Role: Head of Product Design, Research and Service Design
Company: Omnipresent
Initiative: Design Challenge at Omnipresent - HubbleHQ Head of Product Design
Company: Omnipresent
Initiative: Design Challenge at Omnipresent - HubbleHQ Head of Product Design
The Challenge
HubbleHQ had just shifted its value proposition post-COVID—from helping people find long-term office space to enabling flexible access through the **Hubble Pass**, a system for booking day passes to co-working spaces. This rapid change introduced a complex product landscape, unclear messaging, and inconsistent user experience across the platform. Design as a function was still emerging, with no shared design language, unclear ownership, and limited integration with product and engineering.
The challenge was not just to improve the product—it was to **build and scale a product design function** that could align with business goals, deliver measurable value, and evolve with the company’s hybrid work mission.
The Approach
As the newly appointed Head of Product Design, I proposed a **6–12 month design capability strategy**. This began with a **diagnostic phase** to assess product maturity, process gaps, and team structure. I outlined a dual focus:
1. Strategic Design Integration – Elevate design beyond surface-level aesthetics to a key driver of product strategy and team collaboration.
2. Operational Design Maturity – Introduce sensible defaults, shared rituals, and scalable processes across all squads.
2. Operational Design Maturity – Introduce sensible defaults, shared rituals, and scalable processes across all squads.
Key principles included:
* Embed lean service design across all streams, not just product—spanning marketing, customer support, and operations
* Prioritise **deep research + fast experimentation** to validate big bets without slowing delivery
* Audit the full end-to-end journey, from awareness to booking, to identify friction and opportunity
* Prioritise **deep research + fast experimentation** to validate big bets without slowing delivery
* Audit the full end-to-end journey, from awareness to booking, to identify friction and opportunity
The Solution
I proposed a cross-functional, scalable squad model supported by a core set of tools and rituals. Highlights included:
* Design Capability Assessment & Workshop** – One-day diagnostic to understand current-state practices and stakeholder needs
* Design System Initiative – Launch of a unified **Hubble Design Language** to create consistency and improve usability
* Six Proposed Squads, aligned to customer and host journeys:
* Design System Initiative – Launch of a unified **Hubble Design Language** to create consistency and improve usability
* Six Proposed Squads, aligned to customer and host journeys:
* B2C:
* Onboarding & Awareness
* Search Experience (incl. Map, Alerts, Commute Calculators)
* Booking Flow (optional based on needs)
* B2B:
* Search Experience (incl. Map, Alerts, Commute Calculators)
* Booking Flow (optional based on needs)
* B2B:
* Host Experience
* Commercial (Credits, Conversion Nudges)
* Shared Services: UX Content Writer, UX Researchers across streams
* Commercial (Credits, Conversion Nudges)
* Shared Services: UX Content Writer, UX Researchers across streams
* Team Rituals & Governance:
* Weekly design critiques, skills drills, async feedback loops
* Kanban - based team management across discovery, design, and delivery
* “Sensible defaults” for design processes including 1-page research plans and success metrics tied to user and business outcomes
* Kanban - based team management across discovery, design, and delivery
* “Sensible defaults” for design processes including 1-page research plans and success metrics tied to user and business outcomes
The Impact
While early in the implementation phase, this strategy laid the foundation for:
* A **cohesive design culture**, where collaboration, critique, and continuous improvement became the norm
* Clear **role definition and hiring pathways** to scale the team responsibly and strategically
* Stronger **alignment between design, product, and engineering**, increasing delivery velocity and product clarity
* Better **customer and host experience journeys**, guided by service design principles and validated through lean testing
* Clear **role definition and hiring pathways** to scale the team responsibly and strategically
* Stronger **alignment between design, product, and engineering**, increasing delivery velocity and product clarity
* Better **customer and host experience journeys**, guided by service design principles and validated through lean testing
This case was not only about solving UX problems—it was about transforming design into a strategic capability at the heart of HubbleHQ’s hybrid future.
