A conversation with Xavi Cardet, UX Lead & Senior Product Designer
I had the opportunity to speak with Xavi Cardet, currently Senior Product Designer at Caixa Tech. Xavi is a strategic designer with a career spanning consultancy, tech startups, and more recently, the banking sector. His vision combines street-level instinct, analytical thinking, and design culture — and in this conversation he shared some powerful reflections on how design practice has evolved over the years, from user testing in PowerPoint to applying generative AI in user experience teams within banking.
From developer to designer by social vocation
Xavi began his career as a developer, but found in design a way to contribute from a different angle. His time on an HCI master's programme was the catalyst for a transformation that never stopped.
"For many years I worked as a support worker with young people with some kind of disability... and I asked myself: how can I help them interact better with technology?"
Sometimes, the turning point in a career isn't a tool — it's a genuine question: how can I help?
Consultancy: the school of variety and resilience
During his time at NTT Data, Xavi was forged across diverse projects: from redesigning mobile banking to researching why Ikea Family wasn't working. This period allowed him to tackle a wide range of challenges and sectors, building versatility and business knowledge. However, he also identified a key limitation in consultancy: the lack of continuity in projects and the inability to see long-term impact.
"It's great to work on projects of this scale, but... what happens to these projects afterwards? Do they work or not?"
Working across multiple sectors and challenges builds versatility and professional agility, but it also leaves an open question: what real impact did my work have? The lack of continuity limits long-term learning, especially when you're looking to improve products over time.
Startups: the value of getting your hands dirty
At Doctoralia, Signature, and Colvin, Xavi experienced the intensity and creativity of the startup world. Research with no budget, interviews in cafés, packaging testing, calls with customers — everything was fair game to get real feedback. At Colvin, he even delivered flowers by hand to observe reactions and map the complete experience.
"At Signature we had no research budget. I'd get in the car, go and visit clients one by one, have breakfast with them, sit in their office. It was very guerrilla."
Designing from a distance isn't enough. Getting out of the office, observing people in context, delivering the product in person or listening directly to their reactions allows you to pick up on details that no report can capture. In startups, this guerrilla attitude not only generates insights — it also strengthens a user-centred design culture.
Strategic design in banking: transforming from within
His current role at CaixaBank Tech allows him to apply all that experience to transform the experience of relationship managers from the inside. The challenge is immense: homogenising the omnichannel experience, adapting the interface to different user profiles, and overcoming organisational and cultural barriers that see UX as a "bottleneck".
"We want what the customer sees at home to be the same as what the relationship manager sees in their branch."
Transforming the experience from within means navigating complex structures, breaking through cultural inertia, and demonstrating value through actions. The impact doesn't arrive immediately, but with consistency and a focus on the user, UX can stop being seen as a brake and become a driver of change.
The importance of argued design
One of the most powerful messages Xavi shared was about the ability to argue design decisions. It's not enough to show beautiful screens or follow a methodology step by step. What matters is being able to explain why each decision is made.
"In the end, I looked for someone who could argue their case, not just someone who could design."
Being able to argue every decision turns design into a strategic tool, not just an aesthetic one. Mastering methodologies is good, but what makes the real difference is the ability to explain the "why" behind each choice. That's what builds trust, impact, and leadership.
UX education: between the boom and specialisation
Xavi is also an educator and has been critical of the approach taken by some bootcamps that promise to train Product Designers in just a few months. For him, the key is learning to think, specialising, and never stopping learning.
"There are schools that tell you that in 3 months you'll learn Product Design. Then everyone arrives with the same structure, but without knowing how to answer when you scratch the surface."
Shortcuts in education can serve as a gateway, but critical thinking, consistent practice, and specialisation are what truly consolidate a career in design.
Listening to the customer (literally)
One of his favourite practices has always been attending calls or directly accompanying the user. This allows him to uncover details and needs that often don't surface in interviews or surveys.
"I learned more by answering the phone than from many NPS scores or interviews."
Listening to calls, observing directly, or accompanying the user in their own environment allows you to detect nuances, emotions, and friction points that are invisible in structured interviews. Sometimes the best insights are in the everyday details.
User-centred product culture
In the startups where he worked, UX wasn't an add-on. It carried real strategic weight. Xavi was involved in key decisions, presented results to the whole team, and data was used in real time to iterate.
"Nothing was decided without going through a profile like mine."
Involving the experience team in key decisions and working with real-time data enables agile iteration and the building of products more closely aligned with real needs. In environments like startups, this integration makes the difference between designing to comply and designing to have an impact.
Cultural adaptation in mergers and distributed teams
During the merger of Doctoralia with a Polish company, Xavi experienced first-hand the cultural and methodological differences involved. It was a tough learning experience, but a revealing one about the importance of aligning product and experience visions.
"They worked with a completely different approach. It was difficult, but we learned a lot."
Mergers or distributed teams bring differences in vision, ways of working, and priorities. Understanding and managing those differences is just as important as defining the product well: without cultural alignment, there is no coherent experience.
Experimentation and extreme agility
At startups like Colvin, the iteration cycle was incredibly fast. You tested, you learned, and you changed on the spot. The whole team was involved.
"We tested, tested, tested. We didn't write 40-page reports."
In high-velocity contexts like startups, agility lies in continuous learning. Involve the whole team, share findings quickly, and turn them into action. Improving through short iterations is more valuable than planning alone for weeks on end.
AI in the design process: yes, but thoughtfully
Xavi is using tools like Copilot to synthesise data, review copy, or generate proposals. While he values their usefulness, he warns that AI still cannot replace the strategic, emotional, or visual side of design.
"The more emotional and strategic side — for now, AI doesn't cover that."
Tools like Copilot are valuable for synthesising information or automating tasks, but strategic decisions, emotional context, and visual intuition remain human territory. Using AI with discernment is what makes the difference.
Advice for those starting out in UX
For Xavi, every profile should find their place according to their personality and what they're looking for in their career. Not everyone is suited to freelancing, a startup, or a corporation. And above all: you need to learn to communicate design well.
"In an interview, I'm not looking for the most senior person, but for the one who best argues what they've done."
In job interviews or day-to-day work, what sets a valuable profile apart isn't just what they design, but how they explain the why behind each decision. Argumentative clarity builds trust.
Key takeaways from this conversation
- Research isn't just interviews: it's being where the user is, talking, observing, even delivering products in person.
- Design without argumentation loses value. Knowing how to explain the reasoning behind each decision is a key skill.
- In startups, the impact of UX is multiplied. In corporations, it's a journey that requires patience and data.
- AI can accelerate the work, but it cannot replace judgement or sensitivity.
- Specialising and continuing to learn is essential for standing out.
