Executing the Essence of User Experience with Precision — Product Designer
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Hello! Please introduce yourself briefly.
Hi, I'm Buk-seop So, and I go by the nickname 'Book' here at DelightRoom. I'm currently working as a Product Designer for Alarmy.
How would you define yourself in one sentence, or what is your life motto?
Focus on the essence.
What kind of experience did you have before joining DelightRoom?
I worked as a Product Designer and PO at startups in the finance, agriculture, and mobility sectors.
I'm curious what made you decide to take on the new challenge of joining DelightRoom!
I had great experiences at my previous companies, but as time went on, I grew frustrated with environments that ended up prioritizing fundraising or external metrics over actual customer problems.
When I first thought about Alarmy, I wondered, 'Can a company really grow just with an alarm app?' But I soon became convinced that they were building a solid structure—gathering people by solving a very real customer problem and generating healthy revenue from that value.
Above all, I was drawn to the environment where I could focus purely on solving customer problems, as well as the fast and efficient workflow that's only possible in a lean organization. That's why I decided to join.
What are you focusing on the most these days?
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about how the role of a product designer needs to evolve in the age of AI. Honestly, product designers have always struggled because the scope of our work is so broad. But now, with the help of AI during the initial wireframing stage, it's gotten pretty easy to whip up high-fidelity prototypes.
Since we can offload so much of the visualization process to AI, I believe designers can spend way more time on the fundamental task of identifying 'customer problems and solutions.' Ultimately, a designer's core competency shouldn't just be about execution skills; it needs to focus heavily on how precisely we can execute the true essence of the user experience.
Tell us everything you want to brag about when it comes to our company!
A healthy organizational culture
Because we never compromise on our hiring standards, there are so many teammates I can learn from—not just in terms of skill, but also character. When a problem arises, the atmosphere is about focusing on the 'issue' itself to find a solution rather than pointing fingers, so there's no emotional drain. Thanks to this trust, it feels totally natural to open up to leaders about concerns or frustrations and find answers together.A culture of customer obsession
We always start by defining the customer problem, no matter what. Rather than just dipping our toes into multiple issues, we grab one important problem and dig deep until the customer is satisfied. Because we break features down into small, testable chunks before release, the burden of failure is low. Reviewing VoC (Voice of Customer) or conducting casual UTs (Usability Tests) is an everyday thing, so even if I'm not the target user, I naturally immerse myself in the product by listening to the customers' voices.
Any last words for those considering applying to DelightRoom?
If you're a product maker who wants to focus entirely on customer problems, we'd love to have you!