. I, I cut to that. So, yeah, the growth team at Crunchyroll was basically my first spark. And understanding that, uh, design can really direct impact the business.
Ramona: Yeah.
Nikol: It’s fascinating that the [00:08:00] idea that you can literally watch a design decision ripple through user behavior. Yeah. And, uh, yeah, and that really sets the stage for this bigger conversation around growth design because it’s not just about making something usable anymore. It’s about designing for measurable outcomes.
Nikol: And, uh, yeah. So growth design is becoming a big topic, but it often means different things to different people. How do you define growth design and how does it differ from traditional UX or product design?
Ramona: I think growth design, yeah. It’s becoming right now a term and it’s more often used. But I think growth design as a term is one of those, terms that everyone like kinda nods to.
Ramona: Right. So it’s like, ah, yeah, yeah. Right. You know, that’s, that’s the thing. But if you ask 10 designers, you will probably get also 10 completely different [00:09:00] answers, which is fine. Because, I would guess all of them are kind of right, but in their own way. Because growth design isn’t just like one fixed discipline.
Ramona: It’s like, uh, it, it adapts, right? It adapts on the, on the context where it gets introduced. So in startups, for example, it might mean experimentation and experimenting and optimizing like kind of funnels. In big product companies, it’s often about like engagement or retention. And in public services, like the ones where I work right now, it can mean designing for adoption, for example, uh, helping people actually use digital services, right?
Ramona: So if we speak about digital transformational or digitalizing public services, we have Growth in this context would mean like we need to help people to [00:10:00] kind of adapt using actually digital services. So for me, growth design, it’s really simple. Growth design is UX with accountability.
Nikol: Mm-hmm.
Ramona: So what I mean by saying this, so in UX, the goal is to make things usable and enjoyable, right? So you, you care about the flows, the accessibility, the micro interaction, which are happening there and all the good stuff. But once the design is handed off, the job is done, right? So in growth, in growth design, you don’t stop there, right? So you hold yourself accountable, and that’s not the important part for what happens after.
Ramona: So the design is not done. Design is never done. But important is like what happens after you deliver your design and here comes in, do people actually [00:11:00] sign up? Do they actually come back? Did the design change improved actually something.. the revenue, the signups, the, you know, whatever you wanted to achieve there.
Ramona: So that’s what’s actually accountability means so you measure the outcome of your design. You, you are responsible for its impact, and you learn as well from what worked and what didn’t work, right? So that that’s also your job as a designer to understand, okay, I created that, but did it actually work or not, and why?
Ramona: So when I was, uh, when I was in that function or holding the title of a UX designer, uh, my success as a designer was measured by the quality of the experience. So when I. Uh, when I became, uh, or holding the title of a product designer, which was in a different context, and I don’t want to get now into what’s the difference between UX and UI designer, [00:12:00] product designer, but, you know, uh, but, and because in my different titles I had the different responsibilities or different expectations, so that’s why I’m just breaking it down, um, uh, into those steps.
Ramona: So when, when I was holding the product designer title, my success had to be as well aligned with like business goals. So in, in this hierarchical structure. Then later on, somehow business goals were also important for me as a designer. Uh, but growth design for me, it’s like kind of connecting both of them.
Ramona: It’s the middle space where you prioritize the needs of the people and, and the performance. So success and growth means. People are doing it and you can prove it, you know? Okay. Because it’s backed up with, uh, backed up with, uh, data. Um, let me give you one example. We were like redesigning [00:13:00] and, uh.
Ramona: Onboarding for an app, and in the context of a UX designer, it was like simple, you know, make, make the onboarding, uh, simple and clear. Yeah. But as a growth designer, uh, I’m doing it clear and simple. My job is done, but I would measure then later on, or I am interested in how many users actually finished that onboarding.
Ramona: Right. And still use the app. A week later, you know, and that’s where the tests variations, um, are as well, playing an important role. And that’s basically what. Ahead Studio is built around, so we help companies connect design data and, um, the mindset of experimentation so they can see how the ux, which they actually asked for, impacts the growth.
Ramona: So sometimes that means running [00:14:00] UX audits and fixing some issues in the flow, and sometimes it’s building, uh, something from scratch with, uh, tracking already in place. So it’s about. Sometimes it’s really understanding what’s happening in your product. Sometimes it’s about like analyzing if there are too many steps, too many unnecessary things, and, um, not thinking about like huge big, uh, redesigns, but, uh, analyzing like how you can optimize, uh, what you have already there.
