Building design teams
that think beyond screens.

Hi, I'm Mujib, Director of Product Design at Setel, Kuala Lumpur.
I spend most of my time on people, not pixels. This is where I think out loud about leadership, AI and growing designers into leaders.

Drop me a note →

Field notes

The first notes are still in draft.

I'm writing about design leadership, AI and building teams in Southeast Asia. Check back soon or drop me a note if there's a topic you'd like me to cover.

Suggest a topic →

What I believe

Fewer pixels. More judgment.

AI is taking over the execution layer of design. What's left is judgment, taste and the teams we build.

How I lead

01

Clarity over control

Teams do their best work when they know the why, the boundaries and who decides, not when every step goes through me.

In practice: every project starts with a one-page brief on problem, constraints and decision owner. Then I step back.
02

Range over polish

The best designers today move fluently across product, design and engineering, and use AI to go further.

In practice: I hire for curiosity and range, and pull designers into product and tech conversations early.
03

Direct, not harsh

Honest feedback is a form of respect. Sugar-coating wastes everyone's time.

In practice: in critiques we name the problem plainly, then fix it together. I ask for the same directness back.
04

Design is a business function

Design earns its seat by speaking the language of outcomes, risk and trade-offs, not just craft.

In practice: I coach designers to frame work in business terms before they show a single screen.

Mujib with his design team, gathered around a laptop during a workshop

Careers

Setel

Lead Product Designer → Director of Product Design · 2020 — Present

Joined a fast-scaling startup to set up its design and growth practice. The products we built are now used by millions of people refuelling at PETRONAS stations. Today I lead the design team.
Stampede Design

Senior Product Designer · 2017 — 2020

Led research and interface design for client products, balancing what end users needed with each client's business goals, and measuring outcomes with both quantitative and qualitative research.
Skali Web

Web Designer & Developer · 2008 — 2010

As the senior web designer and developer, designed and built websites for the company's own products and services, and delivered web projects for public-sector clients including the Ministry of Agriculture, Bank Rakyat and Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.