Day within the Life: Lindsay Derby, Design Lead

Meet Lindsay Derby, Design Lead at HubSpot. As a product designer, Lindsay is chargeable for turning concepts into options. Lindsay can also be one of many 2024 Management Council members for the Households@HubSpot worker useful resource group. Learn on to be taught extra about what it’s prefer to work within the Product Design function at HubSpot. 

Inform us about your function. What do you do for HubSpot?

As a product designer at HubSpot, my job is to behave as a inventive drawback solver for my product space. I’m chargeable for taking an concept and turning it right into a tangible, user-friendly resolution. This implies discovering out what customers want, taking a look at traits and behaviors, and designing an answer that appears nice and works effectively. 

I work intently with a cross-functional crew of engineers and product specialists to make sure that we meet our buyer and firm objectives. I work on the product imaginative and prescient, set up design ideas, design prototypes, and conduct consumer analysis to collect suggestions, and iterate on the design. 

As a design lead, I additionally act as a mentor and coach to different designers, serving to to upskill the crew, and assist them of their mission execution and profession objectives. 

What does collaboration appear like in your crew? 

Now we have a cross-functional product crew made up of design, product administration, and engineering. Now we have weekly conferences collectively to align on mission objectives, talk about progress, and share concepts. I’m chargeable for proudly owning design selections and presenting findings to stakeholders. I additionally regularly collaborate with different UXers on our crew by sharing work, and giving, and receiving suggestions. 

What’s your favourite a part of your job?

My favourite a part of the job is lastly seeing a buyer’s first response to a brand new function or product. After working so lengthy to craft an preliminary resolution, seeing them work together with the reside software program is all the time essentially the most unbelievable studying expertise. The trick is to not get too hooked up to the primary draft. The thrilling half for me is seeing the place customers can full duties simply and, extra importantly, the place they cannot. I all the time go away these analysis classes bursting with concepts on methods to iterate on the design and make it higher.

What do you discover most difficult about your job? 

Probably the most difficult a part of the job is balancing all the assorted stakeholders. You will need to think about management and firm objectives, market wants, consumer wishes, and visible design finest practices and preferences. These all carry loads of weight, and it may be simple to lose sight of 1 right here and there all through a protracted product improvement cycle. 

What’s one piece of recommendation you’d give to somebody desirous to grow to be a HubSpotter?

I’d say adaptability is essential. HubSpot, like several tech firm, strikes shortly and priorities are continually shifting to assist rising traits and applied sciences, competitor developments, lengthy and short-term product imaginative and prescient, and innovation. You will need to illustrate a willingness and eagerness to develop and circulate with the modifications.

What are a number of methods you steadiness work and life? How does HubSpot’s flexibility/hybrid work type assist with this?

That is considered one of my favourite issues about HubSpot. I’m trusted as an worker to work the place and the way I must so long as I’m nonetheless delivering my finest work. As a guardian, this helps me steadiness the demanding wants of my private life and my profession. For me, this seems to be like signing off at 5 PM to prioritize household dinner, inserting blocks on my calendar for issues like college drop-off and lunch, and most significantly, seeing my coworkers empowered to do the identical. This stuff are revered and we’re inspired to prioritize psychological well being.

What are the highest 3 stuff you love about your function and crew?

1. I really like the willingness to attempt new issues. My crew is not afraid to attempt one thing, check it out, scrap it, and construct it once more. For me, this retains issues fascinating and makes me take pleasure in displaying as much as work with new concepts. 
2. I additionally love the empathy and assist I’ve seen from my fellow HubSpotters on a human stage. Work is simply part of us, and I’ve seen loads of real care prolonged to others. 
3. My favourite factor about my function is that I get to be concerned from conceptualization to manufacturing. Product design at HubSpot isn’t simply concerning the visible. We’re trusted companions with a seat on the desk from day one.

Inform us about any communities at HubSpot you’re part of.

I’m on the management council for the Households@HubSpot Worker Useful resource Group. It’s so rewarding and I really like being concerned on this approach!

Study extra about alternatives on HubSpot’s UX crew right here, and be taught extra about all issues HubSpot Life over on Instagram.