Building Irancell’s In-House Design Team and Workflow from the Ground Up
Timeline:
June 2024 - Present
My Role:
Product Design Lead
Other Works
Need Help with A Project?
Let’s Talk
Overview
Irancell replaced outsourced design work with a dedicated in-house product design team. This shift led to a 90% reduction in development defects, faster delivery cycles, and stronger alignment across departments. I led this transformation, shaping the team, processes, and culture from the ground up.
Why We Needed Change
Irancell’s Design Was Outsourced—and It Wasn’t Working
For years, Irancell’s website and its key subdomains (Blog, Careers, Business, About) were designed by rotating external vendors. This model introduced inconsistent quality, limited iteration, and constant handover issues.
We needed consistency, speed, and strategic control—none of which was possible with external contractors.
Key Challenges:
Low design maturity: Design was seen as visual decoration, not strategy.
Zero infrastructure: No workflows, tools, or systems existed.
Stakeholder habits: Teams were used to the vendor model and reluctant to change.
Building the Foundation
Laying the Groundwork for a Scalable Design Operation
I joined as the Product Design Lead during the very first phase of building Irancell’s in-house design capability. There was no structure in place—so I built everything from scratch.
What I established:
Hired and onboarded one new designer into a newly formed team
Created a collaborative workflow from zero
Introduced structured mentorship and encouraged ownership
Personally led high-impact design initiatives
Tooling shift:
Migrated project tracking from Trello to a customized Jira setup
Rebuilt our Figma system: organized files, added versioning, and standardized naming for transparency across teams
Scaling Design
Designing for Multiple Brands and Business Units
[We weren’t just designing for Irancell.ir. Our scope expanded quickly across the business, and we adapted like an internal agency.
We supported:
Multi-branch projects: Owned by the digital team (e.g., Irancell.ir and subdomains)
Multi-brand projects: Commissioned by separate departments with their own timelines and goals
How we scaled:
Defined lightweight internal briefs and delivery plans
Reduced costs and turnaround time compared to external vendors
Maintained strategic alignment while supporting varying needs
Leading Product
When Design Took Over Product Strategy
For 5 months, I stepped in as interim Product Manager for Irancell.ir—owning both discovery and delivery. This role shift radically changed how design was perceived.
Why it mattered:
Stakeholders saw us making better, faster decisions
The team earned credibility across the company
We aligned design and product thinking under one roof
Owning strategy gave us clarity, speed, and trust.
[Design–Dev Handoff
[Fixing the Design-to-Dev Handoff Improved Everything
[The handoff between design and development was slow, manual, and often led to defects. I rebuilt it to be seamless, even without Figma Dev Mode.
[What changed:
Defined a lightweight, clear handoff process tailored to our dev needs
Paired designers with QA for post-release reviews
Logged and tracked deviations for accountability
[Results:
90% reduction in design-related bugs
95%+ implementation accuracy
15% faster delivery
Major cost savings across internal and external teams
[Frontend team lead, thanked me in a formal meeting—a rare and powerful sign that things had truly improved.
Team & Trust
We Turned Designers into Trusted Partners
I focused on mentorship, not management—shaping a culture of ownership and deep collaboration.
What worked:
Designers owned products end-to-end
They presented work directly to stakeholders
I offered support as a peer, not a boss
Feedback was informal, fast, and coaching-oriented
Designers were matched to product areas long-term
We moved from design delivery to design leadership.
Shifting Perception
Changing How the Company Thought About Design
Design used to be seen as execution. We flipped that perception by showing consistent value, speed, and strategic alignment.
How we earned trust:
Ran internal design sprints
Delivered consistently polished outcomes
Engaged early and often with stakeholder
Result:
Business units began requesting our involvement from day one—and design became a strategic partner, not just a visual service.
[Product Impact
[Driving Tangible Product Outcomes
[Our design team contributed across Irancell’s entire digital ecosystem. Highlights included:
Increased click-through rates on the homepage’s “Quick Access” section (based on heatmap-driven redesign)
Established an ongoing audit process to identify UX issues across products
Delivered experiences for:
VOD and streaming
Corporate blog and forum
Games
AI-based service flows
Multiple subdomain initiatives
Lessons Learned
What I Learned as a Design Leader
Design leadership isn’t just about workflows or pixels—it’s about people, trust, and culture.
Key lessons:
Relationships matter as much as deliverables
Building trust takes time—but transforms everything
Calm, strategic responses to feedback are more powerful than instant reactions
Mentorship builds stronger teams than direction
“Keep your friends close, and your skeptics even closer.” That mindset helped me earn trust in unexpected places.
