# Carla Kotzé > Lead Product Designer at Stitch Fix Location: San Francisco, California, United States Profile: https://flows.cv/carlakotz I am a Product Designer (UI/UX) with experience working in e-commerce, travel, retail and advertising industries who delivers innovative and engaging user interfaces and product experiences across multiple platforms. I’m passionate about building and maintaining design systems, developing design processes and finding the ultimate designer/developer workflow. I like being involved in the entire product development process and collaborating with cross-functional teams that build beautiful, user-centered digital products people love to use. Originally from Cape Town, South Africa – currently in San Francisco. ## Work Experience ### Lead Product Designer @ Stitch Fix Jan 2020 – Present | San Francisco Bay Area ### Senior UI Product Designer @ takealot.com Jan 2019 – Jan 2019 | Cape Town Area, South Africa Takealot.com is the leading e-commerce retailer in South Africa and one of the largest, most innovative e-commerce retailers on the African continent. Working closely with engineers, product managers and UX researchers, I produced user-centered design solutions that speak to business, brand, and user requirements to ship great products and deliver the best e-commerce experience possible. • Collaborate with multiple product managers, researchers and engineering teams to define the product roadmap and develop innovative and practical solutions to challenges and launch new product features. • Develop design systems and establish and communicate design patterns, guidelines and internal team processes. • Provide guidance to ensure implementation of design and usability best practices across multiple platforms (Web, iOS, Android). • Translate UX research and wireframes into high fidelity prototypes and mockups for developer handoff. • Introduced design collaboration tools and processes to promote a more collaborative design team and developer workflow. • Put into effect design and engineering sprint reviews and critique sessions to foster cross-team collaboration and shorten feedback loops. ### Senior Product Designer / Design Team Lead @ Travelstart Jan 2016 – Jan 2019 | Cape Town Area, South Africa Travelstart is one of the leading online travel agencies in Africa. I was responsible for designing and delivering innovative, consistent and engaging user interfaces and product experiences across multiple platforms to fulfil business needs and delight users by making travel simple. • Collaborate with cross-functional teams including engineers, product owners and stakeholders in an agile environment to define, design and develop the Travelstart product. • User interface and user experience design for all web and mobile products. • Define, communicate and contribute to the company’s overall design vision and product strategy. • Initiated the Travelstart Design System project and contributed to and managed the ongoing development and implementation. • Reduce the complexity of design projects and optimize design team processes to work smarter, not harder. • Own and lead the end-to-end design process of projects and features in their full cycle, from research and ideation to implementation and re-iteration. • Design high-fidelity prototypes to demonstrate application flows for developer handoff. • Quality assurance and support throughout the development process. • Champion user-centred design principles and methodologies – promote design thinking throughout the company. • Mentor and coach fellow product and marketing designers through 1 on 1's, facilitated design reviews and design team process improvements. ### Digital Designer @ Weylandts Jan 2016 – Jan 2016 | Cape Town Weylandts is a world-class contemporary interior décor and furniture retailer with branches throughout South Africa, Namibia and Melbourne, Australia. My main focus was on developing and implementing design solutions across all the Weylandts digital media platforms. • Design and develop functional user experiences, process flows and interface designs for web and native mobile products for the e-commerce platform. • Website usability audits and information architecture • Develop design guidelines and standards for the Weylandts brands. • Wireframing and high-fidelity prototyping to visualize and test concepts and user journeys. • Create digital assets for marketing campaigns, company websites, emailers and social media platforms. • Design and art direction for printed brochures and in-store signage. ### Senior Graphic Designer @ SAOTA Jan 2014 – Jan 2016 | Cape Town Area, South Africa SAOTA is a firm of architectural designers and technologists including in-house CGI and marketing teams. I was responsible for the ideation and execution of marketing strategies and design solutions for SAOTA and its associated companies, ARRCC (interior design) and OKHA (furniture) in order to promote continuous growth and evolution of the individual brands as market leaders. • Graphic design and art direction. • Design and production of all digital and printed marketing collateral. • Branding and corporate identity development. • User interface and experience design for company websites. • Project manage and collaborate with external web development agencies. • Email marketing, development and template creation (Mailchimp). • Photo and 3D render editing. • Digital and social media strategy. • Mentor and manage junior designers. • Copywriting for newsletters, project brochures and social media. ### Content, Design & Social Strategy Intern @ Saatchi & Saatchi Synergize Jan 2014 – Jan 2014 ### Senior Designer / Photographer / Online Content Producer @ Superbalist.com Jan 2012 – Jan 2014 | Cape Town Area, South Africa Superbalist.com is South Africa’s most-loved online fashion and lifestyle destination. I was the first in-house designer, product photographer and overall digital content producer at the early start-up stages of the company. ### Graphic Designer and In-house Photographer @ Trigger Models Jan 2011 – Jan 2012 ### Graphic Designer and In-house Photographer @ Topco Models Jan 2010 – Jan 2011 ## Education ### Part-time Course in Web Publishing/Design Friends of Design - Academy of Digital Arts ### Diploma in Copywriting AAA School of Advertising ## Contact & Social - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/carla-kotze - Behance: http://www.behance.net/carlakick --- Source: https://flows.cv/carlakotz JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/carlakotz/resume.json Last updated: 2026-04-13