Alasdair cumming
Product Design Manager in Sydney, He/him
About
beach bum | product design manager | unlikely designer
Projects
We refreshed the design and underlying technology of our search experience across iOS and Android. The new experience makes it easier for buyers/renters to explore suburbs using the map, and helped with discovery of Recently Sold and Suburb Insights, new features which we had recently built in to the map experience.
One of the biggest challenges Australian buyers face when looking for a property is understanding what they can afford — in some cities, up to two thirds of properties are advertised without a sale price. The most reliable source of pricing information is recent sales, yet only a small proportion of our users search in the 'Sold' section... so we made an easy way for people to naturally discover them. Zoom in, and recent comparable sales appear alongside properties currently on market. It drives awareness, and makes it easy to compare recent sales with properties on the market, so buyers get a realistic view of what they can afford.
Many property buyers start out with unrealistic expectations of where they can afford to buy, which means they waste months looking in areas they are unlikely to find success. We wanted to make it faster and easier for buyers get a good understanding of where they can afford to buy, so we built 'Suburb insights'. It allows buyers to explore median sales prices, historical price growth, and the average time it takes for a property to transact. Putting it on a map encourages people to explore and compare different suburbs, and hopefully aim their search more effectively.
Work Experience
Domain is one of Australia's leading property marketplaces. I manage the design team responsible for the consumer experience across web, iOS and Android, helping millions of Australians along their journey to find a place to buy or rent.
Team of one product designer on the commercial real estate platform. Established user research practice, and led redesign of the search experience.
Gumtree was part of eBay, and Australia's largest horizontal marketplace (think Facebook marketplace). I was their first in house designer, and helped establish regular user research practice, while working on a variety of projects.
Sapient – publicissapient.com/
4 month contract working on the first self service cancellation flow for Sky TV sky.com/tv
Mirum – mirumagency.com
3 month contract working on a variety of clients, including WaterAid and an innovation unit within Nokia
Ctrlio ctrlio.com/
3 month contract with an early stage start up, which was trying to change the way comparison sites worked by using customer data to create tailored recommendations for mobile plans and insurance.
I also went campervanning around Europe with my wife for 5 months during this period
Brilliant Basics was a London based product studio. I worked on a variety of clients during my time there including INSEAD (custom iPad app to deliver executive education courses) and HSBC (consumer banking mobile app design).
Education
Digital Media Management combines a broad range of topics, including change management, digital technology, business transformation, strategy, service design, UX and research methods with real-world applications.
Studies included; modern history, psychology, political economy & world politics.