NUX Leeds: Design Leadership & Cognition Over Metrics

Explore tried and ture pathways into design leadership, as well as optimising designs that impact businesses by leveraging psychology.
About this Event

Event Details

Join us for our September NUX Leeds event, where we’re excited to welcome two fantastic speakers.

Come learn, make new user-centred design friends, have some food and drink 🍻 (it’s on us!), and learn something new!

1st Talk: Design Leadership.
Summary

Making the move from being one of the team, to design leadership can be daunting.

What kind of leader do you want to be? How do you do the best by people? And how do you actually make the move?

In this session, we’ll break down design leadership, explore pathways, and look at ways that you can develop your leadership, all with examples of where Llara has gone right, and wrong.

Come along to this talk if you’re an aspiring design leader (and maybe learn that you are already one!), you’re early in that journey, you want to understand more about potential pathways, or you just want to hear about some of the things someone else has done right, and wrong!

You’ll learn:

• Understand ways in which you can build your leadership skills.
• Learn from personal experience about some of the mistakes in becoming a design leader.
• Explore how you might replicate some of Llara’s wins on a squiggly career path.

About Llara Geddes

Llara is Solutions Director, formerly UX Principal and Practice Group Lead, at AND Digital. She’s spent over 10 years in UX, in consulting and in-house roles, and has been leading UX teams for the last 6+ years. She’s worked across myriad sectors and clients and is happiest in research and strategy spaces.

But loves being involved in solutions too. She’s a big believer in industry taking part in closing the digital skills gap, and is passionate about supporting women and girls into tech.
Pronouns: She / Her

2nd Talk: Cognition Over Metrics


Synopsis

In “Cognition Over Metrics,” Scott explores how cognitive biases, behavioural patterns and human psychology influence conversion, retention and UX outcomes.

The talk moves beyond screens and surface-level metrics to explore how designers can connect human behaviour with strategic business impact - using behavioural insight to make stronger decisions, develop better hypotheses and demonstrate the value of UX.

As AI increasingly automates design, testing and optimisation, Scott considers what makes designers uniquely valuable: understanding people, thinking strategically and connecting customer needs to business outcomes.

Ultimately, the talk explores how designers can move beyond execution, strengthen their influence and maintain a meaningful seat at the table in the age of AI, complementing the wider theme of design in leadership.

You’ll learn:

• Understand how cognition influences behaviour - how biases, mental shortcuts, and psychological principles can affect conversion, retention, and user decisions.
• Connect UX decisions to business outcomes - move beyond improving interfaces to understanding how design can influence metrics such as conversion, retention, and customer value.
• Think more strategically as a designer - communicate UX decisions in terms that resonate with product, marketing, leadership, and commercial stakeholders.

About Scott Henderson

Scott Henderson is a UX and Conversion Rate Optimisation professional with a “squiggly” career spanning digital marketing, e-commerce and UX.

His career has been driven by a longstanding fascination with behavioural psychology and experimentation - in particular, understanding why people make the decisions they do and how this can shape better digital experiences.
With a Master’s degree in User Experience Design and over 6+ years of experience across B2B and B2C e-commerce, Scott explores the intersection of UX, psychology, experimentation and commercial strategy.
Pronouns: He / Him

📍Venue
Lloyds Banking Group Leeds.
11 & 12 Wellington Pl, Leeds LS1 4AP
To enter the office front, doors will close at 6:20 pm at the very latest, due to security reasons. Our networking session will start immediately after.

Networking & Refreshments

After the talk, stay for a chance to network with fellow UX professionals while enjoying free pizza and drinks, kindly provided by our sponsors, Ideasmiths and Lloyds Banking Group 🍕 🍻.

Our Sponsors

Lloyds Banking Group

Lloyds Banking Group is a leading UK-based financial services group. They provide a wide range of banking and financial services, focused primarily on retail and commercial customers. Their purpose is Helping Britain Prosper. They do this by creating a more sustainable and inclusive future for people and businesses, shaping finance as a force for good.

Lloyds Banking Group incorporates many household names, including Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Scottish Widows, making their combined history stretch back more than 300 years.
Ideasmiths

Ideasmiths are a diverse collective of individuals with extensive experience working on digital products. They're user researchers, interaction designers, strategists, and coaches who thrive working in multidisciplinary agile teams.

Tickets

🎫 This event is free to attend, but spaces are limited – secure your spot now!

We look forward to seeing you there! 🙌

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