Professional Experience:

I am a highly regarded, conscientious and dependable design leader with a solid diplomatic delivery style. I have presented design strategy and design work to the CEO and C-Suite level; I’ve successfully pitched work to external clients and demonstrated the importance of great Design to hundreds of people at conferences during my career. I’m an advocate for the user-centred design approach, and I understand the importance of UX research, intuitive UX and beautiful Visual Design. I’m a determined hands-on design leader who’s motivated and well organised. I’m calm under pressure whilst ensuring high-quality designs are delivered on time and within budget. 


  • Company: John Lewis
    Duration: September 2021 - Present
    Job Title: Omnichannel UI and Prototyping Lead (Head Of)
    Website: www.johnlewis.com

    As the Head of Omnichannel UI, my team contributes to John Lewis’s strategy in creating a truly Omnichannel experience for our customers. We use UCD to create a digital-first approach and my team collaborates with the content designers and Brand on all JL campaigns, we are the accessibility champions within the organisation. I have been the key stakeholder in the creation of the new digital JL brand, raising my team's profile within the organisation in doing so. I present team strategy and creative to c-suite exec. I’m also part of all creative sign off within the JL organisation.

  • Led the team for John Lewis New Digital Brand in collaboration with Pentagram
  • Advocate and creation of the New John Lewis Design System
  • Accessibility champion within JL
  • Led the team to build a new Omnichannel UI team
  • Updated ways of the working process (UCD) with the product team and optimised the design team's ways of working.


Company: Upside Savings
Duration: November 2020 - January 2022
Job Title: VP of Design
Website: www.upsidesaving.com/

The VP of Design is part of the CPO’s Leadership Team; I’m responsible for owning Design and driving Design team development, Design execution and Design culture. As VP, I’m expected to take on significant responsibilities beyond the Office of the CPO, extending to other business areas in line with my experience and expertise.

  • Upside’s digital brand development
  • Creation of Upside’s Design System & Design Principals
  • Design Leadership, Team Development and Mentoring
  • Creation of Upside’s Social Media and Website Design
  • Design Vision
  • Design Execution
  • Design Culture


Company: Coursera
Duration: April 2020 - April 2021
Job Title: Consultant Creative Director / Design System (CDS) (Contract)
Website: www.coursera.org

My role at Coursera was to create and oversee their new Brand development across digital. Coursera’s design team had seen expediential growth over the last few years, which meant the UX / UI had become fragmented and inconsistent. Coursera’s Design organisation was relatively immature; I created new design processes and helped unify Design across the product. Coursera needed a Design System to align the new brand work and improve the product’s UX / UI design alignment.

I built a small team of specialist designers working solely on the Design System in London; I led and managed the team, working closely with the Design Org in Mountain View (San Francisco). We were responsible for component design and creation, documentation, product alignment and accessibility.

  • Coursera digital brand development
  • Creation of Coursera Design System (CDS)
  • Design Leadership and Mentoring of my UK team
  • Creation of Coursera Design Principals
  • Coursera Enterprise design development.


Company: Tradeling (Dubai, UAE)
Duration: February 2020 - April 2020
Job Title: Head of Product Design
Website: www.tradeling.com

Working out of Dubai (UAE), I led a small team of Product Designers on a B2B E-Commerce Startup. The company was in its infancy and had no Design infrastructure. I implemented new Design processes, brand design, UX/UI Design, team recruitment and started their design systems. I was required to be hands-on, and I designed many essential areas of the site. Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, my role was displaced, and I returned to the UK.

  • Responsible for Tradeling Digital Brand
  • Creation and production of the Tradeling Design System
  • Introduced UCD Design processes and Design Tools


Company: Aviva
Duration: May 2016 - February 2020
Job Title: Head of UX, UX Research and Design / ICG Internal Leadership Coach
Website: www.aviva.co.uk / www.aviva.com

I was a hands-on design leader who recruited a world-class (UI/UX and UX research) design organisation of over 100 designers. My skills included Creative/Art Direction, UI/UX, Brand Development, Motion Graphics, Video Production, Project Management, Team Development, Mentoring & Team Morale.

I developed strategies that were truly customer-centric and inspired my teams to create deliveries that drove transformative results. The new design language and UX for Quote & Payment increased revenues by 1.5M GBP / Month. Building, training and retaining world-class design talent is an investment that required the experience, insight and empathy necessary to build an excellent environment for growth.

My team created Aviva’s global digital design language, framework, design system, & guidelines, which united Aviva’s global online brand presence. You can visit our framework https://standards.aviva.com/fr...

CORE SKILLS
Developing a close partnership with UX, Visual Designers, Researchers, Product Managers, Strategists and Developers to deliver User-Centred Design in an agile, dynamic, iterative environment

  • Leading and inspiring my cross-functional team to create their best work, mentoring and developing their talent
  • Reviewing the team’s objectives on an ongoing basis and improve the collective capability and toolsets of the team
  • Capturing insights through research and workshops that will help inform design outcomes (i.e. user journeys, information architecture, have a good understanding of qualitative methodologies as well as best practices and core principles of great user experience
  • Representing the customer in the product development process
  • Solving complex customer problems through collaborative design practices
  • Understanding technology and being able to reframe and challenge technological constraints
  • Setting, reviewing, challenge and communicating the design system directly to my team of designers, line management/performance management
  • Designing UX and Visual Designers that follow our digital asset library, that are consistent, coherent, pixel-perfect across our platforms and products globally.


