I'm an all-hands-on-deck product interface designer. I thrive when I have the opportunity to create something that is simple, beautiful & easy to use.

About Me

I’m confident and fully capable in delivering solutions that align our business objectives with our user's goals to help users find the “aha moment” with our product, helping us drive growth & key results. My life’s mission is to make people's lives better through the products we make. To an extent I love the way that there is no playbook and we’re constantly inventing the profession as we go along. At the end of the day, I like to build something that I'm excited about and proud of.

I’ve been creating engaging digital experiences for over 15 years. I'm passionate about design and the digital industry, having started my first design business at the age of 18. I’ve gained extensive experience in the design and business landscape since then.

I have not just stuck to the creative side, extending my wheelhouse of skills to be a very competent front-end developer having a number of full-stack applications that I’ve built out in the market. I do believe this gives me the unique perspective to be a very collaborative team member and bridge the gap between design and engineering in a very unique way.

Career Objective

I love being part of this fast moving industry. I’m constantly learning. I always pride myself on excellence and would like to pursue building products that make a real difference in users lives. I enjoy being part of high performance teams where get the opportunity to craft and improve my skills.

Experience

Connect the Doc

Connect the Doc

Director of Product

May 2021 - Present

BIGBrave™

BIGBrave™

Product Design Director

Jul 2015 – Apr 2021

Started as employee #4 and the first digital designer and web developer at BIGBrave.

Set the vision for digital design. Build up and lead the design team.

Introduced UX and the Human-Centered way to design. This is now the core of the business.

Pioneered the technical team and established the key technology stack we build in.

Establish the key metrics and tactics for year-on-year growth.

Helped grow the team from 4 to 12 designers and developers, mentoring talent along the way.

Innovation Boutique™ (acquired by BIGBrave)

Innovation Boutique™ (acquired by BIGBrave)

Product Designer & Developer, Founder

Aug 2014 – June 2015

Help customers craft and build unique brands.

Set the vision for the work we want to do and clients we aim to attract.

Built a large scale eCommerce platform with over 5,000 products and transacting on average 1,2 million loyalty points per month.

Spent time giving back through pro-bono work with a range of digital work to various beneficiaries in our network to better establish their businesses.

Acquired by BIGBrave in 2015 when all clients and operational staff moved to BIGBrave.

Creative Ink™ - Digital Agency

Creative Ink™ - Digital Agency

UX/UI Designer & Developer, Co-Founder

Oct 2005 – Jul 2014

Co-founded Creative Ink during my last year of studying, growing the business over time.

Lead a small team of designers consisting of our internal team as well as various freelancers.

Designed a handful of SA’s biggest Radio Station websites for the SABC including 5FM, Metro FM, TruFM to name a few.

Design, Developed and maintained the Kaya FM website as their main source of digital identity. As a team we navigated them through the gauntlet that was the rise of Social Media.

CSS Design Awards

CSS Design Awards

Judge

2018 - Present

I've had the privilege to serve on the CSS Design Awards JPanel judging Websites of the Day, Month and Year.

I find it refreshing and exhilarating to see all the new ideas and talent out there, and helps keep me on my toes.

Close to 1,000 sites judged in total.

The Open Window

The Open Window

Freelance Lecturer in Web Design

Apr 2009 – Apr 2010

Developed the curriculum - filling the gap between web design and development.

Lectured in Web Design and Development to second year degree students.

Helped mentor and guide students through the various intricacies of online technologies.

Mentored & guided the students to identify their strengths & navigate possible career paths.

Was selected as a moderator for final year degree student portfolios multiple times.

Was invited back to guest lecture from time to time in Interactive Design Studies.

M-Net (New Media)

M-Net (New Media)

Digital Designer

Jan 2006 – Jun 2006

MWEB

MWEB

Digital Designer

Oct 2005 – Dec 2005

Paragon-Networx

Paragon-Networx

Web Designer (Co-Founder)

Apr 2003 – Jul 2005

Education

UX Design Institute / Glasgow Caledonian University

UX Design Institute / Glasgow Caledonian University

Professional Diploma in UX Design

2019

MIT

MIT

MIT’s Approach to Innovation and Design Thinking (NQF 6 Certificate)

2016

AAA School of Advertising

AAA School of Advertising

Digital Marketing Strategy (NQF 6 Certificate)

2010

The Open Window

The Open Window

Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication Design

2003-2006

Online Courses I've done

Interaction Design Foundation

Interaction Design Foundation

2018 - Present

UX Management: Strategy and Tactics

Psychology of E-Commerce: How to Sell Online

UI Design Patterns for Successful Software

Get Your Product Used: Adoption and Appropriation

Become a UX Designer from Scratch

User Experience: The Beginner’s Guide

Design Thinking: The Beginner's Guide

Design Sprint Masterclass

Design Sprint Masterclass

2019

Design Sprint Masterclass with AJ&Smart & Jake Knapp

LDJ (Lightning Decision Jams)

Advanced Workshop Facilitation

Wes Bos Training

Wes Bos Training

2018 - Present

Advanced React and GraphQL

ES6 for Everyone (Master Package)

Learn Redux

Javascript 30

What the Flexbox?

CCS Grid

Command Line Power User

Udemy

Udemy

2013 - Present

GraphQL with React: The Complete Developers Guide

Build an app with React, Redux and Firestore from scratch

React 16 - The Complete Guide (incl. React Router 4 & Redux)

Angular and Firebase - Build a Web App with Typescript

Learn HTML5 Programming From Scratch

Basics of Scrum, Agile and Project Delivery

Mastering Agile Scrum Project Management

UX & Web Design Master Course: Strategy, Design, Development

LevelUp Tutorials

LevelUp Tutorials

2018 - Present

Pro Gatsby 1

Pro Gatsby 2

Level 2 React (Intermediate React Skills)

Level 1 Electron

Level 1 Apollo Client with React

Better Javascript

Headless WordPress with Next.js & Gatsby

React & Redux for Everyone

Modern CSS Layouts

Next Level CSS Animations & Transitions

The Sketch Guide