Maria Marklund and Mai Lee Yap

Head of Design and UX designer

Hogia and HiQ Göteborg

Design teams often struggle with design maturity and career growth. This case study shows how Hogia Group built a framework that boosts both designer engagement and organizational understanding of user-centered design.

Maria Marklund is a design strategist, business manager and educator that holds empathy as close to heart as business success. During her almost 20 years in product development and design she has influenced several organizations to get closer to the customer through honing human-centered practices and cultures, celebrating the individual as well as the team. With engagement and vulnerability she drives the evolvement of the design organization at Hogia Group, with the goal that every designer will have all possibilities to practice their craft to the full and evolve beyond.'

Mai Lee Yap is a UX designer with over 20 years of experience in product development. Her work has always been driven by a desire to understand both user needs and business goals – and to create sustainable value at the intersection of user experience and business strategy.
With a background in designing, innovating, educating and collaborating across teams, cultures and countries, she brings a mature and strategic perspective to design. Today, her focus lies in shaping how design contributes to long-term value – not only in the product, but in the organization as a whole.

Case study: How to land a unique Career Development Framework for design organizations - that actually does the job

Design organizations all over the world shares some common challenges. One of those challenges is how to reach and uphold a high design maturity amongst all internal stakeholders, from the designer’s team members to the highest management. Another common challenge is how to facilitate transparent career development and continuous individual growth to maintain interest and engagement from the individual designer.

This case study tells the story of how Hogia Group developed a unique career development framework that not only will motivate designers to stay on with the company for years to come, but also directly increases the organizations understanding for the design process and continuous user-centered ways of working.