Andy Crone

A bit about me

Currently I'm Principal Designer at Hatch where we're making it easy as for everyday kiwis to invest in a range of investments. I'm leading the implementation of a cross-platform design system and framework that all Hatch teams can use to build consistently awesome experiences.

In my previous role I was Product Design Lead at WPMU DEV for 5 years leading a small team of product designers and managing a product suite of award-winning plugins. I was involved in business decisions, the growth team and built the design system they use today. Whilst we had to work within the WordPress user interface, we were still able to produce our unique spin on designs – I particularly loved the complex nature of the plugin interfaces, distilling hundreds of settings and configurations into simple and intuitive controls.

Prior to WPMU DEV I was a co-director of a small software development company Tiny Mammoth where I designed and built custom web apps for clients needing workflow management solutions. Things like daily task and prospect management for financial planners, meeting agenda platforms for accountants and pre-ordering software for stadiums.

I’ve also tried my hand at my own startups – Yellloh & Nift. Yellloh was a social network which was aimed at promoting healthy discussion around topics that interested you – not dissimilar to the popular medium.com – and Nift was a tiny CRM for freelancers, aimed at bringing projects, tasks and leads for a little business together into one app.
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I have 10 years of experience in the web and mobile app design industry that I apply to my design strategy resulting in business-driven, beautiful interactions grounded in core design principles.

Take a look at my portfolio, resume or contact me on andy@andycrone.com.

Cheers, 
Andy

Achievements

2020
Best Design Awards Gold
Awarded Gold in the Large Scale ECommerce category at the 2020 Designers Institute of New Zealand Best Awards.
2018
Torque Plugin Madness Winner
Designer behind Smush Pro (image compression plugin) that was voted the best plugin for WordPress two years in a row.
2013
Startup Smart Future Maker
Named a Future Maker by Startup Smart magazine for co founding social discussion platform Yellloh.
2008
Audacious Best Use of Design Award
Awarded the Best Use of Design award as part of the Audacious Business competition at the University of Otago.

Education

BAppSc (w/ Honours)

University of Otago – Dunedin, New Zealand

Majoring in design studies, this degree was less about form and more about function and design thinking. It set me up for a career in understanding problems before designing solutions – it’s easy to make things pretty, much harder to understand whether it’s solving the real issue.

On Paper

Design
Design systems
Product strategy
UX research
Interaction design
Tech & Software
Figma
Adobe
Miro
HTML, Sass, JS, PHP
Webflow, WordPress
Extras
Hiring designers
Product vision
Leadership & mentoring
Business knowledge
Andy's Vibe
Humour where possible
Works hard, plays hard
Brings the positivity
Open to critique and growth
Balance

People I’ve worked with, and what they reckon…

First up, Andy is excellent at making the user interface beautiful. However, and more importantly, he has an incredible empathetic connection to "the user". Even after running through several design iterations, the focus is always on the user and their feelings of using the product. If you ever need a user experience genius on your side, Andy is your guy. Oh, and fun to work with!

Bjørn Seaton

Chief Marketing Officer @ WPMU DEV

Andy is that rare talent who is both a great coach and student of UX design. He will make everyone around him better while striving to learn more and stay ahead of user behaviour trends. I've worked alongside Andy on various projects for the past four years, witnessing him transform the UX of our products and services for over 1 million users while growing a design department from just himself to a team of 5 in the process. Andy would be an invaluable asset to any product team as a member or leader.

Tyler Postle

Chief Growth Officer @ WPMU DEV

Andy is such a pleasure to work with. Since we started working with him we realised we had a true partner. He was responsive and efficient and helpful and suggested better ideas than ours, and we could achieve a lot quite quickly with that sharp approach. A true professional. He really cares about getting it right for us and we are grateful! The new website is converting really well.

Penelope Naish

Director @ Black Estate

If you’re looking for someone who has empathy and respect for the customer and users, can collaborate easily and openly with anyone, takes time and care with their outputs, Andy is your designer. The fact that he’s a top notch designer, goes without saying. But what makes Andy great is his ability to grasp new and complex ideas, growth mindset, technical knowledge and ability work with anyone at any level. I loved his openness to learn new ways of approaching design, give and take feedback. These attributes make him a great asset to any team.

Lulu Pachuau

Design Director @ Hatch

Andy’s work touched every part of the business. His focus on delivering results at a high growth startup, alongside his methodical approach to design systems enabled us to rapidly experiment, iterate, and roll out “needle-moving” features at pace. He’s excellent at taking a piece of work from start to finish, and brilliant at pulling designers together to build on each others ideas.

Natalie Ferguson

Co-founder & Chief Experience Officer @ Hatch

For us, our platform is solely what our business runs on, so the importance of a functional site and even better developer is critical. I've found that not only does Andy ask all the right questions, but he's also confident in challenging our own decisions, often resulting in better ideas and output overall. Patient, with a sharp eye for the future and continuity, he's also genuinely invested in our project (probably more than I've seen in years). All of this sits next to the incredibly impressive design we're currently working on which has dwarfed that original anxiety by fresh excitement. Book him, you won't regret it.

Ollie Law

Director @ Bushman Tours

A bit about me

Achievements

Education

On Paper

Here's a recent work case study showcasing my user experience, visual and interaction design skills.