Emilia Naberezny is a seasoned UX designer with over a decade of experience, ranging from dynamic startups to tech giants like Amazon. A native New Yorker, Emilia’s design journey has seen her evolve from a solo designer to a team leader, all while maintaining her hands-on approach and passion for learning. Her diverse career reflects a deep commitment to crafting thoughtful user experiences and mentoring the next generation of designers.

We caught up with Emilia to discuss her journey, the impact of design systems, and how her love for cooking influences her design philosophy. Plus, she shares her insights on balancing leadership with design work and her advice for aspiring UX designers.

Emilia Naberezny: My approach is always the same no matter how big the company. The difference usually is the scale of the system and where to start. For example, in design, I always start with the foundations: existing style guides, branding guidelines, or design systems. Depending on the size of the company, this is always at different stages. For example, I have worked at many startups where this did not exist, so I had to create it. Working now at Amazon, we have a very mature design system that is managed by its own team of designers. Even though it is advanced, there is always room for growth, and all designers can contribute back to the system.

Naberezny: Yes, it absolutely did! Massimo Vignelli was the master of the design system. What I learned from him is if you have a solid set of design foundations, you can design anything from a chair to a poster or even a website. It is all about establishing a set of rules and applying those rules to create a cohesive and consistent pattern. When I started working with Massimo and Lella, I was using Photoshop and Illustrator to design various projects in their studio, and today I use Figma. I often wonder how the power of Figma and creating digital design systems would have impacted Massimo’s work. If he were still alive, I think he would have loved it!

Naberezny: Balancing design work and leadership is so hard! I have done it at startups and at Amazon. Having the ability to be present as a manager while also delivering on your design work is tough. I have not perfected it and am still learning. Recently, I have changed my design path to focus on being an independent contributor (IC) and have stepped back from being a manager. I think there is pressure to be a manager or a design director as a natural step in leadership. For me, I have learned that I give better advice when I am in it with the rest of the designers. I still love to mentor and meet with other designers to give feedback or generate ideas. Who knows, maybe I will pick up the leadership path again someday, but for now, I am happy as an IC.

Naberezny: A project that stands out from my career that I am proud of is the first design system I built at Makespace (they were bought by Clutter, so the designs no longer exist today). The reason why I am proud of this project is that I had no idea how to build a design system. I worked with our small design team to create a system from scratch that helped establish a system that worked for our product. When I think back to this, it was scary at the moment, but I learned so much from this experience. This system and the components I created was the start of something that still helps me in my role today.

Naberezny: If you are passionate about design, do it, and the best way to learn is by doing. I studied graphic design and worked in four different design roles before I was able to have the title of Product Designer. You will get there if you work hard and are persistent. You are never going to know everything, and learning along the way helps you get better. I am still learning!

Naberezny: Growing up in New York City exposed me to many different perspectives, cultures, and designs at a very young age. I remember riding the subway as a kid and always being intrigued by the advertisements. Fast forward to college, where I took my first advertising class, which jump-started my career in design. I ultimately moved away from advertising but am still fascinated by the science of what draws a customer in.

Naberezny: I am inspired by hearing stories from other designers about failure. I always strive to be perfect (I am unfortunately a perfectionist), but no one is perfect. Recently, I attended a talk where a group of designers spoke about all of their failures throughout their career, and it was really refreshing. Everyone spotlights highs in their career, but everyone experiences the lows, and acknowledging that is important.

Naberezny: A great product thinks through all of its edge cases before customers experience them. I find that I enjoy using products where it is clear that the people designing them have stress-tested and thought through every scenario to present the best outcome for the user.

Naberezny: This is a great question! I have never actually thought about how those two things could be linked. My husband always makes fun of me because I hate to follow recipe directions. I can draw similarities between how I cook and how I design. I love to experiment, and sometimes I try different configurations by adding different ingredients until I find the right balance. I do this same thing when I am presented with a design problem. I try a million different configurations until the design feels balanced and just right.

Naberezny: The main emerging trend that everyone is talking about is AI. How will designers use it? Will it replace the design process? I personally think that it will become another tool that we all use in our design process, and I am excited to keep exploring all of the potential ways to use it to create even better products.

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