Good design starts with understanding users

Behind every achievement at Zefort are the talented individuals who make it happen. From software engineering and design to customer service, sales, and marketing, our skilled experts bring diverse perspectives and dedication to the table. Discover their stories and see how they shape the future with us.

Meet Mariana, the Product Designer helping shape how people experience Zefort

Some career moves happen gradually. Starting out in marketing for SaaS startups and scaleups, Mariana discovered that her interests were shifting toward how products are built.

“I realized I wanted to have a greater impact on product development, so I switched to product design,” she says.

Today, Mariana brings that same motivation to every feature she helps create.

From user needs to finished features

When designing a Zefort feature, Mariana first learns what users are trying to achieve.

“The core of my work is to understand users and design features that solve real problems and make their work easier,” she explains.

In practice, this means working closely with the product team, turning ideas into designs, testing them early, and making sure what’s built is both useful and feasible. Observing how users interact with the product is an important part of the process.

New features usually begin with user feedback, business needs, or both. From there, the team defines the problem and starts exploring different ways to solve it.

“I then start with an ideation phase, exploring different ways we could approach the problem, moving to wireframes, high-fidelity designs, or prototypes to test the idea,” Mariana continues.

Designing for clarity

Throughout that process, Mariana’s goal is to find the simplest way to solve the problem.

Instead of adding more, the goal is often to remove what’s unnecessary. That means carefully considering the flow, the order of information, and the choices users need to make.

“I think of the flow, what should happen, in which order and why,” she explains.

Good design rarely happens in a single iteration. Feedback plays an important role in refining each solution.

“Clarity and ease of use don’t always come on the first try. They improve through iteration. Clarify. Design. Iterate,” Mariana says.

One recent example is the update to Zefort’s contract filters. The goal was to make them easy to understand for new users while still giving experienced users the flexibility they need.

Working closely across teams

Product design at Zefort is shaped through collaboration.

“The main collaboration happens within the product team with developers and our Product Manager,” Mariana says. “Outside of the product team, I collaborate closely with customer support and marketing.”

This helps ensure that decisions are based on real user needs. Feedback from users, insights from support, and input from different teams all contribute to how the product evolves.

“We combine these sources to find common patterns and real needs for improvement.”

A work environment that supports focus and collaboration

For Mariana, the way work is organized plays a big role in how well the team performs.

“What I enjoy the most about working at Zefort is the flexibility of remote work and my colleagues,” she says.

Working remotely allows Mariana to continue building her life in Tampere, something she values both professionally and personally.

“The culture doesn’t suffer for it, and we collaborate and build things together just as well regardless of where everyone is.”

Support from colleagues is another part of what makes the work enjoyable.

“We have a very open way of working. People share their thoughts and ideas freely, and there’s always someone willing to help,” she concludes.

Thinking about joining Zefort?

When asked what she would say to someone considering a Product Designer role at Zefort, Mariana focuses on what matters most in the work itself:

“If you care about solving real problems for users and enjoy working in a collaborative team, it is a great fit.”

Interested in building products around real user needs? Take a look at our open positions and see where your journey could begin.