Day in the Life: Lindsay Derby, Design Lead

Meet Lindsay Derby, Design Lead at HubSpot. As a product designer, Lindsay is responsible for turning ideas into solutions. Lindsay is also one of the 2024 Leadership Council members for the Families@HubSpot employee resource group. Read on to learn more about what it’s like to work in the Product Design role at HubSpot. 

Tell us about your role. What do you do for HubSpot?

As a product designer at HubSpot, my job is to act as a creative problem solver for my product area. I am responsible for taking an idea and turning it into a tangible, user-friendly solution. This means finding out what users need, looking at trends and behaviors, and designing a solution that looks great and works well. 

I work closely with a cross-functional team of engineers and product experts to ensure that we meet our customer and company goals. I work on the product vision, establish design principles, design prototypes, and conduct user research to gather feedback, and iterate on the design. 

As a design lead, I also act as a mentor and coach to other designers, helping to upskill the team, and support them in their project execution and career goals. 

What does collaboration look like on your team? 

We have a cross-functional product team made up of design, product management, and engineering. We have weekly meetings together to align on project goals, discuss progress, and share ideas. I am responsible for owning design decisions and presenting findings to stakeholders. I also frequently collaborate with other UXers on our team by sharing work, and giving, and receiving feedback. 

What’s your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of the job is finally seeing a customer’s first reaction to a new feature or product. After working so long to craft an initial solution, seeing them interact with the live software is always the most incredible learning experience. The trick is not to get too attached to the first draft. The exciting part for me is seeing where users can complete tasks easily and, more importantly, where they can’t. I always leave these research sessions bursting with ideas on how to iterate on the design and make it better.

What do you find most challenging about your job? 

The most challenging part of the job is balancing all the various stakeholders. It is important to consider leadership and company goals, market needs, user desires, and visual design best practices and preferences. These all carry a lot of weight, and it can be easy to lose sight of one here and there throughout a long product development cycle. 

What is one piece of advice you’d give to someone wanting to become a HubSpotter?

I would say adaptability is key. HubSpot, like any tech company, moves quickly and priorities are constantly shifting to support emerging trends and technologies, competitor developments, long and short-term product vision, and innovation. It is important to illustrate a willingness and eagerness to grow and flow with the changes.

What are a few ways you balance work and life? How does HubSpot’s flexibility/hybrid work style help with this?

This is one of my favorite things about HubSpot. I am trusted as an employee to work where and how I need to as long as I am still delivering my best work. As a parent, this helps me balance the demanding needs of my personal life and my career. For me, this looks like signing off at 5 PM to prioritize family dinner, placing blocks on my calendar for things like school drop-off and lunch, and most importantly, seeing my coworkers empowered to do the same. These things are respected and we’re encouraged to prioritize mental health.

What are the top 3 things you love about your role and team?

1. I love the willingness to try new things. My team isn’t afraid to try something, test it out, scrap it, and build it again. For me, this keeps things interesting and makes me enjoy showing up to work with new ideas. 
2. I also love the empathy and support I’ve seen from my fellow HubSpotters on a human level. Work is just a part of us, and I’ve seen a lot of genuine care extended to others. 
3. My favorite thing about my role is that I get to be involved from conceptualization to production. Product design at HubSpot is never just about the visual. We are trusted partners with a seat at the table from day one.

Tell us about any communities at HubSpot you’re a part of.

I’m on the leadership council for the Families@HubSpot Employee Resource Group. It is so rewarding and I love being involved in this way!

Learn more about opportunities on HubSpot’s UX team here, and learn more about all things HubSpot Life over on Instagram.