hidemi

Product Designer

I’m a product designer with over 15 years’ experience, primarily in finance. I began as a UI designer specialising in interaction design and design systems, and gradually expanded into end-to-end product design. In the past six years, I’ve focused on fintech startups—working on BNPL services, business banking apps, and private asset markets. I’m now passionate about Web3, applying a user-centred approach to make decentralised technologies more accessible and impactful. Working in fast-paced, cross-functional teams, I’ve developed a broad skill set across discovery research, stakeholder engagement, and UX/UI design—collaborating closely with product managers and engineers. My process is driven by workshops, prototyping, and user research. I thrive on simplifying complexity, facilitating cross-team conversations, and delivering insight-led design that drives business outcomes.

Experience: 11 years

Yearly salary: $98,000

Hourly rate: $85

Nationality: 🇯🇵 Japan

Residency: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Experience

Founding Product Designer

Pangea

2024 - 2025

I worked closely with the CEO and CTO to shape the product vision and define strategic goals. Partnering with the CTO, I translated business and user needs into product features, leading workshops and designing intuitive UI/UX. Alongside product work, I also designed and maintained the website, design system, marketing assets, and investor pitch decks, ensuring consistency across all company touch points.

Senior Product Designer

Lantern

2024 - 2024

I led the design of Assure, a data validation tool that helps GPs verify fund portfolio data with confidence. Working closely with Product and Engineering, I supported continuous delivery through close collaboration and iterative design.

Senior Product Designer

Floww

2022 - 2024

I led projects aimed at improving fundraising features, managing VC funds, and optimising the experience for VC users. Through discovery research, workshops, prototyping, and usability testing, I drove design decisions that aligned with roadmap goals. I worked closely with Product and Engineering to implement and continuously refine these solutions.

Senior Product Designer

Nationwide Building Society

2019 - 2022

I conducted user research and usability testing, translating insights into experience maps, user journeys, storyboards, and personas to guide the product roadmap. I led the design of applications in close collaboration with product, legal, compliance, security, and engineering teams. I also partnered with engineers to build and maintain a scalable design system that supported consistent, high-quality delivery.

Senior Product Designer

Paidy

2017 - 2019

I conducted user research, usability testing, and workshops to develop personas, journey maps, and designs. I facilitated collaboration with legal, compliance, security, and risk teams to refine requirements and manage backlogs. I collaborated with front-end engineers to ensure quality UI implementation across Paidy’s iOS, Android, and web apps.

UX Designer

Fourth

2016 - 2017

I conducted user interviews to identify pain points and needs, using insights from usability testing to inform design decisions. I led workshops to gather business requirements and visualise solutions through user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and visual designs. I collaborated with developers to implement designs and developed a design system.

UI Designer (Contract)

Deutsche Bank

2015 - 2016

I worked on data visualisation for Market Risk and Audit applications, designing responsive user interfaces for desktop, tablet, and mobile platforms. I also created a comprehensive style guide to ensure consistency and support developers during implementation.

UX/UI Designer (Contract)

Deluxe Entertainment Services Group

2014 - 2014

I designed the UX/UI for Insight TM, a video content search engine, focusing on a seamless user experience.

UI Designer (Contract)

Carphone Warehouse

2014 - 2015

I redesigned the Carphone Warehouse website and established a comprehensive style guide. I also produced storyboards, icons, and illustrations to enhance the user experience and visual consistency across the platform.