Untangling complex products, one conversation at a time
Hello I’m Adam, a UK-based UX designer with over thirteen years in the industry, working end-to-end from discovery through to implementation-ready design. Across a range of sectors and teams of every size and temperament, the thing that’s stuck with me is that aligning people is usually harder, and more valuable than just aligning pixels.
The rest of my energy goes into the work that outlasts a single project, keeping on top of the constantly growing design systems, and mentoring designers earlier in their careers.
01
My design principles
Opinions until proven otherwise
Mine included. Everything I make is a hypothesis until someone outside the team has used it.
Be wrong quickly
A rough prototype in front of users this week beats a polished one next month. Testing’s a habit, not a phase.
Accessible or the job isn’t done
Accessibility sits alongside every other constraint from the first sketch, not in an audit two weeks before launch.
Leave it better than you found it
The measure of good design work is what survives after you’ve moved on.
HR and payroll software used by mid-to-large UK organisations. My role is focused on People First, the company’s cloud HR and payroll platform.
Line-managed and mentored a team of junior and mid-weight designers, running fortnightly one-to-ones, setting development plans and balancing workload across the team.
Ran UX recruitment end to end alongside the hiring manager, including CV screening, screener interviews and portfolio reviews, growing the team by 40%.
Owned accessibility for the product against WCAG 2.2 AA, extending the standard to third-party integrations so compliance was held across the whole experience.
Ran usability testing on low and mid-fidelity prototypes and conducted customer interviews, feeding findings directly into the next design iteration.
Embedded in an agile scrum team, working daily with engineering and managing the UI developers supporting the UX team.
Maintained the Figma design system used across the UX team, linked to Storybook so design and code stayed up to date.
Produced site maps, user flows, wireframes, prototypes and design specs to a standard engineers could build from without rework.
Partnered with product management from problem definition onwards, shaping briefs and challenging assumptions before solutions were scoped.
Defined success measures for design work alongside product, tracking adoption and task completion after release.
Nov 2019 — Mar 2022
Linney: UX Designer
Multichannel marketing services agency. Client work across retail, financial services and public sector, including McDonald’s, Boots, Experian, Royal Mail and E.ON.
Led UX audits that supported pitch work and new business proposals.
Designed an AR sales application letting customers view products in situ across markets and device types, critical to sales continuity when in-person demonstrations stopped during the pandemic.
Designed an interactive sales tool that replaced the client’s existing sales process, rolled out to sales teams across EMEA.
Ran design and marketing workshops with cross-functional teams and client stakeholders.
Partnered with the UX researcher on workshops and user studies, contributing to study design and synthesis.
Jan 2018 — Nov 2019
Fifteen Design: Senior Graphic/UX Designer
Creative agency working across digital and print. Split between brand and print design and digital product work.
Facilitated design and marketing workshops, bringing client stakeholders and internal teams together to define direction.
Defined a UX methodology adopted across digital projects, giving the team a consistent approach to discovery and delivery.
Contributed to pitches and proposals supporting new business wins.
Nov 2013 — Jan 2018
Williams Commerce: UX/Web Designer
Ecommerce agency. Client work across retail, telecoms and consumer brands, including Pizza Express, BT, Science in Sport and British Fashion Council.
Managed multiple concurrent projects, leading teams of designers and developers from kickoff through to go-live, and owning the client relationship throughout.
Designed the CMS for a new B2B commerce platform, balancing content-editor workflows against the flexibility the platform needed.
05
Away from the screen
In my spare time I enjoy travelling, going to gigs, and trying to get my golf handicap below 28. I’ve recently got into padel, so I’m now unfortunately one of those people who mentions padel whenever possible.
A weird fact is I don’t like tea or coffee, just in case you thought I was being rude always asking for water.
