David Leggett
Product Design Leader
Seasoned UX leader focused on practical design methods, user advocacy, and team empowerment to drive impactful, user-centered solutions.
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Product Design
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Design Ops
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UX Strategy
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Management
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Design Systems
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Research
Simplifying complex journeys and delivering refined, valuable solutions for users.
Design Excellence Through Innovation
Design Environments: A Strategic Design Deliverable
Over the past several years, I’ve developed and refined a methodology that treats high-fidelity prototypes not as temporary, disposable artifacts, but as persistent, behavior-rich environments that mirror the way products are built and experienced. This approach leverages modular components, embedded logic, and responsive design patterns to create a shared, always-available space for cross-functional collaboration.
It emerged through hands-on work with multiple enterprise-scale design systems and continues to drive improvements in clarity, speed, and alignment across teams—but it ultimately uncovered something more powerful: a way to bring radical transparency to the design process, build lasting trust with users and stakeholders, and unlock entirely new functions for design in shaping how products are understood, tested, and delivered.
Read the executive summary:
Innovating AI-Ready Dashboard Widgets
While at Citi, I collaborated with development teams to create data visualization widgets informed by frameworks like Brian O’Neill’s Conclusion, Evidence, Data (CED) model and Jobs to be Done methodology. These widgets prioritized summary features, empowering decision-makers with advanced analytics and contextually aware actions. By grounding the design in proven frameworks and planning for cutting-edge technology, I positioned Citi’s Enterprise Risk Management portal as a forward-thinking and user-centric platform.
Design-Led Innovation
I fostered design-driven innovation in the Product Development workflow, enhancing creative processes and outcomes. One proposal by the design team was to use QR codes to streamline document scanning and uploads from mobile devices, demonstrating practical design-led solutions in a live Design Environment.
Strategic Vision and UX Leadership
Hands-On Leadership and Fostering Team Empowerment
I act as a ‘player/coach,’ participating in projects while mentoring the team, balancing workloads, and demonstrating leadership and commitment to excellence. I have built and mentored multidisciplinary teams, fostering collaboration and encouraging innovation.
By creating a culture of continuous learning and empowerment, I enable my team to achieve career growth and deliver impactful results. My leadership style emphasizes empathy and strategic vision, making me an advocate for team success and professional development.
Streamlining Operational Efficiency
At Citi, I established and refined the UX project management tracking system, ensuring effective reporting and team efficacy. By aligning project management with Citi's Functions UX process, I showcased my ability to improve reporting while driving design values.
Advancing User Testing Practices
At SVB, I introduced the company’s first live user testing program in a production environment, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to gather insights from actual users. By analyzing real-world data, I uncovered user pain points and informed design changes that aligned products more closely with user needs. This initiative highlighted the importance of user-centric research and iterative improvements within the organization.
Read more about the challenges and benefits of this project in the case study:
In design, I employ concepts taught by frameworks like Jobs to be Done, Brian O'Neill's CED framework for analytics and others. Here are some articles I've written or to which I've contributed, showcasing my expertise and insights in user experience design.
VALUE OF DESIGN / PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
How JTBD can be used to enhance product innovation by uncovering customer motivations.
INSURTECH DESIGN / FOCUS ON THE USER
How Guidewire's design team leverages user-centric design to enhance trust, efficiency, and satisfaction in insurance products.
REMOTE WORK / TOOLS FOR DESIGNERS
The tools Guidewire uses to enhance collaboration, improve user experience, and streamline the design process
© 2025 David Leggett