About me

Cosimo Scarpa
Hi! I'm Cosimo (affectionately known as Cos). Based in the vibrant city of London, I am a passionate designer, tech-savvy and keen observer. Specialised in UX and Product Design, I blend elegant aesthetics, interactive engaging experiences, as well as intuitive usability to make the best of every project.
With an engineering background in my toolkit and an insatiable curiosity for how things work, I approach design with a unique perspective, always seeking to understand the 'why' before crafting the 'how'.

Client works

During my career, I had the opportunity of working with a lot of notable clients, some of those includes: Alexander McQueen, Barbour, BearMineral, Beatport, Ben Sherman, BetFirst, Boux Avenue, Casper, Cath Kidston, Clarins, Clarks, Diet-to-go, Dior, Elizabeth Arden, Forever21, G-Star, Gucci, Heavy Nichols, Hugo Boss, Innovo, IQOS, JD Sports, Karen Millen, Les Lunes, Lufthansa, Maji, Mara Hoffman, MUJI, Never Fully Dressed, NetBet, Nike, Norton, Oakley, Oh Polly, Perfume Direct, Piglet, Premier Global, PsPrint, Quiz, Ralph Lauren, RayBan, Revolut, Saint Laurent, Samsung, Superdry, Uniqlo, UnitBet, Urban Outfitters, Versace.

Experience

Wunderkind.co / 2019 - 2023

Tech / Saas / B2B

Design Manager

  • Joined Wunderkind as a UI/Visual Designer, concentrating on UI/UX design. I utilised user data, design best practices, and client objectives to inform and guide design decisions. After two years at Wunderkind, I advanced to a Senior and Lead role, further expanding my responsibilities and expertise in UI/UX design, with an added focus on product development.
  • Leading the EMEA Design Team in elevating user experience through innovative design and the adoption of emerging technologies.
  • Managing and coordinating projects, ensuring they align with user needs and business goals, informed by comprehensive user research.
  • Mentoring and developing a team of designers, fostering a blend of creativity and technical excellence.
  • Concentrating on UI/UX design by utilising user data, design best practices, and client objectives to guide design decisions.
  • Expanding responsibilities and expertise in UI/UX design, with an added focus on product development.
  • Working on product initiatives by collaborating with engineers and product managers to optimise and innovate our products.
  • Using design thinking to combine UX and visual design, thereby marrying aesthetic appeal with functional innovation.
  • Presenting proposals for new ideas or initiatives to elevate product quality or implement new innovations.
  • Fostering an innovation culture and knowledge sharing within the team and across departments.

Lead and mentor

I have had the opportunity to work closely with account managers and the Director of Customer Success. This collaboration was pivotal in ensuring the highest quality of our deliverables and providing vital support during feasibility assessments, brainstorming sessions, and driving design innovation. My goal was to coordinate and support my team for efficiency and quality by supervising but also mentoring and creating a motivating work-environment.

My client portfolio spans a wide range of industries, including Fashion, Tech, Food, Luxury, Beauty, Travel, Home, Sports, Health, Finance, Entertainment, and Education. I have catered to diverse business models like B2B, B2C, and Pubs, overseeing projects across the EMEA and parts of the APAC regions. But also supporting the US team by coordinating the workload across the regions.

At Wunderkind, my focus was on nurturing and expanding our team, ensuring that every designer felt fully supported. I committed to active listening and provided guidance whenever necessary. My approach was to encourage each team member to develop their own solutions during brainstorming sessions, fostering a collaborative environment where we could collectively explore the rationale behind each design decision. Mentoring played a pivotal role in my day-to-day responsibilities, emphasising personal growth and creative excellence within the team.

Product Innovation

Over my five years at Wunderkind, I played a key role in creating new products and services. I worked closely with the Product and Engineering teams, focusing on tools that make our Design Studio department more efficient.
One major project was our automated technical review tool, a Chrome extension. I led its UX/UI design – from brainstorming to the final design – and did the front-end development with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This tool automated our manual technical review process, greatly improving our team's efficiency.

In the latter three years at Wunderkind, my contributions to the Innovation team significantly diversified. I played a pivotal role in developing an internal no-code platform for client email layouts, achieving a 60% savings in resources through automation and collaboration with product managers, directors and engineers. Another key achievement was designing a proof-of-concept to integrate generative AI into this platform. This initiative aimed to automate email generation using client data, complemented by a data manager for quality control.

Additionally, my joint efforts with the UX Engineering team led to the successful integration of AI in our Brand Voice Scouting project. By skill-fully combining Open AI's API with client data, we were able to capture unique brand voices, yielding invaluable insights and further enhancing product efficiency. These projects, among others, showcase the breadth of my innovative work at Wunderkind, each contributing to significant operational advancements.

Culture and knowledge share

At Wunderkind, I've passionately nurtured a positive company culture, focusing on fostering collaboration across teams such as Design, Customer Success Management, Email Coding, and Engineering. This cross-departmental synergy has sparked innovative solutions and enhanced teamwork.

I've also emphasised staying ahead in design trends, regularly updating our team and spearheading discussions on the latest in design. Since early 2023, my focus has shifted towards AI and machine learning. I established a dedicated channel for AI updates and tools, making significant strides in keeping the company attuned to AI advancements. My role in advocating for and demystifying AI and machine learning has positioned me as a key point of contact for related inquiries in our design team, further enriching our team's knowledge and expertise in these rapidly evolving tech fields.

gimo / 2018

Marketing / Agency

UI / Visual designer

  • Collaborated with various Gaming and Betting companies, as well as Fashion brands, across multiple countries, focusing on Social Media Marketing, Campaign Marketing, and Affiliation.
  • Specialised in creating audience-specific designs that align business objectives with creative goals.
  • Managed and optimised landing pages for marketing campaigns, closely working with Front-End Developers to enhance user experience and boost conversion rates.
  • Gained extensive experience in a broad spectrum of design disciplines including Motion Design, Digital Design, Visual Composition, Typography, Information Architecture, UX Research, Wireframing, Prototyping, UX/UI Design, and Interaction Design using HTML/CSS and Adobe Tools.

Freelancing

Visual - UX/UI - Web Designer

  • Developed a diverse portfolio encompassing graphic design, user interface, and web development projects.
  • Collaborated directly with clients to tailor design solutions to their specific needs.
  • Utilised a variety of design tools and technologies, including Adobe Creative Suite, Sketch, Figma, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  • Managed all project phases, from conceptualisation to delivery, ensuring quality and client satisfaction.
Cosimo Scarpa