Case Study: Unlocking creativity and innovation through an open, collaborative, and empowered design process.

Members of the BitGo design team at Config 2024

Summary

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The following is the tl:dr, continue below for full case study.

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Context

BitGo is a secure digital asset custody platform used by enterprises, exchanges, and blockchain networks. When I joined as Director of Design, the team had little process, limited visibility, inconsistent quality standards, and low morale following recent layoffs.

Role

My responsibility was to stabilize the team, introduce scalable design operations, and advocate design's strategic value across the company.

Problems

The design team faced a chaotic and unsupportive environment that stifled creativity, slowed progress, and eroded trust.

• Lack of project ownership led to chaos and misalignment
• No time for exploration or user testing due to rushed timelines
• Engineers made design decisions without approval or QA
• Designs were difficult to find or use due to inconsistent Figma practices
• Stakeholders didn’t understand the design process, leading to unaligned expectations, misdirected feedback, and low trust

Improvements

I introduced process, structure, and communication practices that improved efficiency, accountability, and design craft.

• Integrated design phases into the product roadmap with checkpoints for stakeholder input
• Modernized the Figma design library and leveraged variables for scalability
• Rolled out Jira dashboards and automations for visibility and prioritization