Nikol: This definition, that ux ux with accountability. Yeah. Uh, it, it reframes design from something subjective into something testable and repeatable. Yeah. Um, and, and it’s interesting you put it that way because once design becomes measurable. Data naturally enters the picture. And that’s where, yeah, and that’s where [00:15:00] things can get tricky though.
Ramona: Um, yeah, that’s true. Yeah. What I, what I also wanted to say is that, uh, I think growth design, I mean, in a natural, it doesn’t differ much from ux. I know I put now UX a bit as like, you know, the job is done when you just do the, the screens and the flows. It’s not really like that, but growth design, it’s more like an extendable arm.
Ramona: And, uh, it’s basically like a mindset. So think not just in flows and you know, the job is done now of a user, but like, okay, you did the thing, but then also care about what’s happening after. So it’s, it’s, it’s kind of like a mindset which we have to bring so that we can bring as well the business aspect and the data, uh, especially in, into this conversation.
Nikol: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Ramona: Yeah.
Nikol: Yeah. And your process puts analytics and experimentation at the core. Of design, how do you balance creativity with data and how do you make it [00:16:00] sure that data doesn’t kill good ideas?
Ramona: Yeah, so that’s, that’s the tricky part. That’s a good question and difficult to answer. I get why, why people think that once you bring this boring data.
Ramona: Analytics super complicated, which nobody understands. Uh, a lot of people then suddenly, uh, suddenly think that design becomes that, uh, very calculated and almost robotic job. Right. So it’s like, you know, you have to, um, no. Like you’re just optimizing numbers and instead of like creating something new.
Ramona: Yeah. Uh. But, um, uh, I’m not a numbers person. I am also, you know, like it’s tricky. It’s difficult, you know, but it’s really interesting once you [00:17:00] understand like un understanding, reading, reading the data outcome and putting it in like your, in comparison with your design or connecting the dots, it kind of becomes actually very cool.
Ramona: It’s like kind of becoming a detective into that. Ah, for me. Data doesn’t replace kinda creativity, so it’s, mm-hmm. I always say that data shows you where to look. Not what’s to create. So here starts the creativity. So it’s like having, it’s like having a map, you know? The numbers tell you where people get lost.
Ramona: Yeah. Uh, but the creativity is like how you decide to get the people actually back. Right. So you now, now you start to be creative and trying to find solutions like how to improve something. So I had one, uh, project. Users kept, um, dropping, dropping off right before completing a form. And, uh, the [00:18:00] data was showing, um, like a very clear pattern, but it was not telling me why like.
Ramona: What’s happening on there, like why people are dropping off just before filling out that form. And the data was like, fine. And we couldn’t, with that data, we also couldn’t understand like, what’s really going on. So that was the moment where we kind went a step, uh, deeper and we’re asking, okay, let’s kind of test that.
Ramona: Let’s do like a moderated test because we needed really like qualitative, um, feedback. Like really. User feedback and not just a bulk question. So we really needed to figure out what’s going on there. So we did a user test and realized that the, that the voice of tone, like the way how the content was written, was too formal for the people.
Ramona: They were really not understanding what, what was asked. From them. [00:19:00] So people were, weren’t really sure if they were, I think, allowed to continue without certain information or something like that. So the job was like not redesigning and, you know, redoing everything. It was really about the content structure and how the things were written.
Ramona: So it was really about copywriting and, um, so what we did is like we offered, uh, more. You know, a content that was, uh, more plain friendly and very straightforward, same layout, same flow, and uh, the completion rate jumped immediately. So that’s not like data versus creativity. It’s like really data and creativity.
Ramona: ’cause with data you become actually more creative. More creative, and finding the right solution for a, for a specific problem.
Nikol: It’s interesting, uh, the more, let’s [00:20:00] say mature teams become, the more they realize creativity and data don’t compete, that they actually, they can coexist. Yeah. And yeah, one gives you the direction, the other gives you the depth, uh, which makes me think about how the approach.
Nikol: Plays out when results start to dip because not every problem needs a redesign. And, uh, you’ve mentioned that a redesign isn’t always the answer. Can you walk us through how you uncover the real problem behind poor conversions or user, user drop offs? And what kind of design experience experiments actually move the, the metrics.
Ramona: Yeah. So, you know, usually clients are coming, uh, to like, we need to redesign everything. Mm-hmm. You know, we need something, we need to refresh. Uh, but really, very, very often it’s not [00:21:00] about, uh, redesign is really, isn’t always the, the, the answer because, you know, most teams, uh, when the numbers starting somehow to drop, Hmm.
