Just published a shadcn UI kit for Figma! figma.com/community/file…
Designer, newsletter writer(er), podcaster, ❖
Projects
A starter for anyone looking to build using the popular shadcn framework. It's a (very close!) 1:1 match between Figma and the shadcn documentation, including:
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Variables for color, size, and typography
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Styles for text and effects
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Components
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Icons
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Example pattern blocks e.g. a login form
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Page templates as components
SDS was a first for Figma – a UI and code-backed design system available within Figma, alongside Apple's iOS and Material's kits.
It's a base design system that shows how Figma’s Variables, Styles, Components, and Code Connect can be used alongside a React codebase to form a complete picture of a responsive web design system.
Key features include:
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400+ components, backed by code (Code Connect available on paid plans only)
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Styles and variables support, including light and dark mode
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Examples – Full screen mockups that can be inserted into your file to go from blank page to polished designs quickly
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Feather icons
A 10 part video series pitched, recorded, and published for the Figma YouTube channel, walking you through how to use the Variables feature.
Side Projects
My newsletter where I'm trying to remove small talk from conversations, one piece of content at a time.
I highlight something to think about, 3 articles, and a podcast for you to digest.
My podcast where I interview designers and ask them all the same 5 questions.
British companies where you can buy face coverings from, in the wake of COVID-19.
A directory of products from smaller global producers.
Podcast series speaking with designesr across the globe about their passions.
A freebie where designers can save time with their typography system. Hosting the resource on Gumroad, I landed 553 sales.
Junior jobs are scarce, so I built a website to list only junior jobs in London. I originally had jobs from major cities across the globe, but the site was hacked and I had to start from scratch 😭
Publication to showcase the human side of designers.
Speaking
My take on how the 8px grid system could be shaken up by using odd numbers.
Slides here: <figma.com/community/file…>
My proposal for a new system, replacing atomic design. Slide here: <figma.com/community/file…>
A talk version of my Smashing Magazine articles.
Slides here: figma.com/community/file…
I had the privilege of launching Figma's Variables feature at our conference Config in front of a 4k+ audience LIVE.
A 20 minute speed talk about Figma's variables feature! It's a bitesized introduction with some best practice advice on how to get started.
An introduction to advocacy; my advice for sharing in public; the importance of building a persona brand
This year, Thales offered me the chance to address their leadership team with a virtual recording of a talk for their normally in-person conference.
I talk about the landscape, the friction, scaling operations, and setting expectations as we start to flesh out and scale our design operations in our businesses.
A guest podcast where I share advice and recommendations for getting started with design systems.
A tech talk I delivered for an Indian design community to showcase the existing tool landscape for designers and where I believe things will be shifting in the future.
There's a separate Q&A session here: youtube.com/watch?v=6OWnmT…
A podcast interview where I discussed the ins and outs of design systems, how to get started, and my tips and tricks.
Writing
A mega article with my advice on building design systems in Figma to encourage usage, introducing the FRAILS framework.
Part 2 concentrates on the key points from my FRAILS framework and practical tips about managing a design system that should be both robust and easy to adopt.
Advice on structure for the largest enterprises using Figma.
A mega guide with best practice for structuring your Figma account.
Work Experience
Summary
• Employee #6 in London, establishing EMEA advocacy as first non-sales IC
• Helped hire and grow advocacy team in EMEA to 5
• Established myself as a globally recognised design systems expert through resource creation, consultancy, and public-facing conferences, livestreams, and events
Projects
• Solo designer of Simple Design System, Figma’s first official in-product library
• Launched Variables, presenting at Config to ~4k+ people
• Built customer-facing demo assets with the brand team for enterprise sales customer onboarding and training
Recognised expertise
• Crafted best practice advice files, articles, videos across Community, YouTube, and the Figma blog.
• Community files duplicated ~50k+ times
• Scripted and recorded “My First Variable” YouTube series. ~90k views.
• Represented Figma in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the US
Consulting
• Customer-facing design systems expert for 300+ enterprise clients, including JP Morgan Chase, Airbus, Adobe, Spotify, and British Airways.
Community
• Coached speakers for 6 Config conferences
• Grew design systems focused personal Twitter account from 1.4k to ~60k followers in 4.5 years
A first-to-market travel upgrade app, backed by £5m investment (Jan 2020).
Achievements:
• Hired as first designer within the business, realising all design processes
• Planning, building and scaling the Upgrade Pack design system, Dolly
• Lead design of Seedrs.com round, raising £500k+ in ~14 days (March 2019)
• Hired Junior UI; Junior UX; 4 Developers; PM; Marketing Executive
• Drove Product and Design Medium.com publication, where I act as editor
Local Measure build a social CRM for the hospitality industry.
• Lead design of the iOS app
• Design and develop features for the web dashboard
• Design and develop the customer facing WordPress website.
I designed and built the front end of a during-stay review platform. Once
customers sign in to hotel WiFi, they are presented with a unique emoji-
based review system. This positively impacted hotel NPS scores and
established a new revenue stream for Local Measure.
Newsweek Media Group produces the historic magazine and IBTimes.co.uk.
• Advertorials for TAG Heuer, Hublot and Wembley Stadium, worth £150k
• Drove newsletter partnerships, forming new £5k per send revenue stream
• Scaled newsletter from 70k to 365k in 9 months with incentivised paywall
• Design of infographics and maps to support breaking global news stories
• Interviewing, hiring and mentoring of a data journalist
• Feature video art direction.
• Print advertisements and iAB approved digital banners for magazine
• iPhone & iPad app presentations, iAD banners and promotional collateral
• theSite.org - WordPress development and landing page design
• Stepfinder.org - Minisite design and build to promote iPhone app release
• Workshops to develop personas and justify product design decisions
• Vlogging series to help 16-25 year olds manage exam stress
• Sole designer and front end developer for the UK and Asia businesses
• Worked remotely with Bangalore-based backend team
• Full redesign and front end of ecommerce website
• Daily deals and fine wine platform scoping, design, and build
• Supported launch of French and German verticals
Awards
Our plucky wine ecommerce startup won the Direct Merchant of the Year award, highlighting the incredible work we produced on our website. We were up against all major wine retailers, so this felt very special.
Education
Contact
Teams