Pejman Jafari
Home
Works
Building Irancell’s In-House Design Team and Workflow from the Ground Up
Timeline:
June 2024 - Present
My Role:
Product Design Lead
Other Works
Need Help with A Project?
Let’s Talk
Overview
Irancell replaced outsourced design work with a dedicated in-house product design team. This shift led to a 90% reduction in development defects, faster delivery cycles, and stronger alignment across departments. I led this transformation, shaping the team, processes, and culture from the ground up.
Why We Needed Change
Irancell’s Design Was Outsourced—and It Wasn’t Working
For years, Irancell’s website and its key subdomains (Blog, Careers, Business, About) were designed by rotating external vendors. This model introduced inconsistent quality, limited iteration, and constant handover issues.
We needed consistency, speed, and strategic control—none of which was possible with external contractors.
Key Challenges:
Low design maturity: Design was seen as visual decoration, not strategy.
Zero infrastructure: No workflows, tools, or systems existed.
Stakeholder habits: Teams were used to the vendor model and reluctant to change.
Building the Foundation
Laying the Groundwork for a Scalable Design Operation
[I joined as the Product Design Lead during the very first phase of building Irancell’s in-house design capability. There was no structure in place—so I built everything from scratch.
What I established:
Hired and onboarded one new designer into a newly formed team
Created a collaborative workflow from zero
Introduced structured mentorship and encouraged ownership
Personally led high-impact design initiatives
Tooling shift:
Migrated project tracking from Trello to a customized Jira setup
Rebuilt our Figma system: organized files, added versioning, and standardized naming for transparency across teams
Scaling Design
Designing for Multiple Brands and Business Units
We weren’t just designing for Irancell.ir. Our scope expanded quickly across the business, and we adapted like an internal agency.
We supported:
Multi-branch projects: Owned by the digital team (e.g., Irancell.ir and subdomains)
Multi-brand projects: Commissioned by separate departments with their own timelines and goals
How we scaled:
Defined lightweight internal briefs and delivery plans
Reduced costs and turnaround time compared to external vendors
Maintained strategic alignment while supporting varying needs
Leading Product
When Design Took Over Product Strategy
For 5 months, I stepped in as interim Product Manager for Irancell.ir—owning both discovery and delivery. This role shift radically changed how design was perceived.
Why it mattered:
Stakeholders saw us making better, faster decisions
The team earned credibility across the company
We aligned design and product thinking under one roof
Owning strategy gave us clarity, speed, and trust.
Design–Dev Handoff
Fixing the Design-to-Dev Handoff Improved Everything
The handoff between design and development was slow, manual, and often led to defects. I rebuilt it to be seamless, even without Figma Dev Mode.
What changed:
Defined a lightweight, clear handoff process tailored to our dev needs
Paired designers with QA for post-release reviews
Logged and tracked deviations for accountability
Results:
90% reduction in design-related bugs
95%+ implementation accuracy
15% faster delivery
Major cost savings across internal and external teams
Frontend team lead, thanked me in a formal meeting—a rare and powerful sign that things had truly improved.
Team & Trust
We Turned Designers into Trusted Partners
I focused on mentorship, not management—shaping a culture of ownership and deep collaboration.
What worked:
Designers owned products end-to-end
They presented work directly to stakeholders
I offered support as a peer, not a boss
Feedback was informal, fast, and coaching-oriented
Designers were matched to product areas long-term
We moved from design delivery to design leadership.
Shifting Perception
Changing How the Company Thought About Design
Design used to be seen as execution. We flipped that perception by showing consistent value, speed, and strategic alignment.
How we earned trust:
Ran internal design sprints
Delivered consistently polished outcomes
Engaged early and often with stakeholder
Result:
Business units began requesting our involvement from day one—and design became a strategic partner, not just a visual service.
Product Impact
Driving Tangible Product Outcomes
Our design team contributed across Irancell’s entire digital ecosystem. Highlights included:
Increased click-through rates on the homepage’s “Quick Access” section (based on heatmap-driven redesign)
Established an ongoing audit process to identify UX issues across products
Delivered experiences for:
VOD and streaming
Corporate blog and forum
Games
AI-based service flows
Multiple subdomain initiatives
Lessons Learned
What I Learned as a Design Leader
Design leadership isn’t just about workflows or pixels—it’s about people, trust, and culture.
Key lessons:
Relationships matter as much as deliverables
Building trust takes time—but transforms everything
Calm, strategic responses to feedback are more powerful than instant reactions
Mentorship builds stronger teams than direction
“Keep your friends close, and your skeptics even closer.” That mindset helped me earn trust in unexpected places.
