Hi! I'm Dez Manjate, Product Designer
& UX Specialist.
Crafting digital experiences across every touchpoint for 15+ years.
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My mission:
Accomplished Product Designer & UX Specialist with over 15 years of experience in design leadership and creating delightful product experiences that drive both business success and user satisfaction.
I specialise in directing high-profile digital experiences across diverse sectors including ecommerce, fintech, enterprise, and B2C/B2B environments—from websites and web platforms to desktop and mobile apps, with expertise spanning digital design and service design.
Learn about Dez,
My approach centres on leveraging deep user research and data insights to solve complex business challenges, validate new products through iterative processes, and lead multi-disciplinary teams towards shared goals.
I'm particularly passionate about optimising human-in-the-loop systems to foster seamless human-AI collaboration, ensuring holistic and measurable digital product success. My expertise extends to implementing design systems at scale and championing accessibility standards (WCAG, WAI-ARIA).
A notable achievement includes being a finalist for the Digital Leaders Impact Awards for the Money Navigator tool—a critical fintech initiative that delivered personalised financial advice and action plans to millions across the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. This contributed to MoneyHelper's 12.4 million engaged sessions annually, demonstrating significant national impact.
Digital Leaders
Impact Award Finalist
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Skills & Expertise
An overview of my technical skills and professional expertise
Keep the user at the core of the design process to create highly usable and accessible products.
Conduct in-depth research to understand user needs, behaviors, and motivations.
Evaluate the ease of use and learnability of a product through various testing methods.
Continuously test and refine product ideas based on user feedback and data.
Use data and experimentation to make informed design decisions and optimize user experiences.
Ensure digital products meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines for people with disabilities.
Define and guide the overall design vision, aligning it with business goals and user needs.
Develop and maintain a consistent set of design principles, components, and patterns.
Focus on the aesthetics of a product's interface, including layout, typography, color, and imagery.
Apply agile principles and scrum frameworks to manage project workflows and deliver value iteratively.
Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, ensuring alignment and buy-in.
Lead and guide collaborative workshops to generate ideas and solve problems with a group.
Support and guide team members' professional growth through mentorship and coaching.
Work effectively with team members located in different physical locations.
Design systems that combine human intelligence with AI to enhance decision-making and performance.
Experience
My professional journey and key milestones in design
Senior UX Designer
Directing the complete UX design lifecycle for myProduct: Online Operations as part of Tesco's major digital transformation, targeting £217M in benefits over 3 years. Leading UX for the Marketplace Taxonomy Automation project, designing AI-powered Human-in-the-Loop solutions to automate product categorisation for millions of SKUs. Translating complex user, business, and technical requirements into intuitive, well-structured interfaces. Using Axure for high-fidelity prototyping and integrating with Storybook for seamless component management. Collaborating within a globally distributed, multi-disciplinary team across multiple time zones.
User Experience Lead
Worked within the marketplace platform, contributing to the user experience strategy and ensuring an intuitive and efficient consumer journey for finding and comparing personalised financial products.
User Experience Lead
Led end-to-end UX design for the Pensions Dashboard Programme (PDP). Drove the core user experience strategy for this complex digital ecosystem. Managed creation and strategic evolution of the Pensions Dashboard Programme website. Directed UX for the MoneyHelper website rebrand and the award-winning Money Navigator tool. Managed and mentored a small team of UX designers.
Senior UX Designer
Led UX design initiatives within BT Enterprise's digital transformation programme. Contributed to strategic development of the BT Design System. Translated complex business requirements into logical, intuitive interfaces. Partnered with cross-functional teams including product owners, business analysts, and developers.
Senior UX Designer
Designed and optimised UX patterns and components within TalkTalk's UX Pattern Library and front-end development framework (Baseline). Acted as UX gatekeeper for the bespoke Baseline framework and served as TalkTalk's UX representative on the Accessibility Working Group. Introduced WAI-ARIA authoring practices to the Baseline framework, ensuring WCAG 2.0 AA accessibility compliance. Orchestrated comprehensive user testing programmes for key projects.
Senior UX Designer
Drove comprehensive user discovery and product validation through identifying critical consumer needs and value opportunities. Utilised diverse UX methods (personas, user journeys, usability testing, A/B testing) to inform design decisions. Translated complex business, technical, and consumer requirements into intuitive product designs. Implemented iterative design cycles through user sessions.
Design & UX Manager
Led end-to-end UX design and development for high-traffic digital products including Hostelbookers.com and Hostels.com. Drove systematic design thinking by establishing a roadmap for global style standards and creating a comprehensive design/interaction pattern library. Championed user-centred design techniques, leading redesign efforts on key user flows. Managed and mentored UI and online marketing designers, reorganising the team around specialisation.
Web Design Manager
Managed a team of designers responsible for HostelBookers' online and offline presence. Focused on user-centered design techniques. Developed strategies with a focus on business prioritisation and process optimisation. Led redesign efforts on numerous key user flows, including the main site purchase path.
Lead Designer
Established the conceptual and stylistic direction for HostelBookers' main and satellite brands. Defined HostelBookers' visual brand guidelines. Coded numerous affiliate white label websites. Directed the work of Junior and Mid-level Designers and managed task allocation.
Freelance Designer
Created full identity sets for small businesses, including logos, stationary, business cards, and brochures. Designed and illustrated end-user product manuals. Designed HTML websites, Flash websites, and online banners. Created HTML templates for popular open-source CMS (Mambo, OS Commerce, Movable Type).
I.T. Manager
Installed brand new servers and configured hardware, peripherals, and services. Scheduled upgrades and security backups of hardware and software systems. Ensured the smooth running of all IT systems, including anti-virus software, print services and email provision.
Multimedia Designer/Programmer
Designed UI for CD-ROM applications. Programmed interaction and behaviours for CD-ROM applications using Macromedia Director Lingo. Performed video editing, voice-over recording, and sound editing. Designed CD-ROM packaging and other print-based POS material.
Frequently Asked Questions
Testimonials
Some kind words from colleagues and friends I've had the pleasure to work with.
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