Beyond Pixels: Business Acumen & Initiative for Enterprise Impact
My journey as a UX Designer has been enriched by a combination of training, experience, and exposure to knowledge and opportunities that enabled me to effectively navigate complex challenges within the design and technology landscape.
Through active participation in the National Society of Leadership and Success, I've cultivated a strong foundation in crucial leadership principles. Completing their Foundations of Leadership certification, with its emphasis on collaboration, goal setting, and accountability, has significantly enhanced my ability to contribute effectively within team environments. The program's rigorous training and exposure to insights from accomplished leaders have provided me with practical skills and a refined understanding of effective leadership styles.
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As a Designer and Developer, I proactively identified a critical disconnect between a company's Design System and the product engineering team, which was causing friction in front-end development. Through collaborative research with my mentor and the Design System team, I gained a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by engineers in utilizing the component library. This initiative allowed me to contribute to the development of solutions aimed at establishing a more seamless communication and operational flow between design and development. By addressing the root causes of these inefficiencies, such as the need for excessive custom coding, I analyzed the complexity, helped foster cross-functional collaboration, and initiated impactful process improvements to enhance team productivity and efficiency. This experience enabled me to take a proactive approach to problem-solving and brought forth my commitment to driving positive change within an organization.
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After designing a wealth management product, I started thinking more about the why behind the things we create — not just how they look or function, but the business decisions, strategy, and purpose behind them. As someone who works in digital design, I’ve always been interested in how people interact with products. But after completing the MBA Essentials course from the University of Glasgow (Coursera), I’ve started seeing things differently.
This course gave me a broader understanding of how businesses operate — how they grow, compete, make decisions, and try to make an impact in the world. And surprisingly, it made the way I approach design feel a lot more grounded and meaningful. Here’s what I took away from each part of the course and how it’s changed my approach to working on apps, software, and digital platforms.
*See Certification Below
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Week 1: Business Models, Local vs Global Thinking, and Supply Chains
One of the most important takeaways from this week was understanding platform business models through the lens of companies like Amazon. As a platform connecting buyers and sellers, Amazon’s ability to scale and evolve — from groceries to AI devices to potential travel services — shows how user experience is interwoven with business model innovation.
As a designer, this directly impacts how I think about feature prioritization, product scalability, and how digital touchpoints contribute to revenue streams. It also makes me more sensitive to localization — not every business needs to scale globally. Local businesses still have powerful market potential when rooted in deep customer empathy and unique offerings.
I also reflected on global supply chains, particularly Samsung’s distribution of manufacturing across China, Vietnam, and India. This made me think about UX from an operational standpoint — how decisions around production, delivery, and supply logistics ultimately shape the digital experiences we design, especially in global platforms.
Week 2: Sustainability, Social Goals, and Responsible Innovation
Week 2 brought forward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — a powerful framework that resonated with both my values and my vision as a designer. I deeply connect with Gender Equality and Quality Education, especially in how education can empower women in underserved communities. I envisioned “SheProspers,” a hypothetical organization that provides digital resources, coaching, and mental health support for women in underprivileged areas — a model that blends UX with social impact.
This week also prompted me to explore responsible digital innovation. From ethical AI usage to accessible design and digital sustainability, I’m more conscious than ever of the carbon footprint of digital products and the biases embedded in AI systems. As someone who’s worked with platforms like Adobe and Figma, I see the importance of designing ethically — ensuring data privacy, inclusion, and energy-efficient interfaces.
Week 3: Teamwork, Leadership, and Culture
In Week 3, we dived into leadership — a subject that resonated with my real-world experience in hybrid design teams. I reflected on working with local and international teammates and how time zone differences impacted productivity. I found that leadership in a UX context must go beyond task management — it’s about psychological safety, emotional intelligence, and inclusive communication.
The course’s leadership framework helped me better appreciate how values like rapport, reflection, and emotional understanding can transform a design team’s output. I also admired Apple’s brand values and culture, which made me think deeply about how storytelling, symbolism (like the “i” in iPhone), and user loyalty all stem from intentional, consistent experience design.
Design Impact: Whether leading a research session or collaborating with product managers, I now bring a leadership mindset rooted in trust, empathy, and the belief that a safe team is a creative team.
Week 4: Marketing Strategy and the Customer Journey
As a designer, understanding marketing strategy is like discovering the missing piece of the product puzzle. I learned how crucial elements like value proposition, target audience analysis, and content marketing are to shaping user flows, interface messaging, and product positioning.
The breakdown of digital tactics across the consumer journey—from awareness to advocacy—was particularly enlightening. It helped me frame UX as a continuous relationship, not just a series of interactions. For instance, awareness might start with display ads, while post-purchase loyalty and advocacy rely on thoughtful email design and social proof mechanisms — all within the designer’s control.
The contrast between B2B and B2C marketing also shifted my mindset. While B2C focuses on emotional appeal and precise consumer targeting, B2B requires deep technical understanding, network relationships, and integration workflows. I now adapt my design tone and depth depending on whether I’m designing for consumers or enterprise users.
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Final Thoughts: A Complete Perspective
Completing this course gave me a holistic approach to being a strategic designer — one who understands not just user behavior, but business structure, ethical responsibility, leadership, and go-to-market strategy. It deepened my passion for crafting digital products that don't just look good, but also work smart, scale sustainably, and connect meaningfully with real people.
