In 2010 I graduated an honours degree in Design at the University of Otago. The course was deeply rooted in design theory, thinking and frameworks that were not quite what I had expected. Little did I know it at the time, but I was learning the art of true user experience design which shaped how my brain approaches all types of design problems today.
Visual and interaction design has always been innate and I've been building things since a young age. During university I founded my own clothing company (Emberley) as a way to express my creative side and make a bit of money. It was here that I learned two critical things - how to programme websites, and how to run a business. I loved how code was the building blocks behind the visual interface and empowered online interaction for our customers. The second was the importance of understanding the role business plays in product and design – everything has to be rooted in business objectives and goals – purpose is key.
After leaving university I relocated overseas to Australia in search of design jobs in Melbourne. In the summer of 2011 I landed my first web design job with Jobadder (recruitment software) which would ultimately become my foray into app design.
In 2012 I left Sydney to join four others to start a new social platform Yellloh (as you did at the time) in which we raised $150k in seed funding, designed and built a custom app from scratch and proceeded to get 4,000 initial users before running out of money. Desperate to succeed we transitioned into a custom web app development company for financial services and over 18 months developed a number of customised workflow and task management solutions for clients.
In 2015 I took up a job with WPMU DEV as a Product Designer in a (nearly) fully remote team and learnt how to design for multiple different products, and a lead a team of 5 product designers in multiple different timezones around the world. Around this time I discovered design systems and have specialised (somewhat) in implementing them in every project or company I've been with since!
In March 2021 I joined Hatch Invest (an app to invest in the US stock markets) as a Senior Product Designer. I graduated to Principal Designer as my interest in design systems went from pipe-dream to reality over the course of 18 months.
Currently I am contracting to various tech businesses including Banqer (financial education for kids) crafting new features as well as managing small design systems that empower developers to work efficiently and consistently. I also have a small business PinotQR helping winemakers meet strict regulations for selling their wine in Europe.
My fiancé Anna and I moved on to her family vineyard in early 2023 to be amongst the grapes and help make and drink wine! I work remotely from a co-working space in town, and have been a remote worker for years.
I love mountain biking, snow skiing, woodworking and generally enjoy spending weekends adventuring, fixing fences on the farm or working on my pride and joy – a Land Rover Defender.
Also a huge fan of butter, cheese, beer and wine– possibly in reverse order.
