In this edition of Behind the Screens, we meet Kultar Ruprai, Lead Designer at Williams Commerce. With more than two decades of experience spanning startups, agencies, and enterprise eCommerce projects,
Kultar brings a thoughtful, hands-on approach to design leadership. Joining Williams Commerce at the very start of the pandemic, he’s helped shape user experiences that balance creativity, accessibility, and performance. His perspective offers a rare look into what it really takes to design for modern retail and where design is heading next.
Q1. Tell us about your path to becoming the Lead Designer at Williams Commerce?
After completing a master’s degree in design, I worked across a mixture of startups, in-house teams and freelance projects, gaining experience and working my way from junior to senior design roles.
As my career developed, I stepped into leadership and management roles, heading up UX and design teams for large eCommerce organisations.
I’ve always enjoyed agency life for its variety, challenges and opportunity to bring value to across many different sectors.
After several rewarding roles in digital agencies, I joined Williams Commerce, coincidentally, the same week the pandemic hit. That made the start of my journey here ‘memorable’ and that story is probably worthy of its own blog post.
Q2. What are your core responsibilities day-to-day when working on an eCommerce project?
My responsibilities vary depending on the project’s scope, objectives and stage. For most eCommerce projects, I’m typically involved in either UX, UI or a combination of both, which is quite unique, as many designers specialise in one area. I’ve developed the ability to flex between disciplines depending on where the project needs the most focus or expertise.
In UX design, I lead the discovery phase, conducting research, analysing data, facilitating user testing and workshops and turning insights into actionable outputs such as journey maps, wireframes and prototypes. This process ensures that every design decision aligns with both user needs and commercial objectives, forming a clear foundation for the UI phase.
In UI design, I focus on creating a strong visual identity and seamless customer experience. This involves mood boarding, benchmarking, brand consultations and producing high-fidelity visual designs with supporting style guides and prototypes for interaction. Every interface is crafted to be visually engaging, accessible and consistent across the eCommerce journey, meeting AA compliance standards as part of best practice.
Q3. How does Williams Commerce define “good design” in eCommerce today?
At Williams Commerce, good design is where I’d say creativity meets performance. Every decision has purpose, every interaction or design decision has been done for a reason, to build trust and deliver measurable impact rooted back to the project goals.
Good design in the eCommerce world is creating something that performs, engages and converts. Regardless of sector or platform, having something that performs across any technology stack which creates an experience that will connect with users through a strong brand, storytelling and provide reassurance that they are in the right place.
From homepage to checkout, design is the bridge between user intent and business goals. So this must be frictionless, creative and accessible to all, ensuring inclusivity without compromising aesthetics or innovation.
Q4. In your view, what are the top 2–3 design trends shaping eCommerce UX in 2025?
It’s difficult to overlook the influence of AI and the mass amounts of AI slop right now. Its presence in eCommerce started long before the current boom. Originally we were seeing search results and product recommendations being automated by AI to then personalised content once users were logged in. What’s changed is the scale. AI now plays an active role in how we create, write, code and optimise, shaping both the design process and the customer experience in powerful new ways.
With new legislation and guidelines continually emerging, accessibility is more important than ever to ensure every customer can confidently complete a purchase. Sustainability focuses on doing so responsibly, reducing environmental impact through efficient, thoughtful design. These principles should never be retrofitted; they need to be considered from the very beginning.
Finally, glass design has come to the forefront. Glassmorphism has been quietly present for years but has gained renewed attention following Apple’s latest OS release. Love it or not. But if I Think of the futuristic interfaces in films like Swan Song or Minority Report they are not too different to glass design so It will be interesting to see how brands interpret and refine this style within their own way going forward.
“Glassmorphism is that frosted glass look you see on modern interfaces, almost like layers of translucent panels floating over a background. It uses blur and transparency to create depth and hierarchy, so the design feels light, modern and slightly three-dimensional. When done well, it gives interfaces that clean, futuristic quality without being distracting.”
Q5. What is the biggest design challenges facing retailers these days?
Times are tough for retailers right now.
Many retailers are being asked to do more with smaller budgets while still needing to market, promote and cut through the noise to capture attention. Staying relevant has become a constant challenge, especially when consumer behaviour shifts so quickly.
Retailers not only have to attract customers but also deliver an experience that feels engaging, on-brand and effortless. All the while meeting expectations around performance and speed. A site must look great, communicate clearly and load in seconds, because patience online is shorter than ever.
I’m often saying to clients during design: ‘websites have to work incredibly hard to make it super easy for users. To search, find and buy what they want…’
“That’s the real challenge: designing simplicity that feels seamless, even when everything behind it is complex.”
Q6. How is AI influencing your work as a designer?
For now, I use AI for simple measures such as research during discovery or helping organising notes/ content during analysis. For design visuals it’s the little simple things like generating text content for UI visuals or extending backgrounds for images. However, we’re always looking at ways on how to utilise AI wherever possible. utilising it to think with us as designers to help solve problems.
Q7. Can you share a recent project where AI helped improve the design or user experience?
I can think of two projects as of late.
