Inside Shopify UX

Inside Shopify UX

By Lola Oyelayo-PearsonArtsDesign
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Inside Shopify UX episodes

  • Polaris

    Our Polaris design system was created to align us in building great experiences for Shopify businesses.


    In this episode, UX director Yesenia Perez-Cruz sits down with senior UX manager Kevin Clark to talk about the origins of the system, the philosophy that drives it, and how it's evolving. Plus:

    • what the "trip wires" are for adding to the design system
    • how the Polaris team is structured
    • what happens if people trust the system too much
    • why Polaris has evolved into a "system of systems:

      • The full transcript of the episode is available at: https://ux.shopify.com/inside-shopify-ux-5-polaris-9b0483005b23.


      41 min
    • Multi-channel with Veronica Wong and Lola Oyelayo-Pearson

      Multi-channel works towards helping merchants with their #1 challenge: growing their sales by marketing and selling on owned and unowned channels. Multi-channel is also the team that manages some of the key product initiatives we have with Shopify's largest partners including Facebook and Google.

      In this episode Multi-channel UX director Lola Oyelayo-Pearson speaks with senior designer Veronica Wong about:

      • why we are so invested in creating multi-channel experiences for our merchants?
      • top skills for a product designer to work in this space
      • how running her own online business informs Veronica's work
      • the UX challenges of working with major partners

        • The full transcript is available at: https://ux.shopify.com/inside-shopify-ux-4-multichannel-111bf5bc69bd

        28 min
      • Shopify Retail with Darrin Henein

        The Shopify Retail team builds products for businesses that have brick-and-mortar retail stores, focusing on making Shopify the best commerce platform for these retailers. They invest their time on Shopify point-of-sales (POS) software and hardware, as well as cross-Shopify product work that disproportionately impacts retailers.

        In this episode Lola Oyelayo-Pearson speaks with Darrin Henein, the director of UX for Retail at Shopify. They talk about:

        • The problem set the Retail team is involved in
        • How industrial designers are part of the product design team
        • The differences between working on hardware and software
        • The team's rituals and processes
        • How the length of the hardware design process has influenced the team's software design
        • The types of problems the team is interested in working on in the future

          • The full transcript is available at https://ux.shopify.com/inside-shopify-ux-3-retail-f85efca3fa15.

          21 min
        • Introduction to Ecosystem with Elizabeth McGuane

          The Ecosystem team's mission is to help help merchants meet 100% of their needs through apps, themes, and services, and attract new merchants to Shopify to become more successful entrepreneurs. It also aims to help our Shopify Partners around the world make commerce better for everyone.

          Our host Lola Oyelayo-Pearson sits down with senior UX manager Elizabeth McGuane to talk about:

          • What is the team's working hypothesis and what problems does it tackle?
          • The different user groups the team builds for
          • How the team works to maintain craft quality
          • What the team's North Star is for merchant outcomes
          • How the team thinks about international growth
          • What makes people successful on the team


            • 31 min
          • What's different about UX at Shopify?

            In this kickoff episode, our host and UX director Lola Oyelayo-Pearson speaks with our head of UX Cynthia Savard Saucier. They introduce how the UX team at Shopify is set up and dive into a number of ways that the team is unique.

            Learn about:

            • Our mission and merchant obsession
            • Why we don't need to sell anyone on the value of design
            • How we embrace radical ownership
            • The multiplicity of career paths available to UXers
            • Why we value an interdisciplinary approach
            • What our "digital by design" approach means and how it's evolving

              • Full transcript is available at: https://ux.shopify.com/whats-different-about-ux-at-shopify-f61453f17bc

              40 min

            About Inside Shopify UX

            From the publisher's feed

            Shopify is building the future of commerce, but who are the people building it? Inside Shopify UX introduces some of the leaders and crafters on our UX team and asks them to explain the big commerce problem their team is trying to solve, and tackle some of the industry's challenges and questions.