Equinix
Transforming Design Culture: From Production to Data-Driven Excellence
At Equinix, Design was treated as a production resource with no sense of empowerment, and the absence of a cohesive design system led to inefficiencies, inconsistent UI/UX, and a lack of shared identity across teams in Poland, Singapore, and Silicon Valley.
There was no dedicated research function, and Design Thinking practices were nonexistent in the digital product development process. This case study outlines how I led the transformation, shifting the design culture from production-based work to one driven by research, data, and collaboration, ultimately fostering a cohesive, efficient, and user-centered design process across the organization.
Some Basics
- Team Size: 62
- Geographies: 3 (US, Singapore, Warsaw)
- Disciplines led: 4 — Design, Content, Localization, & Research
- Budget Managed: $3M+
Key Metrics
- Scaled user research from 0 to 100% coverage of the product portfolio in 1 year.
- Implemented JIRA across the Design org, achieving 100% visibility into design, research, and content initiatives. This enabled real-time tracking, uncovered 15–20% of underutilized capacity, and allowed for faster reprioritization and resource reallocation across high-impact projects.
- Managed Localization across 26 languages.
Leadership Challenge
Context
- Inherited a 40-person team composed solely of Content and Design professionals, operating without dedicated User Research or Design Thinking functions.
- Identified a reactive, “order taker” culture with limited strategic partnership with Product Management or Engineering.
- Uncovered organizational silos across team locations, resulting in three disconnected cultures, low trust, and a fragmented sense of purpose.
- Recognized the need for cultural integration, strategic alignment, and cross-functional collaboration to unlock team potential and performance.
Approach
- Fostered connection and collaboration across geographically distributed teams by creating intentional relationship-building opportunities and shared initiatives.
- Paired team members from different regions to promote empathy, build trust, and strengthen a unified team identity.
- Led a mindset shift across the organization—helping the team recognize their collective strengths, build confidence, and evolve from an “order taker” role to strategic partners in product development.
- Cultivated a culture of empowerment and collaboration, positioning the team as integral contributors to product strategy and cross-functional success.
Results
- Transformed a fragmented, execution-only design function at Equinix into a cohesive, high-performing team recognized as a strategic product development partner.
- Built and scaled trusted Research and Design Thinking practices that became core to product conception and delivery.
- Grew the team, improved engagement scores, and introduced role-specific competencies across Design, Research, and Content to support career growth and excellence.
Watch How We Brought It to Life — Bringing us Together
Vision Demo
This demo illustrates the work the team was doing to bring together the ideas of the Product, Design and Engineering organizations. Enjoy!