Ibrahim El Chami

The main objections I hear about hiring UX contractors: “The ramp-up will be too slow,” “They’re too pricey,” and, “They won’t know our culture, or how we work.” Let’s unpack that. 👇 With recent UX downsizing, companies might have smaller permanent design teams — but trust me, demand for design work is still there, because stellar contractors are building that demand.🌟 I’ve watched it firsthand as I oversee staffing at Outwitly Inc. By utilizing contractors to augment their teams at specific points in the design lifecycle, organizations can still get the work done — without burning out their internal team with millions of feature requests on top of their usual load. It can be a win-win that keeps businesses healthy. 🌱 Back to those objections. Like many UX-related objections, they’re generally founded on shortsightedness: 🏁 Ramping Up vs Acting Now: 🏁Bringing on a contractor can actually add velocity, especially with longer projects that promise big impact but get pushed out or deprioritized because of the sheer amount of work. If you need something done and no one else has the capacity now, you can bring on a specialist for six months, instead of waiting. (^You can also make use of contractors to lay the foundation for upcoming work, like specialists in design ops, research ops, design systems, etc., while others focus on immediate deadlines. ) 💰Up-front Cost vs ROI: 💰Contractors often have higher rates because they take on higher risk, but when you consider the cost of slow internal hiring, employee turnover, long-term overhead, employee benefits, etc., contractors can be a lower-risk option. Specialized contractors can also pull research initiatives out of holding patterns and uncover opportunities for innovation with major ROI potential. 🧩 Like-Minded vs New Perspectives: 🧩New personalities aren’t scary! Blended teams are amazing for bringing in fresh perspectives and diverse skillsets that your internal team members can learn from and adopt, to the long-term benefit of their organizations. (^ Plus, the beautiful thing about the people who tend to go into contracting is that they’re often senior practitioners, willing to bet on themselves because they know they’re experienced enough to consistently win contracts, and they HAVE to be that good to find work.🔥) 👉 So, in reality, you get the "cream of the crop," new perspectives and more speed/flexibility. You get to skip over red tape and get straight to work. (Especially if you have support with choosing the right candidates.) If you’re considering this hiring move, OR you’re trying to convince your supervisor to consider it, give this blog post another look: https://lnkd.in/gRP-V3JS We posted it a while ago, but it’s still a good resource. I’d be interested to hear about other experiences with blended teams. What’s your favourite part?  What’s working best? #UXDesign #StaffAugmentation #UXContractors #BlendedTeams #DesignOps

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When it comes to user research, we can’t just provide a long laundry list of pain points and tiny fixes. 📝 That’s not enough. 👇 Researchers so often get stuck in the hamster wheel of incremental product improvement that we aren’t actually spending enough time with our research (synthesizing it using design thinking) to provide true innovative solutions. (As you know, providing innovative solutions is the KEY to creating real impact.) Instead, what usually happens is that stakeholders receive these research reports with a big long list of basic, surface-level pain points to address at the end (🥱), along with some basic recommendations, and they get added to some product/feature roadmap, prioritized, and implemented in a routine life cycle. 🤷 This is great, to an extent! BUT, hello!!… DESIGN (the bigger umbrella of design) is NOT about identifying a million pain points and painfully fixing each one. Design is about creating experiences and things that delight ✨ and excite 🤸people, while being functional. User research should support that. 👉 Try not to get stuck in this trap when you’re working on your next project.  Next time, when you’re looking at a fresh set of raw research data: 🧩 Strategize: Employ frameworks to start processing the themes and repeating ideas in your data. 🧘‍♂️ Marinate: Let these themes and ideas wash over your subconscious again and again, even while you sleep! 🌀Bend and push your creative mind: Work hard at putting those ideas together in new and exciting ways. 💥 Don’t stop until you get to the magic: You will find those “aha” moments waiting underneath it all. 🎯 Communicate and sell that magic in your reporting: Showcase opportunities that will actually get at the deep-rooted design problem and elevate your organization into a trendsetting power player. The way we do this for our clients is through Action Plans. Yes, we still provide the laundry list of pains — because it IS still useful. BUT, the genius 🧠 we deliver is in translating these larger themes into ACTIONABLE and INNOVATIVE solutions that will literally transform the way those businesses deliver their products and services, and propel them ahead of the industry. This is how you get noticed in your UX career — bringing these types of solutions to the table!! #UserResearch #UXResearch #DesignInnovation #UXCareer #DigitalTransformation

