What I learned working as a designer at Revolut

Working at Revolut has been an incredibly rewarding journey. The fast-paced environment, high expectations, and ambitious goals have shaped my approach to design and pushed me to grow in ways I didn’t expect. Through this experience, I’ve gathered a few key lessons that have shaped how I think about design and communication, both within a team and as a designer. Here’s what I learned:

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1. Simplicity: The Hardest Thing to Achieve

Simple solutions are often the hardest to create. At Revolut, we always pushed to strip things down to their most essential form, which took countless iterations. But when you hit that level of clarity, it’s worth every bit of effort. Simplicity feels intuitive, but it’s the result of deep thinking and constant refinement.

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2. Communication is Everything: More Than Just Design

Creating great designs is important, but it’s only half the job. The real challenge is communicating your ideas effectively. I learned that aligning people, influencing decisions, and moving projects forward often comes down to how well you communicate — not just the quality of the design itself.

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3. Balancing Vision and Execution: Big Ideas vs. Quick Wins

One of the toughest challenges I faced was balancing long-term vision with the need for immediate fixes. While it’s tempting to get caught up in usability tweaks, I learned that big ideas drive the most impactful change. Knowing when to focus on the bigger picture and when to implement small improvements is an art.

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4. Embrace “One More Thing”: Always Go Beyond the Brief

At Revolut, solving the core problem was never enough. The expectation was always to push a bit further—finding that extra detail or feature that makes the product special. It’s about going the extra mile and adding value in unexpected places.

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5. Say “No” to Move Forward

In a fast-paced company like Revolut, ideas and requests come from every direction. One of the most valuable lessons I learned is the power of saying “no.” It’s about focusing on what truly matters and cutting through the noise so that you can deliver something meaningful, instead of spreading yourself too thin.

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6. Design Without a Safety Net: Trust Your Instincts

In a fast-moving environment, you don’t always have the luxury of time for user testing and deep validation. This is where your instincts as a designer come in. You have to trust your experience and make quick decisions, even without all the data.

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7. Storytelling is Your Superpower: Design as Narrative

Crafting a good product is one thing, but selling the idea requires storytelling. I found that building a compelling narrative around your design work is often more important than the work itself. Whether it’s pitching to stakeholders or guiding a team, your ability to tell a story can make or break a project.

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8. Top-Down Leadership Isn’t a Bad Thing

Although top-down cultures get a bad rap in the design world, I came to appreciate their efficiency at Revolut. Clear, decisive leadership keeps the team aligned, focused, and moving quickly. While creative freedom is important, sometimes clear direction accelerates progress.

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9. High Output > Perfect Strategy

At Revolut, output was king. Speed and volume of delivery mattered more than waiting for the perfect strategy. Sometimes you don’t need a deeply thought-out plan to succeed—you just need to get things done. High-output environments teach you to trust the process, even when the long-term strategy isn’t fully formed.

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10. Perfection is Overrated: Ship it, then fix it

In a high-growth environment like Revolut, waiting for the perfect design can slow down progress. I realized that getting things done is more valuable than obsessing over every detail. It’s all about getting the product out there and iterating based on real-world feedback. Of course maintaining still super high quality bar for everything you ship.