Hi, I’m Nicolas Backal. Currently, I’m a Director of Product Design at Okta based in San Francisco.
Selected writing
The superpowers of great product designers
Product designers, like superheroes, are always faced with unprecedented villains. These maleficent beings come in all types, sizes, and shapes, sometimes with powers of their own, and for the most part, they all try to make someone’s life miserable.
Hey designers and engineers, you can be friends
Building a digital product is hard. Whether you’re a product designer, a product manager, or an engineer, we all play a significant role in the user experience. And perhaps, one of the biggest challenges we face is building great relationships and communication channels within our teams.
Our ever-changing windows
Windows. All of them. Regardless of their size or shape, they connect us with people on the other side. We sit on the second floor of what I used to consider a relatively quiet street. Every day hundreds of people walk by it, and I got used to the noise made by their talk, laugh, and walk
Selected work
Okta Personal: A new product from zero to one.
Director of Product Design, Okta, 2023 → Now
I spearheaded the creation of Okta Personal, building and funding a dedicated design and research team to take this product from concept to reality. This zero-to-one effort introduced a new, innovative way for individuals to manage their personal digital identity. The project involved end-to-end ownership of the design process, in-depth user research, and a successful product launch that established a new cornerstone for Okta’s offerings.
Okta’s Identity Vision
Principal Product Designer, Okta, 2021
This vision-driven initiative explored the pivotal role of identity in every facet of our lives, shaping Okta’s perspective on the future of digital identity. I defined a strategic vision and crafted a seamless experience to demonstrate how robust identity solutions can transform personal and professional interactions. This work set the stage for Okta’s long-term innovation roadmap.
Okta end-user experience
Lead Product Designer, Okta, 2020
What began as a research initiative to uncover user pain points evolved into a comprehensive redesign of Okta’s end-user experience. By introducing a user-centric approach, I led the team to redefine workflows, simplify navigation, and enhance usability. This project significantly improved user satisfaction and adoption across key segments and it’s used by 30MM+ people worldwide.
The Human Diagnosis Project
Head of Design, Human Dx, 2018
I led the design team in creating a collaborative platform for healthcare providers, enabling better care delivery through secure and connected interactions. This groundbreaking project bridged gaps in healthcare by empowering professionals with innovative tools to share insights and provide more accurate diagnoses.
Want more? Let’s chat →
Product Cookbook
Magic happens when product managers and designers work together collaboratively. Katie Le (Director of PM at Okta) and I have been writing recipes for a great PM + Design partnership based on our learnings and experience.
The team norms workshop
Over time, every team develops ways to interact and communicate with each other. Doing this successfully, even with people outside of the immediate team, is critical for the team to be successful. If team members cannot effectively interact, the team will likely fail. That’s where team norms come in!
Create shared focus with vision prototypes
Vision prototypes have a lot of similarities with product development prototypes. Both of them serve the purpose of testing and validating our product and design ideas while getting feedback from users as they try to complete a task with an unbuilt product.
Selected talks
Mini-workshop Toolkit: Easy To Run, Interactive Workshops To Build Better Products
with Katie Le at the BeMore Festival 2022 by ADPList.org
September 2022
The Journey into Product Design
ADPList.org + Sketch + Springboard
August 2022
Differences between UX & UI
ADPList.org + Design Buddies
November 2021
Working at a Startup vs Corporate
ADPList.org + General Assembly
September 2021
Coffee Hours: Portfolio Edition
ADPList.org
August 2020
Blended Space: From Architecture to UX Design
Talk 20 at BCJ
San Francisco, CA
November 2018
Blended Space: From Architecture to UX Design
Tradecraft
San Francisco, CA
April 2018
Have an event? Let’s chat →
Thanks for reading! Want to continue the conversation?