I solve difficult problems through critical and a little bit of chaotic (creative ✨ ) thinking.

I have a degree in graphic design and an 8.5 year career in UX strategy. This means I can work on both conceptual creative challenges and functional interface problems. I attack problems holistically and really believe UX is end-to-end. And outside of the digital world too!

My problem solving skills and natural artiness means I've worked on and can help with early branding ideas to full product definition and design. Working at a digital strategy consultancy for most of my career and then into the freelance world as a UX designer means I'm super comfortable (I still get nervous) but comfortable, working with and workshopping with a range of clients, stakeholders to understand the business requirements as well as the users.

I'm one of those really annoying people who knew what they wanted to do since they were 14. I just didn't know what it was called. My mum always used to tell me I was crafty, but I had a way with solving problems that was what made it interesting. I know I know, everyone's mum bigs them up. I'll get to the point... A-levels seem irrelevant now, but when I took them I took Graphic Design, Business Studies and Maths. I knew I wanted to do something in the design and creative space, but I loved the problem solving of maths and didn't want to let it go. People thought I was mad. I took graphic design at university but it was during the coding module that I realised there was more to it than print (I'm sorry print, I love the smell and feel of stock still). I started to reach out to digital agencies and that's when I was introduced to the world of UX. Finally there was a role that made sense — I could combine both creativity with logic and make a real impact.

Examples of how I've put my brain to use:

Defined and designed a health app — balance — from scratch that now helps over 1,000,000 people and won an award.
Implemented design thinking into a tech start-up to encourage focusing on problems over solutions and working collaboratively even whilst working remotely. Analysing the research to date and shaping mindsets to align the team. One of which 'The Connection Seeker' helped to ultimately change the proposition from a live streaming app to a fan engagement model which saw a better investment response and has helped align the team on direction.
Created both MVP and future facing prototypes/full spec designs to not only test and learn and shape the roadmap of functionality but also develop the UI and brand application of a start-up.
Ran a series of workshops and developed a name/brand identity and MVP product offering along with a prototype for a complex health-meets-crypto meets DNA start-up with the aim of getting investment to kickstart their business.
Used my ability to quickly adapt to slot into several BBC product teams and hit the ground running by getting stuck in with their business as usual. Understanding requirements, defining problems and creating solutions with whatever UX artefact was most useful for them at the time — audits, journey maps, wireframes, prototypes. Sharing progress with wider stakeholders weekly.
Worked with product teams as a contractor to quickly understand business needs by running stakeholder interviews and usability tests to redefine the problem statements and then use this insight to craft UX the optimise mobile experiences and reduce drop off.

Some nice things people have said about me:

I've had the pleasure of working with Abi on some incredibly challenging design briefs over the years. Not only if she fantastically collaborative but she has a rare combination of highly intelligent creative and conceptual thinking plus executional pragmatism. All of which means there's no design challenge she can't crack!

— Lou Cordwell OBE, magneticNorth, Chief Creative Officer, Magnetic

I've worked closely with Abi over the past five years and I can categorically say she is one of the most talented designers I've ever worked with.

Abi is a master of UX, UI and brand, capable of creating some of the most beautifully creative and elegantly usable experiences across any given interface or platform, taking pride in creating designs that are built with the user at the heart. On top of this she's also highly strategic and not afraid to get stuck into any task — research, workshops and ideation and usability testing are just a handful of her additional talents.

Abi is super collaborative, reliable, incredibly passionate and hardworking, always going above and beyond and pushing everyone around her, including clients and colleagues to be more creative and think outside the box.

— Katherine Calderbank, Head of Insights, CrowdSurf

Things I believe:

People are interesting.

Sometimes what they do and say doesn't match the data. Don't get me wrong, data is great and all—but we shouldn't depend on it alone to create the most engaging experiences. We have to make things to create data! I'm more curious about what people do and say when they think I'm just chatting to them (secretly I'm observing them for my own UX brain and to understand their motivations, but they don't need to know that). I aim to evoke emotion through design and craft unexpected digital experiences that solve real problems.

Teamwork makes the drea... Sorry. Cheesy. I won't say it...

UX = people, so collaborating with your team, both in design and more importantly with wider skillsets and stakeholders is key for me. I don't do egos. I'm not afraid to be myself at work and encourage others to do the same. People's unique perspectives and skills can bring a lot of value to the team and projects. If nobody challenged the status quo it'd be a boring world.

Progress over perfection is better (at least at first), and so are prototypes over prolonged debates.

Starting from scratch and getting stuck in is my thing. I don't care about sharing rough messy ideas. If you're judging them, it's free feedback for me. It's important to make something you can show to people, share with investors, stakeholders, etc. I'd rather do that than argue about a button colour for hours based on assumptions. I believe in collaborating to make something that helps us understand and think like our users better.

The CV stuff

Skills

Ability to work fast, comfortable in chaos and starting with a blank canvas
UX processes and design leadership
Using insights to create conceptual ideas
UX Design including discovery workshops, ideation, IA, wire-framing, prototyping, and usability testing
Digital first visual identity and brand development
Responsive, development-ready UI and design systems for B2B and B2C

Most used tools

Figma ❤️ ProtoPie ❤️ Adobe CC, Sketch, , Principle, Jira, Miro, Webflow.

Education

Leeds College of Art | Graphic Design (BA Hons) Degree
A-Levels. | Graphic Design, Business Studies and Maths

CONTACT ME

Experience

CrowdSurf
Head of Product Design

Jan '22 – Present
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Defining end-to-end UXD processes within a tech start-up, the team structure and developing 2 products on user and customer side alongside shaping the brand implementation across the UI.
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Senior UX Designer
Aug '22 – Jan'22
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Moving Brands
Senior UX/UI Designer (Contract)

Jul '22–Oct '22
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Redesigning the overall UX and structure of a SaaS start up and applying the new brand to the UI.
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Freelance
Freelance designer

Feb 22–
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Working on smaller brand projects, UI design and UX consulting.

magneticNorth
Design Team Lead

2020 – Jan 2022

Senior Designer

2018 – 2020
magneticNorth

Designer

2015 – 2018
magneticNorth

PIRATE.COM
Senior UX/UI Designer

Feb '22 – June '22
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Problem:
The conversion rate on mobile is lower than desktop.
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Researching the problem through stakeholder interviews and usability testing on existing site. Playback to wider team and redefining the problem statement to agree focus areas. Improving the UX and creating the UI ready for the engineering team.

BBC Bitesize
Secondment UI Designer

Oct '21– Dec '21
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Applying the BBC's new visual identity to the BBC Bitesize website and design system.
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