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Know when to take UX debt and when to invest. We love the way Mehekk Bassi breaks down the tradeoff between quick delivery and long-term UX value. She encourages designers to treat these choices like financial decisions by being intentional about when to borrow and when to invest. UX debt means taking shortcuts to deliver quickly, knowing there will be fixes later. It helps speed things up but can hurt the experience over time. UX investments take more effort upfront but lead to better long-term outcomes. Her advice is not to avoid UX debt entirely but to use it wisely and always have a plan to pay it back. Check out her article: https://lnkd.in/gCRqva3z Here are five big ideas: 1. UX debt is a strategic tool, not just a shortcut Taking on UX debt can be useful if done intentionally and with a plan to fix it later. 2. Design decisions mirror financial decisions Just like borrowing or investing money, designers must weigh short-term gains against long-term value. 3. Not all UX debt is bad It can help you move quickly in early stages, especially when validating ideas or meeting tight deadlines. 4. UX investments pay off over time Slower, thoughtful design improvements lead to better user experiences and fewer problems later. 5. Be deliberate about when and why you choose each Teams should track their UX debt, understand the cost, and know when to prioritize paying it down. 💬 We asked Mehekk why she wrote the post: “So, my thought behind writing this story was to highlight the fact that many design decisions are often taken without considering future implications of the product. Unknowingly many teams accumulate UX debt and by the time they realize the issues, it's often too late and the experience gets compromised. For us, as designers, thinking about debt becomes a non-negotiable while crafting any experience for the product, that's why the title says - financial mindset of a designer." This is prudent advice! Helio helps you spot when UX debt is slowing users down by measuring things like clarity, completion rates, and confidence. With quick tests using UX metrics, you can decide when to fix issues or move fast with purpose. #uxresearch #productdiscovery #marketresearch #productdesign

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3+ million people use Wealthsimple today. And UX keeps being one of the biggest reasons they love our app. After 3 years here, these are 5 design learnings I keep coming back to: 1️⃣ Focus on one action at a time Every screen should have one clear priority. Once you think your design is simple, simplify it more. Then do it again. Making complex finances feel easy has taught me that clarity always wins. 2️⃣ Use people’s language Our voice & tone is a fundamental part of the brand. Clear content guidelines keep us consistent while building an approachable, fun personality in both English and French. Great content paired with great UX builds meaningful relationships with clients. 3️⃣ Systemize, then stretch Design systems are a great source of truth and a strong starting point. But they’re not the ceiling. The best work comes when you respect the system while still pushing patterns forward and raising the bar. 4️⃣ Prototype to persuade Wireframe-y prototypes open more doors than static decks. Record a walkthrough, share it widely, post it in channels with lots of eyeballs. You’ll be surprised who rallies behind new ideas. 5️⃣ Learn from the best around you Pick a skill you want to grow in the next 6 months and find the people who excel at it. Ask for jam sessions and review work together. Most people will say yes if you ask and you will learn sooo much. That has been my biggest growth hack. These lessons came from building, shipping, failing, and learning alongside some of the best designers I have ever worked with. To many more! 🥂 #uxdesign #productdesign #careerlessons #growth #wealthsimple

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Too often, people link design solutions to amazing interface, but the real design solutions isn't a screen at all, it could be: - A quick prototype to validate an assumption - A flow chart to align the team - A draft wireframe that explains the solution in details A polished screen without context that reframed the problem clearly is just a decoration. And a rough prototype or outline wireframe that validates the right problem is design at its best value. For me, I believe good designers know that clarity beats polish. Because the goal isn’t pretty UI only which is important but what is more important is solving the right problem in the right context. #ProductDesign #UXDesign #ProblemFraming #DesignThinking #ClarityOverPolish

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Figma IPO’d today at a $19.3B valuation. But it didn’t start with a 100-page roadmap or enterprise sales plan. It started with a simple, obvious idea: “What if design felt like Google Docs?” No installs. No ‘final_v27.fig’ files. Just live collaboration, in the browser. The multiplayer feature wasn’t even there when they launched. Still, they shipped. Listened. Adapted. And kept going. Today, it’s the default tool for design teams around the world. Why? Because it removed friction, not added features. Takeaway? Don’t obsess over what more to add. Figure out what you can eliminate. That’s how you build software people actually want to use.

