Product & Interaction Designer · Regulated Systems & AI · London

Creating elegant design for complex and regulated financial services.

15+ years turning complex workflows into experiences people trust and want to use. End-to-end product design across private banking, mortgage processing, and national-scale digital services.

London-based
ILR/Settled Status · Hybrid Preference
Research first
Decisions backed by evidence, not opinion
Lean UX
Fast Discovery · Iterative Delivery
Agile by default
Stakeholders · Devs · QA & BA · All in the loop
Maria Mazepa
Discovery & Research Design Thinking Prototyping iOS & Android Accessibility AI Products

Hi, I'm Maria.

I work at the intersection of design thinking, user research, interaction design, and product strategy in regulated environments. Over 15 years, I've led design for banking managers at a major Swedish bank, shaped card management for the UK's oldest private bank, and contributed to digital transformation at Royal Mail — alongside consumer mobile and web apps with millions of users.

The page you're looking at is hand-crafted: static HTML, no framework, and a custom WebGL shader layer for the interactive background bits. I design it and build it with Claude — I make the decisions, steer the direction and the iterations, the implementation is the two of us. I enjoy building the things I design, because building is the fastest way to find out whether an idea holds up and whether it's worth the effort.

I care about agile delivery, research and evidence-based decisions, accessible design by default, and staying long enough to see the real impact of my work. I combine UX craft with product thinking and elegant interfaces, and bring genuine curiosity and problem-solving to every team I work with.

I do my best work where the constraints are real — regulated products, legacy systems, and stakeholders who disagree. That is where careful design earns its keep.

Previously · Core team member & Head of UX at Hyron AI.· Senior UX Designer at Zühlke Engineering — private banking, mortgage processing, national-scale digital products, and regulated fintech.· Also: micro-loan platforms for unbanked users, open banking for major EU banks, and social platforms with millions of monthly users.

Case studies from the front line of fintech.

Built for complexity.
Tested in regulated environments.

The skills that matter for complex, regulated work and the evidence behind each.

01
Regulated UX
Regulated environments don't forgive ambiguity. Every design decision has to hold up beyond the design room — across conflicting stakeholders, shifting requirements, and multiple review layers. My work lives in the space where clarity is achievable through rigorous process and clear design leadership.
02
Research That Changes Perspective
Research isn't a project phase — it's how you avoid building the wrong thing confidently. I push to test early, synthesise fast, and treat findings as the foundation for every decision. Every project has different constraints, but the cost of skipping research is always the same.
03
Human Needs, Not AI Capability
There's a particular satisfaction in AI product design: the model is a black box, the user is sceptical, and your job is to make both sides meet cleanly. I design that middle layer: clear UI, solid UX, and a system people can trust.
04
Holistic by Design
The user's experience doesn't stop at one screen. I design systems and journeys that hold together across teams, handoffs, and competing priorities. Real design must survive implementation reality, not just look good in a presentation or prototype. It's a journey to get from the idea to a shipped product.

The things that inform the work.

Who I am outside of work isn't separate from the designer I am. It shapes how I observe, slow down, and find the unexpected. Here's where that happens.

Starting the Day
A quick yoga stretch, coffee, and no agenda. You get what you invest in. Ten minutes of intentional movement helps to start the day nicely: more energy, sharper focus.
Sketching to Think
I sketch to support visual thinking, not to make finished things. Loose marks, rough flows, bad drawings that become good decisions. Paper and iPad both have their place.
Mixed Media & Making
Experimenting with canvas, collage, and digital painting. I value the mess of mixed media and trust the process. It keeps the hand loose and the eye honest.
Contemporary Art
Tate Modern is my thinking spot. I'm drawn to work that doesn't explain itself. It's where I look longer, sit with discomfort, and find my own meaning.
Texture & Nature
I collect photos of textures on the move: weathered walls, wet stone, shorelines, the grain of things up close. Seaside and nature are where I genuinely recharge, away from screens.
Let's Talk

Let's make something
you're proud of.

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