Returning to Zalando: A Principal Designer’s journey

We talked to Israel Martin about what drew him back to Zalando’s Product Design team.

Israel Martin is no stranger to Zalando’s Design team. We spoke to him to get the scoop on being one of the community’s first Principal Designers, what he loves about his team, and why he returned to Zalando.

You’re one of the Product Design community’s first Principal Product Designers. What does your role entail?

As a Principal Designer I help to steer Zalando’s product strategy, which means that I’m ultimately responsible for driving customer experiences on strategic projects in sync with Zalando’s business goals. It’s really important to us that customers enjoy a coherent journey in an environment that they can trust.

Zalando offers multiple career development paths; you’re on the Expert track (as opposed to the people-management track). What is it about this path that you were attracted to?

Developing my career via the Expert (or Individual Contributor) track allows me to get my hands dirty and work closely with the products we’re building, but it also lets me take a step back from them and discover possibilities that lie ahead. We converge and diverge all the time, and as someone who loves to problem-solve, it’s a dream space.

Tell us about the team you work in.

I’m part of The Studio, a horizontal team of designers with diverse specialised skills. In my case, my background in Fine Arts and Media Studies helps me to make abstract concepts more tangible through mental models (a mental model is an explanation of someone’s thought process about how something works in the real world — what users believe they know about a UI strongly impacts how they use it).

We work on project-based assignments, and join forces with teams across the organisation to help them tackle ambiguous, early stage problems. The projects we do fall into three different categories: Inspire, Create, and Boost. In simple terms, this means that we explore promising business opportunities with a human-centric approach, make strategic initiatives tangible through compelling design solutions, and enable conversations and ways of working within the design community.

This isn’t the first time you’ve worked at Zalando. You left in 2017 and came back last July. Why did you decide to leave?

For personal reasons mostly. My partner was relocated to Tel Aviv for a three-year post. So I spent those three years working at Wix in Israel, with whom I happen to share my name. I actually come from another country — I grew up enjoying the beaches in the Canary Islands, where the sun shines as happily as it has started to in Berlin this week.

You must be very fond of Berlin and of Zalando! What drew you back?

I’d kept in contact with close friends at Zalando after I left. So when the time came to return to Berlin, it felt very natural. I’d decided, however, that I didn’t want to do the exact same job as before.

Previously, I was part of the team responsible for designing the new information architecture of Zalando’s apps. Nowadays, I tackle challenges that relate to multiple strategic areas. I jump between projects which explore sustainable fashion or how our very diverse customers become more confident and play with their own fashion identity. These problems are not easy to solve, and not just from a digital perspective, but because they matter to our customers so it is equally exciting to invest in them.

And what are you currently working on?

Unfortunately, I can’t talk about most of the Studio projects I’m working on — they’re top secret! But there is an ongoing project I can tell you about. We created a Figma playbook to help teams work better with this new tool, and ensure that we are coordinated in our processes and designs. It’s been a great way for me to stay close to other designers and their needs even while we’re all working from home, which I’ve really enjoyed.

What is unique about the design culture at Zalando?

People are very open to sharing their work and ideas because we have a culture of feedback inside a safe space. We all improve together and feedback comes from an inner good place — it’s not about pointing out mistakes. On top of that, it’s an incredibly diverse community where ownership, caring, and a high tolerance to change is encouraged. It feels like home.

Also, Zalando has become the most diverse place I have ever had the chance to work at. Not only is it a great — and safe — space to be in, but it also ensures that we’re not building one-sided or one-dimensional solutions for people just like us.

What are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of your role?

We have all been working from home for quite some time, so you miss out on random conversations with people you might not know yet while having a coffee in the common space. Workshops and ideation sessions have had to adapt to this set up, but what works when everybody is in the same room doesn’t necessarily work on a screen. We’ve had to improvise or find new ways to solve these issues — and it ends up working. For instance we were able to deliver all these new templates and structures in Figma to the Zalando design community. It’s really gratifying to see everybody using them and effortlessly finding the designs they need.

How have you found the transition to working remotely this past year?

When I started in July, I was still able to meet my team in person which added a human touch from the beginning. Everybody I’ve met has been extremely helpful — from getting my equipment to any additional support I might need. The last few months we’ve worked entirely from home. We have our team video routines, as well as a lot of jokes and personal chats which keep spirits up and allow us to bond.

How do you de-stress after work?

It always depends on how I feel. I try to keep myself active and go for a run in the mornings, or if it’s too cold I exercise at home. I like to cook often using flavours from my childhood, mostly because Spanish food outside of Spain has a lot of room for improvement. I haven’t been through a “bread-baking phase” since working from home, possibly because I’m not very talented with the oven, I don’t want to burn my house down. When I’m completely alone, sometimes I put my red headphones on and I sing in front of the mirror making funny faces. I’ve found it to be particularly relaxing for my face muscles.

We’re actively looking for senior candidates to join the Product Insights & Design community. If you’re ready for the challenge apply to one of our open positions!