While most people associate cybersecurity solutions with complex code, it also involves a significant amount of design work. That’s where UX/UI specialists come in. But exactly what role do these designers play in the cybersecurity field, and where can we see their impact?

To answer these questions, we talked to two UX/UI designers working at Nord Security, Teodora Žvilaitytė and Irma Škuratovaitė. They shared their experiences and some insights on their work in this challenging industry and how it feels to shape a quality user experience for the world’s fastest VPN. So, without further ado, let’s dive in.

Meaningful work

What makes working in the cybersecurity field exciting and fulfilling for you as a UX/UI designer?

Irma: It is really gratifying to know that I’m helping make the online world safer for millions of people across the globe. And it’s even more rewarding to see that our hard work has been recognized by TIME magazine, which listed NordVPN as one of the best innovations of 2022.

While UX/UI design may not be the most crucial part of the product (the tech side is), it still plays an essential role in ensuring that the security features of NordVPN are accessible and user-friendly. This involves designing intuitive interfaces, clear instructions, and helpful features that guide users in managing their security settings.

Teodora: It’s crazy how cyber threats are everywhere and can affect not just companies but also ordinary people, who often think they are too small to become a target of cybercriminals – but they’re not. Knowing this, I’m glad to work for NordVPN, securing people’s digital lives.

The fact that I’m playing an active role by creating a seamless, enjoyable experience, allowing NordVPN users to take control of their online security, is what makes my job so fulfilling. Seeing how much they appreciate and trust our product is incredibly inspiring, and it gives me a great sense of purpose that is hard to come by.

Skills needed to succeed

UX design is a broad field that covers many areas of expertise. What skills do you need to succeed as a UX pro?

Irma: To work at Nord Security, you need to have open-mindedness, communication, and presentation skills, along with problem-solving abilities. Being open to discussion, feedback, and different viewpoints will help you collaborate more effectively with stakeholders and cross-functional teams and create better design solutions.

Communication and presentation skills are essential for conveying ideas, preparing presentations, and ensuring that the design process runs smoothly. Problem-solving skills are crucial for empathizing with users and finding solutions to their pain points.

Teodora: Besides having strong communication skills, as Irma mentioned, you also need to have a keen attention to detail and a willingness to tackle problems creatively. As a UX/UI designer, you’ll need to balance aesthetics with functionality and security, and sometimes combining these factors can be challenging.

Finally, since the cybersecurity field is constantly changing, you have to be prepared to work in a fast-paced and high-pressure environment, as designers often work on multiple projects and must meet tight deadlines.

Irma: In terms of hard skills, proficiency in Figma is a must, while familiarity with Adobe AI, PS, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is also important. Creating wireframes and prototypes, knowing user research methodologies, and following accessibility standards are all key. Knowledge of A/B testing and Google Analytics is also beneficial for deeper insights.

Teodora: Figma will definitely be your major tool in this role, along with the web technologies that Irma mentioned. Besides that, knowledge of user experience (UX) design principles, including user research, information architecture, prototyping, and testing, is a must if you want to work in this role. If you’d like to learn more about what UX/UI designer’s job looks like in the cybersecurity field, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn.

Irma: Once you join Nord Security, your professional growth will only accelerate. You’ll have access to a supportive community of experts who are always willing to share their knowledge and wisdom. And our learning and development team is absolutely amazing! They provide us with a wide range of learning opportunities, from internal and external training to mentorship programs, workshops, and knowledge-sharing events.

All these resources help us stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies in the field and continuously improve our skills. It’s inspiring to work for a company that truly invests in the growth and development of its team members.

Exciting challenges

What are the challenges of working as a UX/UI designer at Nord Security?

Irma: As a UX/UI designer on the conversion rate optimization (CRO) team, my main focus is on creating designs that convert. The team helps me to identify pain points, problems, and opportunities for improvement on our website. Based on that, I create wireframes and prototypes and design A/B test variations for our landing pages.

The biggest challenge in this role is to visually communicate and translate complex security concepts and product features into clear, intuitive, and user-friendly designs.

Teodora: Another challenge is ensuring that our products are accessible and easy to use for all users, including those with disabilities. This involves designing interfaces and user experiences in a way that meets accessibility standards and considers their special needs. By doing so, we can provide a secure digital environment that is inclusive and accessible to all.

One more challenge in this
role is finding common ground and ensuring that every stakeholder, from product managers to engineers who have different perspectives and priorities, is working towards the same goal. This challenge can be overcome through effective communication, collaboration, and finding a shared understanding of the project goals.

The impact of work

What is the impact of your work on the world’s fastest VPN?

Teodora: Well, my work has a direct impact on the experience of millions of users. One recent project I worked on was introducing a new navigation menu on our global website, which has already improved the user experience for many NordVPN users. Another was optimizing and raising interest for specific audiences in our Amazon (Indirect Sales) store, which has led to increased engagement and sales.

In addition, I am involved in daily suggestions and problem-solving decisions, such as optimizing our landing pages, localizing web content and adapting it to specific countries, etc. It’s amazing to think that my work is visible to millions of people across the globe and that every design decision I make has the potential to impact someone’s online security and privacy. This is a huge responsibility, but it’s also incredibly rewarding to know that I’m making a difference in the world.