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The #1 Mistake in Portfolio Presentations Most designers fumble this during the Past Work Presentation interview: They show the designs but not the decisions. - What problem were you solving? - What tradeoffs did you make? - Why did this work matter? Design isn’t just about pixels. It’s about impact. But, also make sure your presentation looks good! Want to stand out in your next portfolio review? Tell a clear story. Own your thinking. Show your impact. #productdesign #uxinterviewtips #portfolio #design #designer #designinterview #pastworkinterview #interactiondesign #ui #ux

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By 2030 Designer jobs will end and here is what I am doing about it (and you should too). For many of us, AI is already indirect competition. For me, it will soon be direct. Tools like Lovable are still laggy. I haven’t seen truly compelling examples of sites built with Mixo alone. And yes - they lack the flair, restraint, and human judgement that good design demands. But let’s be honest. Most budget-constrained founders - and plenty of less design-aware clients - will choose "fast and cheap" over "crafted and considered". Not because it’s better, but because it’s easier. That shift is coming whether we like it or not. So this isn’t a doom post. It’s an invitation to pivot. Designers in London are already under pressure — rising costs, shrinking budgets, fewer retainers. AI doesn’t end the profession, but it ends the old version of it. The opportunity now is to: - relearn - reskill - move upstream Because those who don’t adapt won’t be “disrupted” - they’ll simply be priced out, likely surviving on some form of universal income while tools do the execution work. Designers 2030 are thinkers. New roles will emerge, only few will remain. I can already see some likely ones: - Content Curator - Decision Maker - AI-Assisted Designer (Graphic / Video / Web) - Product Developer - Vision Leader - Empathy & Ethics Guide - Experience Designer - Craftsmen Recruiter - Prompt Engineer - Question Designer - Emotional Support Officer Personally, I’m drawn to AI-Assisted Web Designer. It would be foolish not to use these tools. But the real value isn’t in clicking “generate” - it’s in direction, judgement, and intent. I still want to drive decisions. I still want to apply decades of experience in intuitive, human-centred design. And I still want every project to have a clear goal beyond “it looks fine”. The tools will change. Taste, responsibility, and clarity will not. So - how will you pivot? And what roles do you think will emerge in an AI-dominated economy?

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If Shopify’s COO is saying vibe coders are the future for product managers, where does that leave the design role? Product designers and UI/UX design roles typically focus on early stage prototyping and testing, but if PMs are now expected to lead that work, we’ve gotta face the fact that the tech industry is going through a major change. I think the way forward for design roles is to push more into product strategy. This will not only give you a seat at the table letting you make more of an impact, but will also make you a more effective decision maker when making design decisions. Always remember that wherever you fall: Product Managers, UX Designers, or even Software Engineers, you’re making software that serves business goals. It seems now more than ever, the expectation is to take business goals and turn them into useable UI faster and with as little people as possible

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If you're not at least trying to locate hiring managers for certain roles on here, you're leaving a lot on the table. I always try to connect with a Director of Product Design or Product Design Manager after applying to a role. Best-case scenario, they are the hiring manager, or know who it is. Worst case, they ghost you, but at least you tried.

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A senior designer I'm coaching was asked to complete a 'special day' in the 3rd round. 3 x 45 minute calls. 2 with product designers. 1 with the VP of product. I'm sorry. After 3 rounds, if you're still unsure and feel 3 additional calls will give you more clarity, it's time to reevaluate. What differentiated questions could 2 product designers ask, aside from the VP? And this is after they spent > 8 hours on a presentation for the 1st round. At which point do we admit that some hiring managers don't know what they're doing and don't know what to look for? ----- This senior designer's resume and portfolio speaks for itself. Yet, the stress, doubt and confusion they're put through is unnecessary. ----- #design #tech #careers #ux

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