One project (that is still in the works) that had limited budget and tight timelines. AI played a valuable role in accelerating the design process. The brief required creating high-fidelity visuals without a dedicated discovery or wireframing phase. By using AI to generate realistic content and copy directly within the designs, we were able to present a more authentic and contextual user experience early on. This not only improved client understanding and feedback but also reduced the time usually spent on placeholder content and revisions.
In another project, another team member used AI to support the development of a more comprehensive design system. It helped analyse layout variations and provide guidance on responsive behaviour across multiple breakpoints. This ensured greater consistency, improved usability and efficiency, and enabled the design team to scale components quickly while maintaining quality and cohesion across different devices and platforms.
Q8. What are the risks you always guard against when embedding AI in design?
Ensuring that the human element stays at the core. And not becoming over-reliant on it.
AI should be used to support and enhance (e.g. generate ideas, automate or organise etc.) but not lead. Otherwise, you may have bad prompts leading to incorrect data that and bias outputs.
Very similar to stock photography, to the trained eye, AI generated content or designs can then be spotted a mile away.
“AI won’t replace designers, it’ll amplify them. The real opportunity is having your own creative partner that helps you think faster, test ideas in real time, and push boundaries. The tools are already heading that way, and the exciting part is that no one fully knows where it will take us yet.”
Q9. In a future scenario, how might AI change the role of a UX/UI designer in eCommerce?
AI will continue to evolve. I think having your own personal “Jarvis” is the dream goal.
From a designer’s point of view, it’s already being embedded into tools such as Figma, Adobe, Miro etc. So, it will help curators in that sense.
In eCommerce it’ll mean using AI as a partner and getting real time information. But it’s all up for grabs.
Q10. Can you tell us about one of your favourite projects (from Williams Commerce) where design made a real commercial difference?
RBG Kew.
It was one of the largest projects I’ve ever worked on, requiring us to work with their design team to deliver what is essentially a single basket journey across eCommerce, ticket buying, membership and donations.
It was challenging, huge in scale and had lots of moving parts. But was amazing to work on with them.
The first release was positive and scored greatly and was shortlisted for Best B2C UX at the 2025 eCommerce awards. Read about the RBG design project.
Q11. How do you manage conflicts or feedback between stakeholders, product managers, developers and design?
Internally, we encourage collaboration by involving people with the different areas of expertise for reviews.
With stakeholders, it’s about clear communication, empathy and creating space for everyone to explain their reasoning, supported by any research or insights they have. This approach helps align perspectives and keeps the focus on achieving the shared goal.
In times where things are not moving forward, User testing and behavioural data are invaluable. They remove personal bias from the conversation and allow the audience themselves to guide what’s working and what needs refinement.
Ultimately, good design depends on shared ownership.
Q12. What’s one “design mistake” you’ve seen often in eCommerce that clients should avoid at all costs?
Generally speaking one of the most common mistakes I see is when businesses hire design experts or agencies, then limit their ability to do the work they were brought in to deliver. Collaboration is essential, but when projects are guided by a “this is how we’ve always done it” mindset, creativity and innovation quickly stall.
As Steve Jobs once said, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do…”
From a design perspective, there are several recurring issues. When everything becomes a priority, nothing truly stands out. Effective design requires hierachy for clarity and focus. Another is designing solely for one device, rather than ensuring adaptive, responsive experiences that work seamlessly across all devices.
Having a good looking, aesthetic website is all good and impressive however it should never come at the cost of usability. Ignoring smaller details such as micro interactions, accessibility standards or design fundamentals can leave users behind.
Q13. What are you personally excited about next, design-wise, over the next 3–5 years?
I’m excited to see how design continues to evolve alongside rapid advances in technology. We’ve moved beyond the flat design era, and it will be interesting to see how glass design develops, refines and finds its place across emerging interfaces, not only on watches and wearable tech, but within entirely new digital environments.
I’m equally interested in how design is becoming increasingly strategic. When done properly it has the power to shape and influence to drive change like we have seen already within established markets with brands such as Uber, Monzo and Airbnb.
Q14. If a retailer came to you today with a legacy site, slow performance and outdated UX, what is your advice for where to begin?
It would depend on the retailer’s current position and goals, but the first step is always to understand the full picture. If the aim is to assess the current experience, I would recommend starting with a comprehensive Design Audit. This provides an in-depth analysis of data, performance, UX and UI across key user journeys, highlighting what works, what doesn’t and where the biggest opportunities lie.
If a redesign is being considered, then a thorough Design Discovery should follow. This ensures we uncover insights needed to make informed decisions, including user behaviour, business objectives, technical constraints and brand alignment.
“For me, good design isn’t about showing off creativity, it’s about making things easier for people. When something just works and feels effortless, that’s when design really does its job.”
Final thoughts…
As design moves deeper into 2025, Kultar’s reflections capture the reality many teams now face: technology is advancing faster than ever, but great design still comes down to human understanding. AI may accelerate workflows, yet it’s human empathy, insight, and craft that make digital experiences meaningful. For Kultar and the Williams Commerce design team, the goal remains the same, to turn complex eCommerce journeys into intuitive, inclusive experiences that connect brands and customers seamlessly across every touchpoint.