Building Irancell’s In-House Design Team and Workflow from the Ground Up
Overview
Irancell replaced outsourced design work with a dedicated in-house product design team. This shift led to a 90% reduction in development defects, faster delivery cycles, and stronger alignment across departments. I led this transformation, shaping the team, processes, and culture from the ground up.
Why We Needed Change
Irancell’s Design Was Outsourced—and It Wasn’t Working
For years, Irancell’s website and its key subdomains (Blog, Careers, Business, About) were designed by rotating external vendors. This model introduced inconsistent quality, limited iteration, and constant handover issues.
We needed consistency, speed, and strategic control—none of which was possible with external contractors.
Key Challenges:
Low design maturity: Design was seen as visual decoration, not strategy.
Zero infrastructure: No workflows, tools, or systems existed.
Stakeholder habits: Teams were used to the vendor model and reluctant to change.
Building the Foundation
Laying the Groundwork for a Scalable Design Operation
I joined as the Product Design Lead during the very first phase of building Irancell’s in-house design capability. There was no structure in place—so I built everything from scratch.
What I established:
Hired and onboarded one new designer into a newly formed team
Created a collaborative workflow from zero
Introduced structured mentorship and encouraged ownership
Personally led high-impact design initiatives
Tooling shift:
Migrated project tracking from Trello to a customized Jira setup
Rebuilt our Figma system: organized files, added versioning, and standardized naming for transparency across teams
Scaling Design
Designing for Multiple Brands and Business Units
We weren’t just designing for Irancell.ir. Our scope expanded quickly across the business, and we adapted like an internal agency.
We supported:
Multi-branch projects: Owned by the digital team (e.g., Irancell.ir and subdomains)
Multi-brand projects: Commissioned by separate departments with their own timelines and goals
How we scaled:
Defined lightweight internal briefs and delivery plans
Reduced costs and turnaround time compared to external vendors
Maintained strategic alignment while supporting varying needs
Leading Product
When Design Took Over Product Strategy
For 5 months, I stepped in as interim Product Manager for Irancell.ir—owning both discovery and delivery. This role shift radically changed how design was perceived.
Why it mattered:
Stakeholders saw us making better, faster decisions
The team earned credibility across the company
We aligned design and product thinking under one roof
Owning strategy gave us clarity, speed, and trust.
Design–Dev Handoff
Fixing the Design-to-Dev Handoff Improved Everything
The handoff between design and development was slow, manual, and often led to defects. I rebuilt it to be seamless, even without Figma Dev Mode.
What changed:
Defined a lightweight, clear handoff process tailored to our dev needs
Paired designers with QA for post-release reviews
Logged and tracked deviations for accountability
Results:
90% reduction in design-related bugs
95%+ implementation accuracy
15% faster delivery
Major cost savings across internal and external teams
Frontend team lead, thanked me in a formal meeting—a rare and powerful sign that things had truly improved.
Team & Trust
We Turned Designers into Trusted Partners
I focused on mentorship, not management—shaping a culture of ownership and deep collaboration.
What worked:
Designers owned products end-to-end
They presented work directly to stakeholders
I offered support as a peer, not a boss
Feedback was informal, fast, and coaching-oriented
Designers were matched to product areas long-term
We moved from design delivery to design leadership.
Shifting Perception
Changing How the Company Thought About Design
Design used to be seen as execution. We flipped that perception by showing consistent value, speed, and strategic alignment.
How we earned trust:
Ran internal design sprints
Delivered consistently polished outcomes
Engaged early and often with stakeholder
Result:
Business units began requesting our involvement from day one—and design became a strategic partner, not just a visual service.
Product Impact
Driving Tangible Product Outcomes
Our design team contributed across Irancell’s entire digital ecosystem. Highlights included:
Increased click-through rates on the homepage’s “Quick Access” section (based on heatmap-driven redesign)
Established an ongoing audit process to identify UX issues across products
Delivered experiences for:
VOD and streaming
Corporate blog and forum
Games
AI-based service flows
Multiple subdomain initiatives
Lessons Learned
What I Learned as a Design Leader
Design leadership isn’t just about workflows or pixels—it’s about people, trust, and culture.
Key lessons:
Relationships matter as much as deliverables
Building trust takes time—but transforms everything
Calm, strategic responses to feedback are more powerful than instant reactions
Mentorship builds stronger teams than direction
“Keep your friends close, and your skeptics even closer.” That mindset helped me earn trust in unexpected places.