Context
Across different organisations, I’ve supported expansion into new international markets where there was confidence in the existing product, but limited understanding of how it would translate to new regulatory, cultural, and behavioural contexts.
The challenge was not simply to “do research”, but to build shared understanding and direction in situations where time, focus, and attention needed to be carefully prioritised.
My role
I was responsible for shaping how UX and design thinking were applied to global expansion efforts. My role focused on setting direction, choosing appropriate engagement models, and helping senior stakeholders build confidence in decisions, rather than leading delivery directly.
I worked closely with product, engineering, commercial, and international teams to ensure design effort was applied where it would have the greatest impact.
Three approaches to global expansion
The three examples below show different ways of applying UX and design thinking when expanding into new markets. Each approach was shaped by context rather than a fixed process, reflecting different levels of certainty, organisational readiness, and local knowledge. Together, they illustrate how I have adapted my design leadership while staying grounded in consistent principles.
Embedding local expertise in Germany
Onto was preparing to launch in Germany within a short timeframe. While the product and delivery model were well established in the UK, there was no direct understanding of how German users would interpret or use the service.
Rather than attempting a full research programme, I focused on embedding local expertise. I hired a content designer based in Germany and embedded them within both the German team and the UK-based design system and product teams. This allowed language, structure, and interaction decisions to be shaped by local context while remaining connected to the core platform.
In parallel, I engaged a UX agency with deep knowledge of the German market to conduct an independent audit and user research in German, with live translation into English. This gave the wider team direct access to insight and highlighted areas of cultural risk early.
One practical example captured the value of this approach. A design system component allowed text to reflow fluidly across screen sizes, which worked well in English. The German content designer identified that this would fail with longer compound words. Through collaboration between design and engineering, a solution using silent hyphens was introduced, preserving meaning while maintaining layout integrity.
This approach helped build confidence in the product’s readiness for the German market and gave teams clear direction as they developed the core user journeys.
Exploring market opportunities in Australia
When exploring expansion opportunities in Australia, the focus was on understanding potential partnerships and long-term fit rather than immediate launch. A small group of senior leaders covering product, delivery, international growth, and UX spent time in Melbourne working directly with suppliers and stakeholders.
We mapped the potential end-to-end service, including user flows and technical architecture, with colleagues in London contributing asynchronously. This close collaboration allowed ideas to be explored and refined across business, technical, and user perspectives.
Shortly after returning to the UK, COVID restrictions prevented further travel. We adapted quickly, shifting planned in-person research to remote usability testing. This allowed learning and iteration to continue at pace, maintaining momentum and evolving the value proposition through direct user feedback.
Building collaborative capability in the US
I was leading UX within a scaling fintech expanding into the US pensions market. The context differed significantly from the UK and Ireland, with different regulatory structures, advisory models, and language needs, including Spanish as a preferred language for many users.
To support this, I expanded the team by hiring a specialist user researcher based in the US and focused on building strong relationships with the US leadership team. As research progressed, it became clear that existing approaches to content management would not support similar user flows across multiple languages, prompting a rethink of how content and design worked together.
To accelerate shared understanding across time zones, I adapted the design sprint model into a series of focused cycles with daily workshops scheduled at overlapping US and UK hours. Prototypes were developed collaboratively, evolving through repeated cycles of ideation, reflection, and refinement.
When designs moved into production, they were not handed over to the US team, but created with them and by them. This built ownership, alignment, and a strong foundation for ongoing delivery.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with Joe as our head of design. In particular, his ability to work on a strategy in partnership with product and engineering is very impressive.
Joe is also a really effective and compelling champion for the role of discovery and research, leading with data and insights and coaching others to do the same.
Overall, it’s been a complete pleasure to get to know Joe, collaborate with him and see the way in which he has built and grown a really strong design team across UX, content, service design and beyond.”
Product manager
Leadership reflection
Across these examples, the constant has not been a particular method, but the need to make informed choices about where design effort will be most effective.
I’ve found that global expansion benefits from flexibility of execution, guided by consistent principles. Sometimes that means embedding local expertise, sometimes deep immersion, and sometimes building capability through collaboration. In all cases, my focus has been on creating momentum, shared understanding, and confidence, rather than applying uniform processes.
This perspective continues to shape how I lead design in complex, distributed, and evolving environments.