Hello, I’m Paul Capcan. I am a Principal Product Designer with expertise in SaaS, IaaS, and cloud enterprise design. I have 20+ years of experience in creating UX strategies, leading design teams, building design systems, and crafting designs for digital products. Today, I lead the design process for an internal Sales/CRM platform at TikTok (Bytedance).
Expertise
Process
Design Approach
I have a strong background in UX design and extensive experience working on complex enterprise products. My expertise lies in creating visually appealing and easy-to-use designs that provide an intuitive user experience. I am highly skilled in using design tools like Figma and Sketch to develop design systems that integrate seamlessly into the development process. My design approach prioritizes the needs of the user and is informed by both generative and evaluative research methodologies, as well as my experience in interactive prototyping.
Purpose
Design Leadership
I have over 20 years of experience leading design teams and have gained a thorough understanding of how to create efficient design processes that set teams up for success. I have mentored both junior and senior designers, helping them grow and achieve promotions so that they can excel in their roles. In addition to developing individuals, I have created a strong design culture within teams by establishing meaningful rituals, robust design frameworks, and engaging activities that encourage both creativity and collaboration.
People
Team Work
I come from a diverse cultural background, which gives me a unique perspective on every project and team interaction. This experience has taught me the importance of being inclusive and open-minded, making sure everyone’s voice is heard and every idea is considered. Communication is one of my strengths, and I make a point of engaging with leadership, developers, and product teams from the beginning. I always put the project’s best interests first, even if it means setting aside personal pride. I enjoy leading workshops with stakeholders to establish a common understanding.
Featured Works
Check out some of my projects below. For full case studies, contact me.
TikTok Monetization Products
Lead Designer | 2023
At TikTok (Bytedance), I am responsible for leading the design process of an internal Sales/CRM platform. This platform aims to help TikTok users maximize their earnings through advertising on TikTok. My main focus is on developing a UX strategy for the product, expanding the design team, and delivering an industry-leading user experience to our users.
Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service
Principal Designer | 2021
Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service is a leading container orchestration platform from AWS. As a Principal Designer, I led the design process for the product and its adjacent areas, evolved strategic and user-centric thinking, and built efficient collaboration within the product team.
I improved the product’s user experience, resulting in a 25% decrease in errors and a 30% increase in adoption. By fostering creative thinking and prioritizing design-driven projects, I influenced both the design and product teams. Additionally, I managed and collaborated with designers for seamless integration and assisted in building and growing the design team.
AWS re:Post
Lead Designer | 2020
AWS re:Post is a QA and knowledge-sharing platform that connects cloud experts, including DevOps professionals, Solution Architects, Developers, and others. It’s designed to assist users in embarking on their cloud journey and achieving success with AWS. I led the design process for this platform, prioritizing a user-centric approach. I also proposed a strategy for optimizing the design system, which resulted in a 5x faster delivery to the market. This approach also allowed for a cohesive design language to be successfully implemented on the platform. These efforts resulted in significant improvements, including a 40% increase in user engagement and a 25% decrease in customer retention.
AWS Workshop Studio
Lead Designer | 2020
AWS Workshop Studio is an educational platform offering a range of workshops and events. I conducted user research to develop customer journey maps and introduced a design thinking approach. This led to a user-centric experience and informed our roadmap. I facilitated workshops to shape the UX vision and goals. With the new user experience, we achieved a 20% increase in user adoption and a 35% improvement in customer satisfaction.
AWS Spectre Mobile Application POC
Lead Designer | Design Manager | 2019
Spectre is a proof-of-concept news app for AWS users, providing access to the latest cloud technology news. I led the project, creating a design vision and aligning with stakeholders. Through agile research and ideation sessions with leadership, we achieved a unified product strategy and high team engagement. We presented an interactive prototype that secured project approval. This resulted in funding for a product team of over 15 members.
Amazon Genome Mobile POC
Lead Designer | 2019
As the leader of the design process for Genome, a proof-of-concept project aimed at securing leadership approval and funding, I fostered strategic alignment and collaboration with cross-functional teams. Through fast-paced agile research, deep dives, and ideation sessions with product and design leadership, I achieved high engagement within the team and successful design outcomes. By delivering a clickable interactive prototype and presenting it to both leadership and the team, I secured project approval and funding for the product team, which consisted of over 15 members.
AWS Cloud Learning Platform
Sr. Lead Designer | 2018
I played a key role as a Senior Lead Designer in shaping the AWS Cloud Learning Platform. Leading the design process for its key features, my focus was on creating a seamless and intuitive user experience. To ensure consistency and efficiency in design deliverables, I supported the design team by building and evolving a design system library. By utilizing data-driven insights, we continuously improved the platform, resulting in enhanced user retention and increased adoption. Collaborating closely with cross-functional teams, we aligned design goals and strategies to drive the platform’s success in enhancing cloud knowledge for AWS users and beyond.
AWS Cloud T&C Design System
Lead Designer | 2018
I spearheaded the development of Paloma, a design system tailored for AWS’s learning management system, ensuring a user-friendly learning experience with a focus on an atomic design approach. My leadership in creating a consistent visual language and component library streamlined our design process, aligning closely with AWS’s branding. This user-centric approach not only enhanced the intuitiveness of the user experience but also significantly boosted our market delivery efficiency by 200%, marking a substantial impact on the organization’s success.
MSPC Cloud Platform
Sr. Designer | 2017
As the Senior Designer for MSPC, I crafted a seamless user experience for its cloud migration platform, significantly boosting user adoption and satisfaction. I guided the creation of a Design System, bringing consistency and efficiency to our designs, which was pivotal in improving user retention and loyalty. Through data-driven insights, I continuously refined the user experience, enhancing customer allegiance. My collaboration with various teams was instrumental in positioning MSPC as a leader in effortless data and workload migration across multiple clouds.
Wattplan Energy Consumption Planner
Sr. Designer | 2016
At Wattplan, I directed the design of our B2B/B2C SaaS app, enhancing energy management for users and solar companies, and ensuring a smooth product development cycle with a focus on collaboration and agile UX enhancements. My leadership in creating an intuitive experience catered to both consumer needs and business goals, integrating UX research and data analytics into the design process, which heightened user satisfaction. Through rigorous user testing, I achieved our UX and product objectives, culminating in a triumphant launch and a surge in customer adoption.
And
About Me
🎮 🏋️ 🚗 🍕 📷 🦮 🏔️
My name is Paul Capcan, and I’m originally from Moldova (Eastern Europe). Today, I live in the greater Seattle area with my beautiful wife, 3 kids, and 2 dogs. Together, we love to explore the Pacific Northwest and other parts of the world.
I’m a tech geek and I enjoy tinkering with new gadgets, playing PS5/XBOX/Nintendo, following sustainable EV and solar energy trends, and poking around with Midjourney, ChatGPT, and many other AI tools emerging today. Outside my work, I hit the gym and spend quality time with my family.
I’ve been obsessed with the product design industry since 2000 when people started creating websites using Macromedia Flash and HTML tables. Now, I passionately follow new trends and derive inspiration from the greatest leaders in the UX design community.
Oh, and a fun fact: I’m a former house DJ. I had produced and played electronic music in my previous life.