Fast Hearth 🔥 with John Ohio

John Ohio is a Product Design Lead at SeamlessHR, an HR and fintech platform serving companies throughout Africa. His work sits on the intersection of AI integration, high-risk digital infrastructure, and scalable design programs. He has contributed to large-scale product transformations, together with the redesign of recruitment and workforce programs, AI-enabled initiatives, and enterprise UX governance throughout multi-product ecosystems. His focus is on constructing resilient digital platforms the place usability, compliance, and enterprise logic should coexist.

Past his work at SeamlessHR, John has contributed to fintech infrastructure tasks spanning cellular cash programs, company banking platforms, and multi-country product rollouts. He has collaborated carefully with engineering and government groups to modernise legacy programs and enhance reliability at scale. He additionally engages in community-driven design initiatives, talking and mentoring throughout the African tech ecosystem, and writing about programs considering and enterprise design maturity.

• Clarify what you do to a 5-year-old.

I design how pc instruments look and behave. I additionally make it possible for if one thing goes unsuitable, the system can get better or clearly clarify what occurred. So it doesn’t simply look good, it really works the best way it ought to.

• In what methods do you employ built-in AI programs for design? Give us an instance.

I exploit AI in two methods. First, as a design associate, to discover edge instances, check complicated choice paths, and stress-test workflows rapidly. Second, as a part of the product itself.

For instance, in recruitment software program, AI can help with screening patterns or flagging anomalies. However the true design problem isn’t the mannequin, it’s how individuals work together with it. We design transparency, suggestions loops, and override controls so AI helps human judgment as an alternative of quietly changing it.

• Why did you embrace AI to your design processes? What relevance did you discover, and the way has it contributed to the merchandise you ship at SeamlessHR?

Enterprise programs are not linear. They’re layered with permissions, compliance guidelines, and danger thresholds. AI helps floor patterns and compress iteration cycles. What grew to become clear early is that AI doesn’t exchange design considering; it exposes weak design considering. In case your flows aren’t structured, AI amplifies the confusion. In case your programs are coherent, AI accelerates them.

• While you’re integrating AI into enterprise software program design, what’s the invisible danger most groups don’t see coming? How did you handle it?

Overconfidence—particularly within the interface.If AI outputs are offered with absolute certainty, customers both over-trust or disengage fully. In high-risk programs, that’s harmful. We handle it by designing calibrated belief: clear explanations, seen boundaries, and deliberate human management. AI ought to help choices, not silently make them.

• In the event you needed to take away one buzzword from product design endlessly, what wouldn’t it be?

“Frictionless.”

In high-risk programs like fintech or HR, some friction is intentional. It protects customers from pricey errors. Eradicating all friction can enhance danger. Good design isn’t about eliminating friction; it’s about putting it intelligently.

• As an AI-focused DesignOps skilled, what’s one side of your work you’re concerned about getting higher at?

I’m concerned about bettering how groups operationalise AI responsibly—not simply technically, however structurally. As AI turns into embedded in enterprise programs, we want higher requirements for transparency and long-term upkeep. That’s the place DesignOps turns into actually fascinating.