Elizabeth Hansen

I work with organisations where design decisions carry real weight — whether the consequences are regulatory, reputational, or operational. That means products and services that handle sensitive data, support high-stakes decisions, or operate in environments shaped by regulation, complexity, or rapid technological change.

A growing focus is human-AI interaction: how AI capabilities are introduced into products and workflows in ways that remain legible, trustworthy, and appropriately overseen by the people who use and rely on them. This builds on a long track record in customer experience strategy, service design, and designing for algorithmic decision-making across complex regulated environments — work that has always required making the consequential feel clear. Clients include Roche, Xero, and Fiserv.

Head of Design at this consumer fintech, responsible for all design activity across product, brand, and marketing — spanning credit comparison, financial health tools, and the end-to-end customer experience for a regulated financial product.

Built and scaled the design function from scratch, establishing capabilities, processes, and standards across a cross-functional product organisation. Led the strategy, design, and delivery of a complete brand identity and design system — implemented consistently across all product touchpoints and marketing channels.

A hands-on leadership role combining design direction, people management, and close collaboration with product and engineering. Work ranged from long-horizon transformation projects to iterative, data-informed product delivery — always within the constraints of a regulated financial services environment. The defining experience of designing for algorithmic decision-making: how users encounter and understand credit scores, personalised product recommendations, and automated eligibility decisions that directly affect their financial lives.

Head of Customer Experience (Digital) at one of the UK’s largest department retailers, leading CX and product experience design strategy across a major digital transformation and e-commerce replatforming programme.

Led the complete redesign of the e-commerce estate: a large-scale, high-stakes programme involving core customer journey redesign, design system development, and brand identity implementation across every touchpoint. Managed an integrated team spanning UX, UI design, and front-end development — responsible for design quality, team structure, and delivery across all digital product surfaces.

Responsible for defining and delivering the design capabilities, patterns, and standards that underpinned the retailer’s digital experience — working at the intersection of commercial objectives, operational complexity, and customer behaviour at significant scale. A masterclass in what happens when design operates under genuine organisational pressure: competing stakeholder interests, legacy technology, commercial urgency, and the unforgiving reality of customers who vote with their feet.