I design for…
Environments where getting it wrong has real consequences — compliance failures, audit exposure, operational breakdowns. That's not a constraint I work around. It's the part of the problem I find most interesting.
Responsibilities
For five years at Northern Trust, my work spanned three overlapping responsibilities
Supporting designers and strengthening design practices across the product organization.
Examples: Facilitating design reviews, navigating PM collaboration, identifying design system gaps, and making the case for user research where it hadn't yet been established.
Improving collaboration between design, product, and engineering.
Examples: Introducing joint sprint planning sessions, implementing design work tracking, and improving visibility into design work.
Hands-on design from requirement refinement through prototyping, testing, and implementation support.
Example: Designed workflows for investment valuation across portfolios.
Supporting designers and strengthening design practices across the product organization.
Examples: Facilitating design reviews, navigating PM collaboration, identifying design system gaps, and making the case for user research where it hadn't yet been established.
Improving collaboration between design, product, and engineering.
Examples: Introducing joint sprint planning sessions, implementing design work tracking, and improving visibility into design work.
Hands-on design from requirement refinement through prototyping, testing, and implementation support.
Example: Designed workflows for investment valuation across portfolios.
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More things to know about me!
I love learning! Outside of work, I study languages — currently on my seventh.
I get along with anyone! Whether it’s friends, colleagues, or my roommates’ pet birds, I think all it takes to live in peace is our willingness to walk in the other person’s shoes (or feathers).
Testimonials
“I have been impressed with Yousef's thorough approach to both interaction design and research. His approach in which he made sure the product and technology SMEs understood the strategy and reasoning behind his decisions set the stage for strong collaboration.”
— Eric Johnson, Vice President & Senior Director — Head of Design, Asset Servicing, Northern Trust
“Yousef is an extraordinarily gifted thinker and designer who often finds valuable insights pushing a project forward in ways that could not have been predicted.”
— Steve Grieshaber, Lead User Researcher & Strategist — NASA JPL
“He is a true professional, bringing both art and UX expertise — thorough with methodology, he pulled together deep understanding about what people were after, much of which surprised me.”
— Steve Grieshaber, Lead User Researcher & Strategist — NASA JPL