CV
Fran de la Fuente

Strategic & Service Design Leader
15+ years leading design across complex product, service and CX challenges. I connect business goals, user evidence and design judgement to give teams direction and turn strategy into tangible solutions.
Experience
2020–2026
Head of Design Strategy & Co-founder
Ikigai Design
Led the Design Strategy practice, defining how design should be used to tackle complex business, product and experience challenges. My work often started by reframing briefs and symptoms into strategic problems, then defining the approach, methods and teams needed to solve them.
Built and led multidisciplinary teams, ensured the strategic quality of the work, and presented and defended approaches, decisions and outcomes with business leaders and senior stakeholders. I also contributed to offer definition, project scoping and company strategy.
The work helped create stronger stakeholder alignment, shared direction and more coherent, tangible and actionable value propositions.
Related case studies →
2016–2019
Senior Service Designer
Isobar
Worked on complex, strategic projects from research and framing through concept development and validation. I worked directly with clients and presented and defended findings, decisions and proposals, including Ibercaja's digital banking transformation and strategic work for Defensor del Pueblo.
2014–2016
Head of UX/UI & Design
Momit
I was responsible for UX/UI at an IoT startup, working across the end-to-end experience between physical devices and digital products. I collaborated with technology teams and industrial design partners to ensure coherence across hardware, interfaces, app and web.
2012–2014
UX Manager
Etece.com
I was part of the founding team and led UX and design from concept to launch of an on-demand services platform. I iterated the experience through testing and hypothesis validation, working closely with technology.
Earlier experience · 2009–2012
Planeo · Ready4Ventures · Taguin · Universia
Additional experience
2021–2025
Lecturer · Customer Experience Management Master's Program
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Taught the Life-Centered Design module, combining theoretical foundations and workshops to address complex problems from a systemic perspective.
Capabilities
Leadership
- Design Leadership
- Team Leadership
- Coaching & Mentoring
Strategy
- Design Strategy
- Opportunity & Problem Framing
- Product & Service Strategy
Research & Service Design
- Strategic Research
- Service Design
- Facilitation
Education
Human-Computer Interaction
Online specialization · University of California San Diego
Degree in Audiovisual Communication
Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
Studies in Fachkommunikation und Medien
Fachhochschule Magdeburg-Stendal · 2005–2007
Languages
- Spanish — Native
- English — Proficient
- German — Intermediate