Ramona: Immediately think about, you know, visually visual refresh. We need to redesign, we need to revamp everything. Designers go straight into Figma, starting to, you know, change everything, doing something, uh, changing the interface. Um, but, but you know, the truth is a, a new interface won’t fix always the broken funnel.
Ramona: Actually, you know, it’s like repainting the house when you actually have a problem with the foundation. So that’s why my, my approach is always like, and I think majority of the designers are always well doing that, uh, getting a di diagnosis, right? Like trying to understand what’s actually happening and don’t jump right away into Figma and design something, but assess what’s [00:22:00] going on.
Ramona: And that’s what we do as well. At the Head studio. We run like so-called growth audits. See it as an like an onboarding questionnaire, right? So where we ask clients or you know, the teams, what’s currently their analytics, what, what the data’s telling, like, uh, if they have as well user feedback, what they actually want to achieve, right?
Ramona: What are their KPIs? So that we have first like a real, um, input of like the, the metrics or the information from the company or from the team. And if there is no data, which is also very often the case. So we kind of, I mean, it’s not about that we guess, but might be wrong. But what we do is like, uh, we run hypothesis driven audits.
Ramona: So that means, um, we believe that. A causes the drop, right? [00:23:00] So if we do A, we expect B, and I’m as well completing those hypothesis with like gray scaling designs. So that means if I am proposing like, hey, if we would add now here a button below a title, um, and I’m showing that in different variations. It’s not like I’m proposing a design, but I’m proposing like a structure of like where we should place a call to action, right?
Ramona: Mm-hmm. And um, and then we decide basically on the variations, on the, based on the ideas which we offer, like what we could do. What we could achieve. And, uh, we are deciding which variations might work for us. We design them and then, uh, we basically implement them and run experiments. But, um, audits really matter.
Ramona: [00:24:00] And that’s also important if we can measure the impact. So that’s why we define, uh, KPIs so that key numbers show the real, um, progress. Like the activation, the conversions, the retention, and the the revenue of course. And this metrics tells us. If the product is actually working, where it’s leaking and what actually to fix first and to run as well.
Ramona: Real experiments, I mean, tracking has as well to work. So we make sure, um, events. So if we speak about data structure or um, data analytics, then we also make need to make sure that kind of events. In the tools like Amplitude, for example, wow. Uh, are mapped correctly and dashboards are kind of in place so that, uh, the client as well can see what’s going on, uh, in their product at the glance in the most important funnels, right?
Ramona: Mm-hmm. And [00:25:00] when I’m speaking about funnels, they are all connected through like call to actions. So that’s why it’s sometimes very important how you connect your content. In connection with like, okay, you are telling the user something, but what you want them to do. Like, is it now signing up? Is it now clicking and going somewhere else because there is something else where you want to, uh, let them do something.
Ramona: So that’s why the placement of bundles, uh, uh, buttons are, uh, important because they are the event trackers. From there, you can understand, okay, they selected it, they went there, and then they were doing something. That’s why on e-commerce, the buttons are important, so they need to understand where they can click in order to go to the checkout flow or to the shopping cart.
Ramona: This is where a hat studio, so when we speak about mapping out events and creating those dashboards for the clients to understand like what’s going on, [00:26:00] this is where also a HAT Studio is partnering with, with another company, uh, which is called Other Side because they are handling for us a bit like the in, um, analytics infrastructure.
Ramona: Uh, and we turn basically the insights which we get there into the UX actions. So the, the, the feedback loop is very. Clear. It’s like you have the data. You are either testing or designing or design and test. You learn from that and then you repeat it again. So I have one, one great example where it’s again connected with like, you know, redesigning is not always necessary.
Ramona: We love example. Yeah. So we worked with a company that helps people notarize documents online. Very straightforward, like simple product. You upload your document. You, it gets verified, it gets signs and you pay. Uh, what we knew from the client is that they [00:27:00] kind of felt that the conversion rate was very low.
Ramona: Somehow people are, uh, selecting the button notarized now, but then somehow they’re. They’re getting lost. I mean, the, the, the completion rate is also not happening. Um, so we looked at the behavioral data. We were working with Amplitude back in the days, and we also connected, I, I don’t know which other tool we connected there, but we had multiple data streams where we like, it was like very obvious what’s going on.
