Gunther Eisen
Design Strategist
Summary
Design Strategist with 20+ years of experience defining what gets built and when — through structured discovery, stakeholder facilitation, information architecture, and product roadmaps. I move cross-functional teams from ambiguity to focused execution in Agile and Scrum environments across enterprise SaaS, B2B platforms, legal tech, healthcare, and financial services.
I build BRDs, sitemaps, user flows, and lo-fi prototypes using Figma and existing design systems. I lead discovery workshops and Design Sprints. I run lightweight research — interviews, usability testing, validation — to de-risk investment decisions before engineering begins. I know when to engage specialist designers and researchers, and I ensure early designer involvement to reduce downstream rework.
Full professional English (C1, ETS TOEIC 955/990). Available for a 40-hour, EST-schedule, full-time contract engagement.
Core Skills
Product Roadmaps · BRDs · Information Architecture · Sitemaps · User Flows · Product Discovery · Stakeholder Alignment Workshops · Design Sprints · Desirability / Feasibility / Viability · Lo-fi Prototyping · Design System Literacy · Backlog Structuring · Usability Testing · Qualitative Research · ResearchOps · DesignOps · WCAG / Accessibility · Agile · Scrum · Cross-functional Collaboration
Tools: Figma · Miro · Maze · FigJam · Dovetail · Notion · Airtable · Confluence · Jira
Professional Experience
Design Strategist — Ecosystem Unification
- Mapped the full digital ecosystem through stakeholder interviews and system analysis
- Produced unified information architecture (IA) and interaction pattern library aligned to the existing design system
- Facilitated executive alignment sessions presenting the strategic framework to senior leadership using Figma prototypes and lo-fi service maps
- Framework adopted as the foundation for a multi-year digital transformation initiative
- Projected outcome: 40% reduction in user navigation time
Design Strategist — Discovery & IA · Portal Ecosystem Unification
- Audited 140+ services and forms; produced complete service inventory and sitemap
- Ran heuristic evaluation establishing baseline score of 6.2/10, documenting 12 critical violations
- Facilitated stakeholder prioritisation workshops to resolve competing departmental claims through weighted scoring
- Designed three-tier IA for public visitors, transitional users, and practising attorneys; produced detailed user flows for each segment
- Delivered BRD and prioritised backlog ready for engineering commitment
- Reframed the project from a visual redesign into a structural argument about organisational change — the most significant design strategy contribution of the engagement
- Projected outcomes: consolidation of 4 authentication systems into 1; 40% reduction in first-level support volume
UX Strategist — Ethnographic Research & Product Direction
- Conducted in-home field interviews and contextual observation, mapping the full purchase decision journey
- Central finding: spatial visualisation was the primary purchase barrier — 2D photography could not bridge representation and spatial reality
- Client launched a network of physical guide shops in direct response to discovery findings
- Company reached 100 locations and unicorn status ($1B+ valuation) in 2021
Information Architect — Android
- Designed complete IA for a fitness training Android app across 15+ functional sections: exercise library, training plan builder, workout history, messaging, and evaluation flows
- Deliverable used as the structural brief for UI design and development
Selected clients: Bain & Company, Grupo Boticário, and a range of startups and agencies across financial services, healthcare, telecom, and retail.
HostGator · Web.com · Bluehost — Agile/Scrum teams, North American & LATAM markets
- Navigation Redesign (2023): Four-method discovery programme — benchmarking, user interviews, card sort, Figma prototype validated in 18 moderated sessions on responsive web. Rated 4/5 (Much Better) vs. live platform and two competitors. Shipped to production 2025.
- Domain Management (2025): Two-round moderated usability study. Lo-fi concepts in Figma within the existing multi-brand design system before any engineering sprint. 7 critical issues surfaced; all 5 priority fixes implemented before development.
- Product Designer role: Lo-fi concepts, interaction specs, and design system-aligned prototypes in Figma for web and responsive mobile across HostGator and Web.com portfolios.
- Platform Migration (2024): Synthesised 999 unstructured customer responses across 3 data streams plus live interviews. Findings directly shaped Q4 2024 and Q1 2025 product roadmaps.
- Built ResearchOps infrastructure that standardised insight delivery across Scrum product teams; reduced research cycle time by 40%.
B2B SaaS workflow automation · HR & Finance · North American market · Agile organisation
- Designed and executed 100-session discovery programme over six months (64 prospect + 36 customer/churner interviews)
- Mid-programme pivot: redirected Phase 2 from churn diagnosis to activation science; identified the platform had not yet formally defined its High-Value Actions
- Defined Automations, Public Form, and Email Templates as primary retention drivers
- Recommended two onboarding paths — self-service PLG (SMB) and sales-assisted (enterprise) — segmented by fundamentally different user motivations
- Contributed to product redesign via Figma prototypes; replaced blocking walkthrough with contextual task-linked nudges
- Delivered prioritised backlog and strategic framework; shaped next two quarters of roadmap
- 2021 outcomes: platform doubled ARR; raised $75M Series C. Investors explicitly cited the segmentation this discovery defined.
- Facilitated 15+ Design Sprints — cross-functional teams from problem definition to Figma-prototyped, tested solution in five working days
- Led product discovery, IA, user flow design, and stakeholder alignment on each engagement
- Designed mobile app user flows, wireframes, and interaction specs for native applications — including a B2B jewelry sales app (Be Next: vendor client management, catalog, orders, payments)
- Delivered scoped product definitions and prioritised backlogs ready for implementation commitment
- Introduced DesignOps processes that reduced mobile feature delivery cycle by 20%
- Oversaw design and launch of 3 new mobile application features with measured engagement improvement
- Mentored junior and mid-level designers embedded in Scrum teams
- Redesigned IA for a B2B retail loyalty SaaS platform and companion mobile app
- Validated revised user flows, sitemaps, and content hierarchy through Figma prototype usability testing
- Outcomes: 30% higher app store rating; 50% reduction in navigation-related support tickets
Academic & Teaching Leadership
Co-founded Brazil's first institution dedicated exclusively to Interaction Design and UX — built curriculum, managed graduate programme, supervised 12 research projects, held P&L responsibility for 11 years. Thousands of graduates now hold senior roles throughout the Brazilian tech industry.
Tenured and invited professor at eight Brazilian universities — disciplines: UX, Information Architecture, Ergonomics, HCI, and Design Research.
Education
- MA, Education (coursework and research completed) · PUCPR · 2015–2016 · CAPES Scholar
- Certificate, Creative Direction with Digital Media · UC San Diego · 2001–2002
- Graduate Diploma, Marketing · PUCPR · 1999
- Bachelor, Industrial Design (Graphic Design) · UNOPAR · 1995–1998
Certifications & Recognition
- NN/g UX Management Specialization: Lean UX & Agile · Rapid UX Research for Lean and Agile Teams · Analytics & UX · Design Leadership (2020–2021)
- LinkedIn Learning: UX Research for Agile Teams · UX Research: International Projects (2022)
- ETS TOEIC C1 English Proficiency · 955/990 (2013)
- W3C Brasil — Co-author, Web Accessibility Guide (WCAG); National Web Accessibility Award Juror (2012)
Languages
Portuguese — Native
English — Full Professional · C1 · ETS TOEIC 955/990
Spanish — Intermediate reading