“I have grown so much at SEB”

At SEB, we have over 100 UX designers. One of them is Rebecca Melander, who started her career at the bank through an internship about five years ago. Here, she talks more about her role and why she has chosen SEB as her employer.

After working as a product photographer and marketing assistant for a few years, Rebecca Melander decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in interaction design at Stockholm University. During her studies, she realised that UX design was what she wanted to work with – so when it was time to look for an internship, she applied to SEB.

– A friend who worked here told me that SEB had a great atmosphere. She mentioned the bank's UX department and recommended that I apply, which I did. I had a great time during my internship and therefore chose to do my thesis work here as well. When I graduated there was an open position as a UX designer, and I thought: “Of course, I'll apply”, Rebecca explains.

What made you stay at SEB?

– What really caught me was the culture. During my internship, I noticed how equal it is here. The bank often recruits people with diverse skills, and if you look at the managerial positions there is a very even distribution between women and men. It is also clear that SEB cares about its employees and places great emphasis on career development. People are constantly moving around between different roles, which I have always thought is impressive. It provides a completely different sense of security and motivation when you know that you can develop under the same roof. Just doing my years at SEB, I have grown so much and dared to do a lot more.

What does a UX designer at SEB do? And what does the team look like?

– Since we are over 100 UX designers we are divided into smaller groups based on the bank’s different divisions. I work within Corporate & Private Customers (C&PC), and more specifically within the product area Advisory. In my team, we are three designers who work closely and support each other to create the best possible user experience for end customers within Advisory. These customers can be both external private customers as well as the banks' internal advisors.

– Our work always starts with conducting interviews to understand the core issue with the product – what works well, what is missing, and what the user’s needs are. After that, we review the current design, if there is one, and then develop new flow and design proposals in the design system Figma. We then test these proposals with users to see if we have captured their needs. Then, we iterate again before handing over the proposal to the development team within Advisory.

What is the best part of the role?

– The best part of being a UX designer is that I can express my creativity while creating solutions that simplify things for the end user. The tasks can vary a lot, but regardless, you always have an influence. And it is, of course, very rewarding when you hear that something you have developed has helped others. It is that feedback that motivates me and makes me want to continue.