Ramona: And uh, so we looked at the behavioral data and saw that users bouncing between pages, searching for the price. Okay, so the, the main call to action, like notarized now or something like that was visible. People were clicking it, but then going somehow back, and they were looking for the price, but the price was like buried.[00:28:00]
Ramona: I don’t know, two pages away, deeper under some tabs and legal text. So what we did, we basically, so there, there was really no redesign. Like we basically played Lego uhhuh. So we took basically the price component, which was very clear. Nice. We just took it from this. Other page under a tab, back to the, uh, homepage, placed it under the button and that’s it, you know?
Ramona: And so no redesign, no like crazy. I don’t know, something. And the result was crazy. It was really like 20% of upload to purchase rate. Mm-hmm. So after really. Placing that price in connection as well with a call to action like notarized now, which has the, which had the same function. I mean, it was leading you to the same thing, but it was, people were already aware of what does it cost and that’s it.
Ramona: That was the whole problem of this whole page and that that [00:29:00] was, uh, that was cool. You know, like, so that was where I understood design can move really like. As well the business. And there was no need of painting the house and it was really just fixing the foundation. And, uh, yeah, so, and that was, that was an audit, which was run with.
Ramona: It was a bit pure data. I mean the, uh, poor data, sorry, not pure, but poor data because it was not really, um, yet set up very well. So I had a bit of like, uh, data to work with, but it was really driven by, uh, a hypothesis driven audit. So I really was verifying first. Okay, like, I want to notarize now and where’s the price?
Ramona: You know, like, how, how should I know? Like, I’m starting the journey going back, and then, you know, this back and forth that was like, um, confusing. So, yeah.
Nikol: Yeah. It’s, uh, you mentioned this before also, the, the [00:30:00] detective, the, the investigation, it does sound like you’re describing, describing design as investigation and, uh, yeah.
Nikol: That diagnostic mindset feels really critical. And, uh, yeah, so this mindset probably extends to how you validate ideas too, especially when you’re testing concepts, uh, before committing development, uh, resources.
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Nikol: So you’ve worked on massive projects from eCommerce funnels to national apps and tools like, uh, Useberry is central to your process. How does testing early with prototypes change the way teams invest in design and development?
Ramona: Yeah, before I will get into another example. I will tell you that, uh, I belong to those designers or to those people who doesn’t fall, uh, in love with, like, new tools. Yeah. Um, you know, if, if it still works, I don’t touch it.
Ramona: You know, like I, I, I, I’m very difficult to change to new things. So back in the days when Photoshop was a thing, it was super mega difficult to make me switch from Photoshop to Sketch. You know, it was a full, full on trauma. So, um, for me, for me actually, like new tools, uh, if I want to use [00:32:00] really a new tool, it really has to solve a real problem for me.
Ramona: And, and ideally it also should not give me anxiety Yes. By doing it because, well, I’m like, you know, um, and last year when I was working on that governmental, uh, project. And, uh, we had access to a very large numbers of, uh, potential users. It was like more than 2000, uh, potential users. And I wanted a way to test early.
Ramona: Uh, some prototypes, which we created some designs, uh, to see if people basically understood the content and if they could find like certain key actions, which we kind of changed from the initial, uh, design. So. We wanted to see if the flows and the content would make sense to people. [00:33:00] But I didn’t wanted to set up, you know, like a complex moderated, uh, session, uh, and, uh, spend weeks on recruiting, uh, the right users.
Ramona: What I needed was something very simple, like upload a Figma prototype, write a few questions or tasks, and send them out a link. Collect feedback and that’s it. You know, like I, I wanted something very simple and I was, uh, using it. And I think in another design community, someone was mentioning Use ber.
Ramona: And I was like, okay, let’s give it a try. I hope, I hope it’s so difficult to use, you know? Because in my previous companies, we were also using some tools, but they, I, I remember they felt difficult and I was like, oh no, not against something where I need to have a PhD in something. Um, but yeah. Uh, as someone like me who gets anxiety from tools, uh, they, that look like [00:34:00] complex, you know, airplane cockpits, I was very surprised.
Ramona: Useberry was like really, like, really easy to use, like it was. Very intuitive. And, and it was more than I expected because it, it had this heat maps, which was super cool. It was a super cool, uh, um, tool. It has this completion flows and it had even, and that was also, uh, great, uh, because. Um, it had that, uh, conditional logic, uh, that adapts to users’ answers.