Irma: My team and I have a direct impact on the world’s fastest VPN, NordVPN, by creating design solutions that significantly improve landing page conversions. Through data analysis, we were able to redesign sections with better UI and brand compatibility, improve storytelling for clearer communication, and enhance mobile UX on specific components.

Our work is crucial in making NordVPN more accessible to people worldwide, providing them with a secure and easy-to-use digital environment. By constantly improving the user experience, we are helping NordVPN to continue to grow and maintain its position as the leader in the VPN industry, serving millions of users worldwide.

Work in cybersecurity

Want to catch a glimpse of what working with other Nord Security products as a UX/UI designer looks like? Watch the Meet Nord People video. And if you’re ready to take the next step and join our team, explore our UX/UI designer opportunities here!

ScottMaden is a management consulting group that supports Fortune 500 companies. The service provider focuses on two primary business areas: the energy sector and corporate & shared services. With 40-year experience in the industry, ScottMadden provides its clients with strategic planning through implementation across different business fields and functions.

Addressing numerous global clientele challenges represents ScottMadden’s expertise in sophisticated planning. Therefore, how does a company with up to 250 full-time employees throughout the United States and three local East Coast offices face internal security issues? Clinton Miller, IT Director of ScottMadden, shares their story on filling in the missing links in the organization’s cybersecurity strategy.

The Challenge

Securing employees on the go the right way

The company consults domestic and international clients — employees travel quite a bit to client sites and work hands-on on their projects. Hence, a hybrid work model wasn’t the new normal for the organization once the pandemic hit.

ScottMadden consultants spend a lot of time in airports and other public spaces where they would connect to the airport or mobile hotspots and hotel wifi. Yet, the company’s solution wasn’t as good for protecting and running smoothly while traveling.

“The concern was to improve the existing security model and ensure our employees had an encrypted connection regardless of which network they were on.”

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Having better performance, following industry best practices, and fulfilling client requirements to protect data outside the office were the driving factors in looking for a change. But is there a solution that can solve the problem effectively and efficiently onboard?

The Solution

Streamlined client drive-out to different environments

The traveling ScottMadden consultants and employees working from home used to rely on browser-based encryption. Using built-in data encoding in Office365 applications allowed them to perform job tasks and communicate with teams with some security levels.

However, the issue was the poor connection flow while video conferencing — latency is a deal breaker for online business meetings in a remote setup.

“Everyone during the pandemic did a lot of video conferencing via Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom. We aimed to ensure there was a minimal impact on video calls.”

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One thing is handling latency to elevate employees’ and clients’ experience. But can the transition process administratively have a minimal impact on existing company infrastructure and cybersecurity strategy?

“One of the things we wanted to do was to push out the client fairly easily, operating on an SSO solution already in use.”

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ScottMadden uses solution Azure AD single sign-on solution for user identification within the organization. The company operates in macOS and Windows environments, so the chosen solution had to fit into the criteria for integration and simplicity.

Why choose NordLayer?

NordLayer solution is compatible with major service providers on the market. Thus, the company could integrate with AzureAD IAM solution and roll out organization-wide onboarding to a new solution using existing SSO.

The endpoint management solution allowed remote access in macOS and Windows environments.

“The implementation of NordLayer went a lot easier when we connected clients to Azure AD. It relieved us from setting up new individual accounts for every 250+ people in the organization.”

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The IT Director handled the process — it didn’t require a lot of resources and time to deploy the solution in the organization.

Organization onboarding using Azure AD by ScottMadden

According to Clinton Miller, the IT Director of the company, the longest step was to create an Azure group and add NordLayer. Once it was solved, the complete rollout to NordLayer solution took only a few hours.

The Outcome

Onboarding to a chosen solution enabled the company to secure team connections and extensive access to functionalities that comply with ScottMadden set benchmarks. Achieving data security didn’t have to compromise connection speed and video conferencing quality.

“Anytime employees are outside the office – at home or coffee shop – wherever they might be, we validated that they can reach all the services they needed, and speed wasn’t an issue.”

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The t
ransition to the new tool was heavily based on the company’s SSO. The documentation, knowledge base, and support team are highly responsive with communication to walk IT leaders through the process.

“For other potential decision-makers: onboarding NordLayer isn’t a heavy lift — you have the support and knowledge base ready, so it’s pretty straightforward.”

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Moreover, NordLayer’s Control Panel provides a good cross-reference point for those using the tool while working outside the office by filtering ongoing active connections.

It also delivers another step in the reporting process for the IT admin and the whole organization. For instance, it verifies that the organization follows internal policies by exporting connection data to verify and justify to a third-party audit.

Pro cybersecurity tips

Different sectors, industries, and services, but the same goal unites every organization’s IT leaders — securing their company assets. Following best practices and professional knowledge helps achieve security targets easier. Clinton Miller, the IT Director at ScottMadden, shares his top-on-the-list tips:

Do you need to upgrade existing tools used in your organization to align with best practices in the industry, improve processes and performance for the team, or expand your capabilities of tracking and reviewing the implemented security strategy?

Using NordLayer, you can integrate more features and functionalities with the organization’s preferred tools, service providers, and IAM solutions. It is possible without committing to massive changes and re-organizing current policies and infrastructure. Reach out to find out about your options on how to secure connections for the off-office employees and improve their experience while working online.