Building design ownership inside a digital bank
I joined a pre-launch digital bank halfway through delivery to lead three designers across 15 epics, improving how Design worked, collaborated and made decisions.
Hello.
I build design teams, strategies and systems for complex digital products.
I'm Reem Basim, a UX & Product Design Leader with 13+ years of experience across digital transformation, banking, AI, government services and consumer technology.
Leadership work
How I lead
01Start with the problem, not the screen
I push teams to understand what they are solving before opening Figma. That means questioning requirements, bringing Design into discovery earlier and using research, flows and evidence to shape the direction.
02Give people ownership
I do not want every decision to come back to me. I look for where designers are strongest, give them meaningful ownership and create the support they need to grow into bigger responsibilities.
03Create enough structure to make good work repeatable
Design reviews, clear decision paths, system ownership and shared ways of working should make a team more effective, not slower. I introduce structure where it removes ambiguity and leave it out where it becomes process for its own sake.
04Connect Design to the wider product
I work closely with Product, Engineering, Business, Research, Compliance and other teams so design decisions make sense beyond an individual journey. The goal is not just a better interface. It is a more coherent product and stronger decision making around it.
Product work
Moneyway
An all-in-one money management platform for SMEs. User research to define pain points and shape the next phase.
Molhem
An Arabic online publishing platform. Brand identity and a UX/UI redesign focused on conversion.
Rakuten TV
A Smart TV streaming app. Fixing onboarding and registration to increase conversion.
About
I studied architecture, and took what I learned about designing better environments for people into my work in UX.
- 2025–PresentFractional UX Lead & Product Design ConsultantIndependent / Contract
- 2023–2025UX Design ManagerDeloitte
- 2022–2023Lead Product DesignerPennylane
- 2019–2022Senior / Lead UX DesignerMawdoo3