Ramona: Yes. And that was also important for me because I really could create out with that tool, adding their prototypes. I could even prototype the whole survey, you know, so that was like perfect. So we used the test basically to figure out if this, this curability and, uh, if the, the content was clear to, to the people or to the citizens.
Ramona: And the result was super great because we wanted to [00:35:00] figure out if people can navigate. And the navigation, we figured out that the navigation wasn’t the problem, but it was again, like the content structure, the, the voice and tone, the language, and how the content was structured to the user. So instead of redesigning again, the screens.
Ramona: It was about like rewriting the content and, uh, reordering as well the content. And that’s what early testing does. It saves you time from building, you know, the wrong things. Beautiful. Mm-hmm. Right? So you’re spend spending time designing, uh, high fidelity designs and pixel perfect. But then, uh, maybe it’s, it’s not worth it.
Ramona: So testing prototypes, uh, early. Saves time, budget, I mean money. Uh, because by the time development starts, we al already know what’s, uh, what’s working and what’s not, what confuses people and uh, what actually needs another round. So the beauty of tools [00:36:00] like Useberry is that they make testing that they make, feel that testing is super easy and, uh, you sometimes really don’t need like a huge research team and, hmm.
Ramona: Not all the time, but that’s, uh, a cool tool which will help you be, uh, independent. Um, yeah, so I would say testing isn’t, uh, as well, like the final stop. It’s supposed to be part of any design process or design itself. And yeah, it helped teams, um, learn faster. Argue less, having less discussion, less 50 shades of meetings, you know, where everybody has an opinion.
Ramona: So you have data, information, real proof that, hey, uh, let’s not redesign against something here. Users, they understand what they see here and yeah,
Nikol: yeah, yeah. It, it’s, uh, it’s about learning early. Yeah. And avoiding costly [00:37:00] assumptions. And, uh, yeah, that, that mindset really separates, uh, the mature teams from the reactive ones.
Nikol: So I loved your example, uh, which ties perfectly into the foundation behind all of this. Uh, because testing and iteration only work, if the data underneath is solid. So a, a lot of your work also involves setting up analytics and governance, uh, something most designers overlook. Why is data infrastructure such an essential part of modern ux and how does it empower teams long-term?
Ramona: I think every designer. Had this moment, you know, you improve a flow, you launch the design, everything feels like great. And then after six months, one year, [00:38:00] uh, later, the exact same problem comes back. It, it’s coming back even worse, or no one knows whether the change actually worked. And that’s actually the, the worst part of it.
Ramona: So that usually happens when, uh, teams design features, but they don’t build necessary systems around that. So for me, data infrastructure is what makes. Uh, a good idea actually reusable, right? So it’s not just a one time fix. Uh, and for organizations, if we, yeah, if we speak about organizations, great infrastructure is when they keep.
Ramona: Using the system which you created around. So it’s like the tracking, the KPIs, which you set, the dashboard, which you have the shared components. If we speak about design systems Yeah. The rules for how [00:39:00] something should be built. Otherwise, um, every, so if we speak about, if you want to implement a feature.
Ramona: Yeah. So, uh, every new feature. Becomes a guesswork, uh, if you don’t have any infrastructure set up. So every new designer needs to start from zero. If you don’t, for example, has a design system, right? So if we speak about data, you know, you don’t have anything set up, you always start from scratch. But what do we want to actually to achieve?
Ramona: If you don’t have a design system, you always need to start from scratch, right? So, and if you have systems. Different direction set up. It kinda, uh, speed up as well your process and you don’t need to, to, to do anything from zero. Um. In big products, especially like, um, currently working on some governmental PR platforms, this becomes very critical if we speak about [00:40:00] systems.
Ramona: So if you have 30 or 40 institutions all building their own version of the same thing with different ui, different ways of measuring success and turns naturally into chaos because people get 40 different experiences and nobody knows. What’s working right? But the moment you add like governance, measurement, shared patterns, clear ownership, suddenly every team is speaking the same language, right?
Ramona: So we all have the same understanding. If one institution learns that users don’t read legal text on mobile, that learning becomes part of the system and everyone benefits basically from it. It’s also the same, uh, I mean the same applies not just to government, governmental organizations, but it also applies to any, any business or startups.
Ramona: And, you know, so you, [00:41:00] you don’t want a design, uh, you, you don’t want a design change that works just once. So you don’t want just to have it once fix, you want to understand why it worked, how to measure it, and how to repeat it without reinventing the wheel new every time. So for me, data infrastructure isn’t just about dashboards, so, you know, viewing the data at, at a glance, but it’s also about, you know, having, having like a, like a culture around that.
