REFLECTIONS

Managing design at 1stDibs

Some highlights of building and leading design teams at a one-of-a-kind marketplace.

I have been lucky to lead small but mighty design teams during my tenure at 1stDibs, starting with the Trade team, which focused on our shopping experience for interior designers, and later the Seller Experience team, which built tools for a community of 4,000+ global sellers.

I helped the Seller Experience design team grow from two to five designers spanning six scrum teams and three countries. Initially focused on Seller Tools, the team’s scope expanded to include Internal Tools—heavily used by our shipping, account management, and service teams—as well as Design Manager, a SaaS product for interior designers that streamlines project management and accounting.

Strategic projects and outcomes

During my time, the team focused on high-impact projects with measurable outcomes, including reducing time-to-launch through design sprints and driving business impact through customer acquisition and retention through merchandising and loyalty programs.

Some highlights included:

Launching Auctions
Led the seller design and cross-functional collaboration to launch the Auctions MVP in 90 days. Read the case study.

Designing for the Trade
Led several major and minor improvements to our customer experience for our professional buyer segment over the span of 2 years. Implemented a systems-based design approach to these efforts, contributing to the business unit’s growth to one-third of the company’s revenue at its peak.

Design Sprints
Facilitated and participated in Google-style five-day design sprints to rapidly explore problem spaces and test hypotheses. I wrote about our experiences in our design blog.

Design sprints enabled us to rapidly test our hypotheses going from alignment to testing results in 5 days.


Continuous Improvement and Design Operations

Design Backlog Management:
Collaborated with product counterparts to prioritize design improvements based on business impact and team capacity.

Process Improvements

  • Facilitated regular retrospectives at project and team levels.
  • Iterated on improving our onboarding process for new hires.
  • Streamlined hiring practices as I led the efforts to hire in our office in Lithuania.
  • Introduced tools like Trello for design work visibility and standups, including the product team.
  • Piloted Design OKRs to align team goals with organizational objectives.
By managing and prioritizing a design focused backlog, I led the redesign and launch of the Inventory Manager for sellers.

People and Culture

I believe in the power of rituals and tools to foster a culture of performance and learning. Establishing efficient processes and leveraging the right tools were essential to empowering the Seller team to excel.

International Hiring and Team Building:
Led recruitment efforts, including hiring the first designers in the Lithuania office, and emphasized the importance of design critiques and meaningful 1:1s for coaching and alignment.

Enhancing Design Visibility:
Encouraged team members to present their work in larger settings, including company-wide All-Hands meetings.

Fostering Inclusivity and Growth:

  • Launched “Design Monthly” sessions and invited guest speakers to inspire the team.
  • Organized curated Airbnb Experiences for remote team bonding.
  • Advocated for promotions and career growth, pairing designers for collaboration and championing the use of brag documents to celebrate accomplishments.
Team gatherings in New York and Vilnius
From dim sum in New York to rooftop hangs in Vilnius, grateful for the people who made the 1stDibs design team what it was.

Let's grab a coffee ☕️

Design, collaboration or mentorship, I’d love to chat. IRL or virtual.

thalith@gmail.com or LinkedIn