Company: Activision - FreeStyle Games
Duration: July 2013 - April 2016
Job Title: Lead UI/UX Artist
Website: www.freestylegames.com

I was Lead UI/UX Artist at FreeStyle Games - Activision (FSG), responsible for a team of 15, working on GuitarHero Live and Call of Duty Online (Chinese COD free to play) and Call of Duty Ghosts. My skills included: UI Art Direction, UX and Usability Testing, Workload Planning, Team Building, Recruitment, Mentoring & Team Development and UI/UX technical advisor across all FSG’s and Activision front end projects.

I was a highly motivated design leader, responsible for the UI Art teams high standards. I built solid relationships and liaised with the studio heads, design and code teams alike. I balanced aesthetics and usability to create an intuitive and immersive experience.

CORE SKILLS
2D User Interface Design, User Experience, Screen Flow and Navigation, Graphic Design, Studio Management, Leadership, Typography, Logo and Brand Creation, UI Art Direction, People Management, Team Development and Mentoring, Project Planning, Recruitment and Interviewing.

EXPERIENCE
Lead User Interface Artist
GuitarHero Live (PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, WiiU & IOS )

Lead User Interface Artist and Lead UX
Call Of Duty Online (PC ) China Free to Play 


Company: Codemasters
Duration: April 2010 - July 2013
Job Title: Lead UI/UX Artist
Website: www.codemasters.com/uk/

As Lead UI Artist at Codemasters, I was responsible for a team of 16 working on multiple projects. My daily tasks included; UI Art Direction, Workload Planning, Team Building and Recruitment, Individual Team Development and Mentoring across all Codemasters internal projects.

I was a highly motivated Leader, responsible for the UI Art teams high standards across all of Codemasters Studios in the UK.

CORE SKILLS
3D and 2D User Interface Design, User Experience, Screen Flow and Navigation, Graphic Design, Studio Management, Leadership, Typography, Logo and Brand Creation, UI Art Direction, People Management, Team Development and Mentoring, Project Planning, Recruitment and Interviewing.

EXPERIENCE
Lead User Interface Artist - Birmingham & Southam, United Kingdom
Dirt 4 (Next Gen)
F1 Race Stars (IOS)
Grid 2 (XBOX360 / PS3 / PC)
F1 2013 (XBOX360 / PS3 / PC)
F1 Race Stars (WII U)
F1 Race Stars (XBOX360 / PS3 / PC)
F1 2012 (XBOX360 / PS3 / PC) - BAFTA Nomination
RaceNet UI Art Lead

January 2011 - August 2011
F1 2011 (XBOX360 / PS3 / PC) - BAFTA Nomination Dirt Showdown (XBOX360 / PS3 / PC). Responsible for providing 3D and 2D UI Art Direction and producing art for conception and implementation.

Senior User Interface Artist - Southam, United Kingdom
April 2010 - December 2010 (9 months)
Operation Flashpoint - Red River

Company: Rave Communications
Duration: January 2001 - April 2010
Job Title: Studio Manager / Senior Designer
Website: www.rave-communications.com

Company: Outside the Box - Birmingham Office
Duration: April 2001 - December 2001
Job Title: Senior Designer

Company: Slap & Tickle Artwork and Design
Duration: 1998 - April 2001
Job Title: Night Shift Studio Manager / Designer

Company: Spearhead Design
Duration: 1997 - 1998
Job Title: Junior Designer


Skills and Personal profile:

In addition to the excellent managerial skills I have:

  • UX/UI design
  • User Experience in interface design and navigational devices
  • Excellent knowledge of typography, branding and identity
  • Understand the importance of attention to detail
  • Advanced knowledge of design for print, and design for the internet
  • Experienced in communicating with clients and fellow employees
  • In-depth knowledge of pre-press processes

Software:
Extensive knowledge of;

  • Figma, Sketch, Invision, Zeplin, Abstract, Adobe Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, 3Ds Max & Flash
  • Microsoft: Word, Excel, PowerPoint
  • Compatible with Macintosh and Windows.

Interests:

  • Offensive tackle for the Norwich Devils, Dubai Spartans, and Birmingham Bulls American Football
  • NFL Fan New England Patriots
  • Learning Golf (how can it be so hard!)
  • Music - acoustic/electric guitar and piano. I was a guitarist in a local alternative rock band called ‘KLASSIDE’ we’ve played the LG Arena on the Live Stage before Take That, The Script, Maroon 5, Fleetwood Mac, Duran Duran and The Mumford and Sons. Listen to us
  • Cinema and film
  • Reading Fiction
  • Keeping fit, running, walking, gym and swimming