Miloš started at Nordnet a year ago and he has made an impressive career in Nordnet’s Product Design team. Meet Miloš and get to know how the life of a product designer looks like at Nordnet.
Age: 32
Studies: Bachelor’s degree in computer science with focus on web design and development
Can you tell us about your career journey at Nordnet?
My journey at Nordnet started almost exactly a year ago in the mobile app team where I had the chance to work on interpreting our newly defined brand guidelines. It was a great opportunity to set a new visual direction for the product and together with the team create a new app experience. I was also happy to work on improving existing working processes and to contribute to the team by introducing atomic design approach, which helped us in creating our first component libraries. As Nordnet’s company focus shifted towards creating design consistency and aligning the design language and experience of our entire product suite, a new opportunity was presented to me: to take on the role as Head of Product Design. Thanks to great support from my managers and colleagues, I was happy to embrace the challenge and step into my current role. To sum it up, it has been an interesting and exciting journey so far!
What’s the best with your job?
If I have to pick only one thing, it would be the fact of being surrounded by a great team, one big family that wants to build great products together.
Tell us in your own words what you do at Nordnet
As Head of Product Design, my goal is to provide the big picture when it comes to design vision and to manage and support the team in elevating Nordnet’s product design experience. Together with a group of passionate designers and front-end developers, we are constantly working on improving Nordnet’s Design System in order to increase efficiency, quality and consistency in our product. In the long run, my goal is to secure that we have a structured design foundation and flexible design processes to support us in our work.
What characterizes a good leader according to you?
From my perspective, a great leader is a good and tactical team player. A true coach who inspires, elevates and pushes the team in the right direction. A great leader is also a visionary capable of inspiring the team but also someone who is never afraid to roll up his or her sleeves and dive into a problem solving situation when necessary.
What are the challenges about being a leader?
At Nordnet, we work in a flat organisation where a lot of autonomy is given to the right people doing the work, which is fantastic. As Head of Product Design, I strive to support the design team and create the environment they require to successfully deliver their projects and initiatives. Most of the time that means having a holistic overview of ongoing initiatives, meeting with product owners and managers and understanding what’s working well and what can be improved further. Finding out where my team may need help, and making the appropriate connections or giving appropriate guidance can sometimes be a challenge in the company of our size. Also, figuring out ways to get people from different departments working in a more collaborative way is sometimes a challenge as well.
How would you describe Nordnet as a workplace?
I love our culture! If you are ambitious and passionate about what you are doing, communicative and a proactive person willing to take the initiative and push your ideas through, I believe Nordnet is the perfect place for you.
What would you tell others who want to get into product design?
Becoming proficient in product design takes time. If you want to pursue a design career then you have to be dedicated to continuous learning. At the end, it’s not just about designing the product. It’s about seeing the whole picture, understanding the customer needs and providing a solution that will solve your customers problems and respond well to the business goals and targets. You are the voice of the customers and someone who shapes their experience. Make your mark. Get your design thinking straight and try to find a pragmatic and easily adoptive design process and grow with it. Always strive to make your decisions based on real data rather than personal preferences. Most importantly, be open to criticism and do not fear of failing.
What brought you to Sweden?
Curiosity. Scandinavian design. Culture. A simple thought that every person at least once in their life should get out of his or her comfort zone and see and experience the world through a different pair of glasses. I had an exciting opportunity to explore Sweden and meet another culture, which I was happy to take.
What do you like to do on your spare time?
I’m a father of two and I enjoy spending quality time with my family. Whenever possible we like to take trips with our friends around Sweden or to visit some of the interesting destinations abroad. In my spare time, I find myself mostly producing music and doing a bit of photography, which sometimes is really hard to pull myself away from.