Ramona: Like having a mindset about that or, yeah. So it’s, um. It’s designed basically at the scale a designer can leave, right? So if a designer’s leaving, a new team will join and the system is still there and keeps learning, right? So you have to create a system that is like staying there and regardless who will join, what will happen, you, um, you have a foundation, uh, set up and that’s how you basically create [00:42:00] long-term impact, not just like one time improvements.
Nikol: It’s, uh, the invisible architecture that lets creativity compound instead of getting lost in chaos. Uh, and it feels like that same systems thinking mindset is shaping how design roles themselves, uh, are evolving and, uh, yeah. So as design becomes more tied to performance and Roy. Where do you see the role of the growth designer heading next?
Nikol: Will it replace traditional UX roles or simply evolve them?
Ramona: Uh, I don’t think that growth design will will replace, uh, ux, but I do think it will change it a bit. As I mentioned previously, like I see, you know, UX as a foundation and then. Growth is basically the extended arm of it. [00:43:00] Um, so for me, they are like both, uh, connected.
Ramona: So that’s why if growth design is becoming, now this, the words, the, the term, it’s not replacing, it’s just really a combination of it and for a long time. Uh, as, as I mentioned, UX was measured by the usability, right? So is it clear? Is it easy? Is it easy to understand and easy to to use? I mean, that’s still important, but, uh, but now what companies are asking is, does it convert?
Ramona: Does it retain users? Is it worth building it? Right? So growth design is just simply like the next layer of maturity, and I think the designer of the, you know, the f. Future won’t just, uh, be like a pixel pusher, you know, expert in like, um, moving things around. Uh, they, I think, [00:44:00] uh, designers will be like the behavior analysts.
Ramona: Like the strategic thinkers, the hypothesis makers, like, what’s, what’s going on here? Right? So like, uh, someone who understands, like people, uh, understand the product and the performance and, and that everything at the same time. That, that’s how I see how UX designer will grow or evolve in a, in a, in a direction.
Ramona: And I think that’s. I mean, I think that’s a ideal case because what designers are usually struggling with that we don’t have the table at the, you know, at the, the business table, at the sea table. Um, so because finally it puts us designers at the business table where we always wanted to be. So we are not anymore the make it pretty department.
Ramona: It’s like we are, we [00:45:00] are not. Anymore. Yes, I know it’s not perfect, but we are, we, uh, designers are, um, changing a bit once we use like really business terms and not just using them, but also understanding them and can use them in our daily, uh, work life, uh, that makes us look and feel. In a very different way.
Ramona: So designers who will really thrive are the ones who read data without being afraid of it. Uh, run experiments instead of like, uh, having assumptions. Um, collaborate as well with product, with engineers, with researchers, teams, with analytics. So. Having really this cross-functional discussion and UX and product design will naturally evolve into like a growth focus roles.
Ramona: I mean, it’s already happening. Not because it’s like [00:46:00] trendy, but because companies can feel that, uh, or see and feel that design, um, can really have an impact. And I think, uh, this shift is good for designers and when you tie your work to kind of real results, to conversions, to satisfaction, and, uh, you kind of as a design, again, influence.
Ramona: It’s like not anymore. You are the pixel pusher. You are like, uh, driving real impact and your decisions matter matter more than it was, and you have now a voice where you prioritize as well, something. So, because at the end of the day, growth design, it’s, it really, it’s really not just a job title. It’s really like a mindset.
Nikol: Yeah. That balance, understanding people, product and performance is what makes the next generation of designers so powerful. It’s really interesting.
Ramona: Yeah.
Nikol: Uh, and that feels [00:47:00] like the perfect no, to end on design, not just as a craft, but as a driver of real growth and impact. Uh, yeah. Ramona, thank you so much for joining If U Seek and sharing such a thoughtful look into how design and data can truly drive growth. Thank you.
Ramona: Thank you very much.
Nikol: We’ll link to Ahead Studio and all of Ramona’s work in the show notes. So definitely check that out. Uh, thank you everyone to listening to If U Seek. Until next time, keep designing with purpose and thinking of outcomes.
Nikol: Thank you. For more exciting content, follow us on our social channels. Your reviews mean the world to us, so don’t forget to leave one. And of course, hit that subscribe button to stay updated on our latest episodes. If U seek is a platform for discussions and personal insights. The opinions presented by guests are independent and do not represent the [00:48:00] official position of the host, Useberry, or our sponsors.
