In the fast-paced world of Nigerian technology, where fintech and SaaS startups are booming, a new design philosophy is emerging as the key differentiator for creating products that truly resonate with users. Precious Ogar, a Senior Product Designer with extensive experience shaping fintech, AI, and SaaS products, argues that the secret lies not in aesthetics alone, but in a deeper, more strategic approach.
Ogar, who works closely with Nigerian tech startups and has led design teams across the country's fintech sector, contends that design is the unseen system connecting user behavior, technology, and commercial outcomes. In an article dated 30 November 2025, he shares five crucial lessons to help technology leaders and UX designers build more functional and seamless products.
Moving Beyond Pixels to Product Ecosystems
Ogar makes a critical distinction: the best designers do not think like decorators, but like system architects. While pixels, colors, and typography are the visible layer, the true value of design is unlocked when we consider how every button, screen, and user flow connects to corporate objectives, technical constraints, and user psychology. An interface can be beautiful, but if it damages the underlying system, it becomes worthless.
Every digital product exists within a complex ecosystem. There is the user experience we see and the operational, financial, and technical systems we do not. Changing the color of a 'Pay Now' button is not merely a cosmetic update; it is a decision that influences click-through rates, transaction volumes, support ticket numbers, and ultimately, revenue. Systems thinking forces designers to ask: 'How does this single decision ripple across the entire product?'
The Domino Effect and Power of Feedback Loops
This perspective reveals the second-order effects of every design choice. A slightly confusing form field can increase the load on customer support teams. An unclear Call-to-Action (CTA) can reduce conversion rates and increase user churn. A misaligned tone in the product's copy can affect its perceived credibility. By thinking in systems, designers stop applying band-aids to surface problems and start fixing issues at their root cause.
Central to this approach is the concept of feedback loops. Ogar emphasizes that systems thinking focuses on loops, not linear processes. Designers must observe user behavior, create an intervention, measure the results, make adjustments, and repeat the cycle. This continuous feedback is what keeps products alive and responsive. Too many designers disengage after the initial handoff to developers, but by understanding product metrics, analytics, and user feedback systems, a designer can build with foresight and anticipate what will happen next.
Frameworks for Scalable and Impactful Design
For the rapid-growth environments of Nigerian SaaS and fintech teams, design scalability is a direct business advantage. Ogar points to design systems, tokens, and component libraries as essential tools. These are not just for visual consistency; they are about velocity and clarity. When everyone operates from the same design logic, engineering cycles shorten, new designers onboard faster, and user experience debt remains manageable. This is an operational win, not just a design one.
To make the invisible systems visible, Ogar recommends several practical frameworks:
- Service Blueprints: These maps reveal how every frontstage user interaction connects to the backstage operations that support it, making design decisions feel more strategic.
- Information Architecture Maps: These help designers understand how users navigate a product, identify points of friction, and see how different flows interconnect, transforming chaos into clarity.
- Comprehensive Design Systems in Figma: These should act as frameworks enforcing logic and scalability, ensuring every component behaves predictably and keeping designers and engineers aligned.
- Metrics Dashboards: These tools complete the circle by linking design choices to quantifiable results, proving whether a solution genuinely improves usability, performance, or retention.
As Ogar concludes, success in design is redefined by this systems-thinking mindset. It is no longer about the number of screens delivered or the pixel-perfection of components. The true measures of success become the speed at which users complete tasks, the reduction in support tickets, user retention rates, and the alignment of the design work with overarching business goals. This shift from visual accomplishment to quantifiable impact is the mark of true design leadership. A system-thinking designer improves business operations, not just aesthetics, becoming the invaluable asset every company needs.
