Do you only work with startups?
Predominantly yes, but not exclusively.
Do we need to sign a contract?
Yes. View my standard plain-English contract. If required, it can be customised, but I find it does the job for most projects.
What kind of deliverables do you provide? Full design or wireframes only?
I don't do "wireframes".
I talk to you about what you need, create an inspiration board to plot the strategy ahead. We then discuss and align before a single pixel is created. Once we agree on the direction ahead, I'll then pick a UI kit, customise it to your brand needs and design all flows and high-fidelity mockups. By the end of the project you'll have ownership of all Figma files, including the UI Kit, mockups and prototypes.
How does a typical project play out?
It all very much depends. But supposing it's a web project where a product is being re-designed, it might play out a little like so:
New client onboarding to get the formalities out of the way, so I can roll up my sleeves and get cracking.
Product teardown which takes me a couple of hours. I only do this if you have an existing product that you want me to work on. I highlight any UX, accessibility and performance problems to fix, and a clear list of priorities.
Content strategy outline that takes a couple of hours. This is a collaborative task. If you have content and a solid content strategy, then this can be skipped. But I can't design without content. Designers designing without content is a bit like bricklayers building walls without bricks.
Inspiration board, which takes a couple of hours to put together. If you have ideas for features or UIs to be influenced by, then I'm all ears! It'll speed up the process. But I'll also scout the web because I have a knack for finding great ideas that our design solution can borrow from.
Set up of Figma UI kit so I don't have to waste $$$ designing the bare bones UI components. I'll discuss with your team to see if you and your developers have a preference for a custom design system, or a ready-made one.
Design token system, UI component library and high-fidelity mockups for 5 different breakpoints for all major UX flows, web views, and every nook and cranny of your product. All done in Figma.
Oversee development. I'm there to assist with questions, and every week I'll spend a few hours QA-ing (quality analysing) the development work to make sure that what's implemented is as good as originally intended.
The above is an example for a typical web app or website project. Mobile app projects would vary slightly. The process all very much depends on each project, and I adapt to suit the needs of the project and the team I'm working with.
Do you run research efforts as well?
Yes, definitely. While I wouldn't call this my area of specialty, I have led user research on projects with New South Wales and Queensland governments, and at Booking.com.
Do you also build websites?
Yes, for simple websites that run on Framer.com, which is actually the platform I used to build and host the website you're viewing right now! It's great at creating simple-yet-creative info sites like this one, and basic eCommerce sites.
However, for web apps, mobile apps, web3 sites, advanced eCommerce sites and XR products, and any sites with complex backend functionality we'll definitely need to involve some experienced web developers to help us bring the idea to life.
Can you recommend developers to build web and mobile apps?
I can reach out to my network, and try my best!
We already have designers on our team. Can you collaborate with them?
Of course! At Booking.com, I worked with 300 other designers. I'm no stranger to collaboration.
How do we get the ball rolling?
