Transforming Design Processes at Mindbox

Context

Mindbox is a marketing automation and CRM platform that helps large e-commerce and retail companies manage segmentation, messaging, personalization, and analytics.

I joined the company as a Design Lead to improve processes within the design team and raise the overall level of product design.

At the start, the team included:

  • 2 mid-level designers (outsourced from an agency)

  • 1 junior designer (in-house, Mindbox)

Initial Situation

After conducting 1:1 and team meetings, I identified the following issues:

  • Planning: the design workload was planned only one week ahead. Urgent ad-hoc tasks were common.

  • Design system: outdated elements, no synchronization with the developers’ library.

  • Production ≠ mockups: after handoff, product managers and developers often changed solutions without informing designers.

  • Metrics: the company tracked only one metric — number of support requests. Tasks lacked success criteria and measurable goals.

  • Designer involvement: designers were not included in research or user interviews.

  • Task management: tasks were often assigned via personal messages, with no centralized process.

What I Did

1. Diagnosis and alignment

  • Conducted 1:1 and team meetings.

  • Discussed company goals and roadmap with product leads and management.

2. Design system

  • Initiated an audit of the design system.

  • Compiled a prioritized list of necessary changes (immediate vs. near future).

  • Estimated resources (hours, timelines) needed for system improvements within 1–3 months.

3. Integrating designers into the product process

  • Ensured designers were involved in the research phase.

  • Set up direct communication with users.

  • Introduced post-development design review: designers check the implemented UI against Figma mockups.

  1. Task workflow and metrics

  • Created a task template for designers to define success criteria, key metrics, and priorities.

  • Raised the issue with stakeholders about the need for proper task tracking and additional resources.

  1. Planning and processes

  • Extended design planning to a 3-month horizon.

  • Eliminated the practice of assigning tasks through personal chats.

Results

Process changes:

  • Planning: horizon increased to 3 months.

  • Task management: no more “tasks in personal chats”.

  • Research: designers joined user interviews.

  • Design review: established a stage to check implementation against mockups.

  • Metrics: success criteria and KPIs defined for tasks, groups, and quarters.

  • Design system: started adding necessary components and factoring time for system growth into planning.

Team improvements:

  • Designers developed stronger skills in research, metrics analysis, and design system management.

  • Improved product thinking across the team.

Business impact:

  • Growth in key product metrics.

  • Reduced number of deadline shifts.

  • Higher quality and consistency of interfaces.

  • –8% client churn due to improved usability and product stability.

  • +12 points to CSAT (customer satisfaction)

  • –20% support tickets related to UI and UX issues

Conclusion

  • I successfully transitioned the team to a structured product design approach.

  • This raised product quality, increased client trust, and drove measurable improvements in both team performance and business metrics.

  • Most importantly — I laid the foundation for the growth of Mindbox’s in-house design team and enabled a smooth transition from outsourcing to a fully internal team.