Gyldendal Rettsdata AS – IT Recruitment of a Graphic Design Lead and Senior Designers

Tsiala Jobava

Last updated on December 17, 2025 | 11 min read

• DevsData LLC recruited a Graphic Design Lead and two Senior Designers for Gyldendal Rettsdata AS to enhance UX and digital design across its legal platform.
• A confidential eight-week recruitment identified top Norwegian design talent through precise market mapping and cultural alignment.

Introduction

When Gyldendal Rettsdata AS set out to strengthen its in-house creative and digital capabilities, it turned to DevsData LLC to find the right design leadership. As Norway’s leading digital legal platform, Rettsdata serves thousands of legal professionals with access to over 123000 legal commentaries, 400 professional books, and 900 document templates – all continuously updated in collaboration with more than 300 legal experts from academia, law firms, and government institutions.

The company needed experienced Designers who could blend functional design with a deep understanding of usability in highly specialized B2B tools, ensuring that complex legal information remains both visually coherent and intuitively accessible.

Client profile

Gyldendal Rettsdata AS, part of Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, is a leading Norwegian provider of digital legal research and reference tools. Headquartered in Oslo with around 50 employees, Rettsdata’s core platform consolidates legislation, case law, commentaries, templates, and academic publications into a single, intuitive ecosystem.

In recent years, the company has invested heavily in AI and API integrations, expanding its digital infrastructure and transforming how users interact with legal data. These changes increased both the complexity and volume of on-screen information, making specialized design hiring essential to ensure that the platform remained intuitive, visually consistent, and accessible to thousands of professionals who rely on it daily.

Project overview

The goal was to build a small design team capable of driving product modernization and improved user experience across Rettsdata’s digital ecosystem.

Key objectives included:

• Recruiting a Graphic Design Lead with experience in digital publishing and platform design.
• Hiring two Senior Designers with strong backgrounds in UI/UX and data visualization for complex content platforms.
• Ensuring cultural and communication alignment with the Oslo-based product and engineering teams.

The timeline for the recruitment process was set to eight weeks, covering sourcing, assessment, shortlisting, and onboarding coordination.

Challenges

Recruiting Senior Design Professionals in Norway posed distinct challenges. The market, while rich in creative talent, remains relatively small for graphic design recruitment in experienced digital product roles. Many of the country’s top professionals work independently or within agencies, making it difficult to attract candidates seeking long-term, in-house opportunities.

The expectations for the roles were equally demanding. Rettsdata needed individuals who could move seamlessly between visual creativity and technical collaboration – Designers who could understand the logic behind complex legal data and translate it into intuitive digital experiences. This balance of artistry and structure proved to be one of the most defining aspects of the search.

Balancing creative expression with technical precision wasn’t the only challenge. Rettsdata also wanted to preserve the essence of Scandinavian design – a philosophy defined by clarity, minimalism, and functionality. That meant crafting interfaces that felt clean and intuitive, avoided visual clutter, and made even complex legal information easy to navigate. The new hires had to embody these principles while still introducing fresh, forward-looking ideas to modernize the platform’s look and feel.

Finally, the recruitment process was conducted under a high level of confidentiality. Rettsdata was in the middle of reorganizing its creative department, which meant the search couldn’t rely on public job postings. Instead, DevsData LLC’s recruiters conducted discreet headhunting and referral-based outreach, ensuring the process remained fully private while still attracting the right level of senior talent.

“The Norwegian market has a distinct rhythm – candidates value trust, clarity, and long-term vision over quick offers. Our goal was to approach them with a genuine understanding rather than volume outreach. That’s what helped us connect with the right Designers for Rettsdata.” – Ava Haykuhi, Lead Recruiter, DevsData LLC

Our approach

DevsData LLC implemented a structured, multi-stage recruitment funnel designed for precision and transparency.

1. 1. Discovery and calibration

DevsData LLC began with a deep-dive session with Rettsdata’s leadership and product managers to define the competencies and cultural attributes needed. This stage clarified the balance between UI expertise, brand design skills, and experience in B2B or editorial environments.

1. 2. Targeted search

Our team mapped over 120 Designers in Norway and nearby regions (Sweden, Denmark, the Baltics), focusing on candidates with strong portfolios in product design, data visualization, or digital publishing. Outreach emphasized the mission-driven nature of Rettsdata’s platform – connecting design to the accessibility of law and knowledge.

1. 3. Screening and portfolio review

Roughly 40 candidates entered the initial funnel. Each underwent a structured 90-minute interview covering:

• Portfolio walkthroughs emphasizing clarity, usability, and typography discipline.
• Scenario-based questions on collaborating with developers and product teams.
• Live design critique sessions to evaluate creative reasoning and adaptability.

1. 4. Technical and cultural vetting

The top eight candidates advanced to client interviews. At this stage, our recruiters coordinated practical design exercises and facilitated feedback loops between candidates and Rettsdata’s stakeholders. To assess cultural alignment, particularly with Norwegian workplace norms that value autonomy, openness, and precision, candidates participated in scenario-based discussions reflecting real team interactions, such as collaborative feedback sessions and self-directed project planning. Their ability to communicate transparently, take initiative, and handle critique constructively became decisive factors in the final selection.

1. 5. Final selection and offer coordination

Three candidates, a Graphic Design Lead and two Senior Designers, were selected and hired. DevsData LLC assisted in offer negotiation, onboarding scheduling, and cross-functional integration planning with the Oslo office.

Roles hired

All hires were Norway-based, ensuring real-time collaboration with the client’s in-house teams.

Results and impact

The recruitment process resulted in a cohesive design leadership structure within eight weeks. Rettsdata gained a stronger creative core capable of shaping the user experience of its expanding digital tools.

The new design team quickly began implementing:

• Unified design systems for both web and mobile interfaces.
• Updated component libraries aligned with accessibility standards.
• Cross-departmental design review processes to maintain quality consistency.

According to Rettsdata’s leadership, the collaboration with DevsData LLC provided clarity, structure, and speed to a process that had previously been fragmented. The company now continues expanding its digital services with a consistent visual and user-centric foundation.

Conclusion

By combining structured recruitment, design-market research, and a deep understanding of Norwegian workplace culture, DevsData LLC successfully helped Gyldendal Rettsdata AS build a Senior Design Team that now drives the visual and user experience direction of Norway’s leading legal information platform.

The collaboration proved that when recruitment is treated as a strategic partnership, not just a hiring task, it leads to long-term creative impact and measurable product improvement.

Looking to strengthen your in-house design or product team?

Partner with DevsData LLC to access top-tier global talent, data-driven recruitment methods, and proven expertise in building high-performing teams. Visit www.devsdata.com or contact us at general@devsdata.com.

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Tsiala Jobava Copywriter and Marketer

Tsiala Jobava is a talented marketing specialist from Georgia. Tsiala holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Georgian American University and a master’s in Marketing and Communication from Barcelona Business School. She has built a diverse career, working as a copywriter and in marketing and PR, before returning to her first passion – writing. Along the way, she has gained valuable experience in social media management, content creation, and brand development.

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