It’s been a while since I posted but it’s update time again with some news. I have a new role. This is my 7th year with the agency and it’s one of the most exciting for me as I manoeuvre into a role that I think fits me well.
The tea boy I hear you cry.
I’ve been back in as a designer for almost two years now and it’s been a great ride, a ride that isn’t stopping anytime soon. The new role which is titled Experience Lead is a role that allows me to design still but also gives me room to ensure we as a team are meeting the high standards we set ourselves in terms of design and build. Someone called me a glorified Q&A for design and development which I guess in a way it is but there is more to it than that, Much more.
Having that experience of frontend development as well as the design experience means I am well placed between both camps to ensure we get the best out of the two teams and that our design / build process is tight and delivering the best results we possibly can.
It’s not just about the quality. I’m a big believer in making things easier for devs and designers so a passion project for me is building out the pattern libraries we use as well as building on the components we work with daily.
This role feels so right for me and ticks a lot of boxes. It comes with challenges like any role but I am very lucky to work with a team that encourages us to progress, to make changes and gives us the freedom to experiment. The business has transformed over the last few years and we’re not standing still and every day, I see the positive effect it is having on people but also the positive effect the people are having on the team and the way we work.
I’ve seen us grow from a smallish Magento agency in Warrington to almost 100 people working with some fantastic clients and projects and next year will see another big step forward. eCommerce is thriving. We’re busy and seeing lots of change in the industry. Working on an eCommerce store is quite different to the typical brochure sites and sometimes it’s easy to forget working on these sites can have such an impact both positively and negatively which can cost thousands.
Part of the reason why this role means a lot to me is that when you speak to your clients, it’s their lives you are effecting, and their money, so ensuring what we deliver for them is of the highest quality matters to me.
But not just the clients, the users / customers also. As someone who is shopping more and more online and suffering from many poor shopping experiences, I get that delivering a product that is hard to use, confusing or just simply broken is not good enough so it means we have to be at the top of our game at all times as a pissed off shopper rarely comes back.
2022 is shaping up to be a great year going of what I have seen already. Lots of hard work but I know we’ll go at like we always do, head on with no fear.