Design Chapter Lead. Banking × AI × Design Leadership
Fantastic help! Vlad is friendly, willing to help and has a lot of knowledge. Before the call he already searched for information about my google analytics problem. And he was willing to think along with me about possible solutions. Highly recommended!
Enjoyed my session with Vlad and he was very helpful with suggestions in converting free users to paid users.
My session with Vlad was extremely valuable. Vlad is a great mentor. He patiently listened to the problems I was facing with my startup, thereafter, he went in depth and guided my on how to optimise the website, landing pages and the ads. He went above and beyond to also suggest relevant long term best practices and resources. It was a very very valuable session. Thanks Vlad!
I lead a design team of 7 at one of Europe's major banking groups, and previously founded a design agency that I ran for 8 years serving 40+ international clients. I'm best suited to help with: scaling from IC to design leadership, navigating enterprise and regulated industries (banking, fintech), building business cases for design decisions, and figuring out how AI changes your design career path. Published thought leader in UX Collective. Active mentor on Designlab and ADPList. derdeicea.com
Over the years I've built teams from the ground up, both as an entrepreneur and as a manager inside bigger teams. I've learned the hard way of understanding people's choices and decisions and realised that in order to take the best decisions you need to see it from all sides.
I've been in the Design world for more than 17 years, more than 10 of which in the User Experience ares. Started as most of you with small landing pages and mobile apps and got all to way to managing research teams, advising VPs, providing context to engineers and overseeing everything UX related even before going to market.
I see idea validation intertwined between design and user research. In order to validate an idea first it should be tested with the end users and than taken even further into a beautiful and meaningful design.
I've led design from both sides — as an agency founder for 8 years and now as a Chapter Lead managing 7 designers at a major European bank. My focus: helping designers grow into senior and lead roles, building career ladders, running effective critiques, navigating stakeholder politics, and making the business case for design decisions. I write about this in UX Collective, where my articles on design leadership have reached thousands of readers.
Managing products from scratch had tough me a lot about dependencies and business decisions, user requirements and resource management. With time I've learned how to balance them and how to bring design to the decision table.
What UX has tough me over the years is that good design is not subjective; it's all based on data and user research. We are not creating art that is functional, but the other way around, we are solving a user's pain point and we are going it in a beautiful and meaningful way.
Primary design tool for my team of 7. Used daily for UI design, prototyping, and design system management. I also run collaborative design critiques and reviews in Figma, making it central to how we communicate design decisions across the team and with stakeholders.
Essential for remote and hybrid collaboration. I use Miro for design workshops, stakeholder alignment sessions, journey mapping, and team brainstorming. It's where messy thinking becomes structured decisions — especially when aligning cross-functional teams around complex banking product challenges.
Using AI tools daily across my workflow — drafting stakeholder communications, synthesizing research, building business cases, and creating content. AI handles the 80% of design leadership that isn't design: the alignment, translation, and justification work. It's my biggest productivity multiplier.
Since I launched my first landing page website, I've added a google tracking code and learned by myself how to track specific metrics and to create events. With time I've received different google analytics certifications and I've polished my skills even further.
I've used Hotjar in the past in both small landing pages and also in big enterprise applications. I really love it mostly because the user has a really transparent path, which means I could easily spot braking points and actions much better than inside a A/B test. As saying goes: Trust what the user is doing, not what he says
Implemented Jira for my design team's workflow from scratch — sprint planning, backlog management, and cross-functional alignment with engineering. I use it to bring structure and visibility to design work, making progress measurable and giving stakeholders clear insight into what the team delivers.
My team's single source of truth. I use Notion for design documentation, process guidelines, meeting notes, and team knowledge management. It's where I build career ladders, onboarding guides, and design principles — everything the team needs to operate without bottlenecking through me.
Used Trello for 8 years at Subsign to manage client projects, deadlines, and team handoffs. It taught me the fundamentals of visual project management — keeping work visible, accountable, and moving. Those principles now inform how I structure design workflows in enterprise tools like Jira.
Built data visualization and analytics tools at 8x8 (VoIP/SaaS), turning complex datasets into clear, actionable interfaces. Before that, I ran a design agency for 8 years serving 40+ international clients — 70% startups and tech companies. I can help with: designing for complex data products, scaling design in SaaS environments, transitioning from agency to product, and building design processes that work for fast-moving tech teams.
I lead 7 designers at one of Europe's major banking groups, shaping digital experiences across web and mobile banking. Previously founded a design agency (8 yrs, 40+ international clients) and built data visualization tools at 8x8. My expertise: banking UX, AI-powered design, and design team leadership. I help with: scaling to design lead, navigating regulated industries, and building business cases for design decisions.
Leading design at Raiffeisen, focusing on practical, innovative solutions and teamwork across different areas. My job is all about making designs work better and guiding a diverse team of creative minds. We're all about breaking new ground and making sure our design approach is clear and well-integrated throughout the company, boosting our impact and how we're seen.
Coordinating design, development and enhancement of new and existing product lines. Evaluating and ensuring design feasibility and design optimisation, all while managing a talented, diverse, inclusive team of product designers and leaders.
Embodying the vision of the company into the interface, creating user stories, and overlooking the entire design process in accordance to the requirements. Acting as the main point of contact between product owners and development team. Managing and prioritising product backlog items. Adjusting and improving each iteration of the product before release.
Having worked with big national and international companies, we saw a real need for an end-to-end Employer Branding solution that would help them not only better define their presence, but ultimately attract the right talent. Since then, we've had over 10 workshops in Iasi and Cluj, with an ongoing increasing online community. — Creating the Brand Identity and its values — Defining the overall direction — Leading the Design Department — Making it stand out as one of the Romania's Top Employer Branding Agencies. — Collaborating with clients and users
With the help of a handful of amazing people, we've managed to create the biggest marketing conference in N-E Romania and Rep. Moldova, The MXP. I've designed and polished the brand's identity, the overall look and feel of the event, and I've overseen all it's implementation (visuals, videos, OOH, billboards, stage, stationary, etc.) — Leading the Design Team — Collaborating with PM, Sales, Growth — Prototyping — Video Animation — Print Proofing
Subsign is an awarded digital content agency. We create marketing strategies and digital products that bring real business results. Some of the most appreciated projects are the Vabbe - Oroscopo (Mobile & Web that became the most downloaded app in Italy), Oradea's City Branding and Accesa websites and campaigns. I founded the agency when I was 26 years old, and I lead the design department ever since. Having full ownership of the products and the clients helped me increase my communication skills, develop a more empathic approach for the clients, and have a better understanding of their needs and goals. Since then, I've had multiple international design awards, witnessed amazing achievements and supported heart breaking stories. I've had the pleasure of working with clients from the Entertainment Field, Personal Development, Athletes, E-Commerce to Big Corporations, Augmented Reality Agencies and Game Studios.