Design was sidelined. We rebuilt its influence.

The challenge

The culture was fractured and the impact was clear - design wasn’t influencing growth, it was just styling the edges.

The political landscape

Careem is a 70M+ user super-app operating across 70+ cities in MENA.

Complexity wasn’t the issue, misalignment was.

Design was seen as risk rather than strategy.

Design was cut off from strategy and product decisions. Every vertical had a different idea of design and none of it scaled.

Speed was prioritised over visibility.

PMs blamed design for delays and pushed UI changes directly to engineers. No sign off, no accountability.

The culture was fractured and retention suffered.

The team was strong, but with no shared direction Processes were broken. Culture was weak. Designers didn’t feel growth, ownership, or impact.

I led a transformation that rebuilt design’s role, systems and credibility.

What emerged wasn’t a new process. It was a new culture where design drives clarity, growth and pride.

The solution

  • I highlighted the cost of bypassing design with broken layouts, off-brand UI, wasted sprint cycles

  • Embedded Design QA directly into the sprint cycle

  • Ensured nothing shipped without design review and approval

Design needed presence, a strong voice & immediate change.

  • I redefined design leadership to align across multiple verticals

  • We rebuilt trust through consistent delivery and visible impact

  • Made design integral to product reviews and strategic planning

Design rapidly went from styling to strategy.

  • I gave design leads true ownership and accountability

  • We stopped guessing and created a clear playbook for success

  • With my team we built mentorship and growth programs

We designed the systems that created clarity, growth and pride.

  • Delivered a design system that reflected our product strategy and reduced process friction

  • Unified design, product, and engineering through governed Figma libraries

  • Increased delivery speed and increased confidence

We rebuilt the design system to match our ambition

Once decision confidence improved, results followed.

The impact

Increase in early-stage product involvement

40%

300%

Improvement in design team satisfaction

Faster delivery by aligning earlier and reducing rework

30%

2x

Increase in promotions and designers turning into leaders

Design didn’t improve because we added process. It improved because we clarified who decides what, when, and why. When growth accelerates, judgement matters more than speed.

At Careem, we rebuilt the structures that protect judgement at scale.

My impact

If you need a design leader who builds clarity, culture, and systems that scale - let’s talk.

luke@makeitaconversation.com