Richard Simms

Richard Simms

Product design in Melbourne, He/Him

About

Innovative and results-driven product designer with a passion for integrating customer insights into design strategy. At SEEK, my focus is on empowering individuals with the tools to make informed career choices. Previously, I led the design practice at Open Universities Australia, where I focused on accessible online learning experiences, and at Suncorp Bank, where I designed native mobile apps.

Work Experience

2021 — Now
Melbourne
  • Spearheaded the Career Advice products expansion into seven markets, aligning Marketing, Growth, and Product teams, resulting in a 55% increase in user engagement and 3.4 million monthly active users

  • Enhanced market presence in Australia by 82.75% through targeted new user acquisition strategies

  • Improved user engagement by 10 percentage points through application enhancements

  • Initiated and led the development of an AI-driven career discovery tool, receiving 74% positive feedback for personalised recommendations.

  • Built continuous discovery practices within my department to empower product teams to validate assumptions and solution designs with customers weekly

  • Designed and developed a salary acquisition product using UI Design and A/B Testing, aiding jobseekers in making informed decisions and creating over $5 million in value

2019 — 2021
Melbourne
  • Directed UX design efforts, enhancing experiences for students and university partners, aligning with business objectives.

  • Spearheaded the recruitment and development of a product design team, boosting collaboration and performance.

2017 — 2018
Melbourne
  • Led design for projects including the Suncorp App and Bunnings wayfinding, increasing user satisfaction and engagement

  • Ensured design vision translated into business value and met customer needs, resulting in increased user satisfaction and engagement.

  • Designed products from discovery phase to iterative design, testing, and delivery – informed by data and user research.

  • Led cross-located teams, guided decisions, tracked issues, and contributed to estimating resources and schedules.

2015 — 2017
London
  • Led experience design for websites, mobile apps, and product concepts at a leading London creative agency.

  • Oversaw projects for clients including Mastercard, HSBC, PGA, Diageo, and HCAScoped projects, created content, wrote specifications, and pitched ideas using React and Design Thinking, streamlining processes and improving project outcomes

  • Mentored junior designers and team members, fostering skill development and improving overall team performance.

2014 — 2015
London
  • Specialised in transformation design as a Service Design Consultant for clients including Zurich, Savills, TFL, Coutts, and Royal Bank of Scotland, improving client satisfaction and project outcomes

  • Led quantitative research to resolve problems, restructure content, design prototypes, and validate visually engaging web and mobile products.

  • Managed client projects, including UI design, prototyping, Information Architecture, and usability testing, ensuring timely delivery and high-quality outcomes

  • Wrote proposals, maintained project costs, and conducted workshops, interviews, and shadowing sessions, contributing to successful project completions and client satisfaction

2013 — 2014
London
  • Produced style guides, mobile applications, websites, and stills photography using Figma and React, improving client satisfaction and project efficiency

  • Served clients including Royal Bank of Scotland, Black Rock, and Voluntary Service Overseas, enhancing their digital presence through effective UI/UX design and adherence to accessibility standards

2007 — 2013
London
  • Crafted solutions for customers to use RT Software’s real-time 3D graphic products, enhancing their ability to tell visual stories for broadcast, resulting in increased viewer engagement.

  • Created touch screen interfaces, virtual reality sets, augmented reality graphics, and overlay graphics, improving user engagement and interaction.

  • Produced live broadcast graphics for major broadcasters including BBC, Sky Sports, ESPN, RTL, MUTV, and At The Races using RT Software’s product tOG.

Projects

2024

I am thrilled to share the release of Career Compass v0.1, a tool designed to help career changers navigate the maze of opportunities. Our objective was to provide personalised and relevant career recommendations, achieving a 26.2% conversion rate and 74% positive customer feedback.

2022

We helped jobseekers to make informed career choices, as measured by job ad visits and applications starts. Which contributes in creating the value of over $5 million through acquired visitors to a salary product that displays the latest salary trends by role titles and industries.

2022

I led the product design work for a successful Career Advice Site redesign across Jobstreet's, JobsDB's, and SEEK's brands, creating a seamless user experience across multiple domains and languages.

2018

Create and validate a concept for a Bunnings mobile app. By exploring the technical feasibility and practical application of several technologies to support the customer in their pre-shop, in-shop and post-shop experience

2017

For customers to see, store and do everything to manage their money, home, car and health needs in one place. Designed to make it easier for customers to achieve financial wellness and consolidate the Suncorp Group network of brands into one single app. The native iOS and Android app combined the functionality for Suncorp, AAMI, GIO, APIA, Shannons, Bingle and CIL existing mobile apps into one. A single destination to get your home, car, money and life sorted.

2017

This would be quite some feat because The European Tour competition is a year-long Race to Dubai, where the winner is crowned and covers 47 tournaments across 26 countries.

2016
Loyalty app at Mastercard

MasterCard wanted to expand their business into the loyalty programme sector, so needed a prototype app they could pitch to other businesses. To compete in a marketplace famed for high uptake and dwindling users, MasterCard were going to need something special - a product that could rekindle the romance between loyal customer and reward points. Therefore, our challenge was twofold. Not only did they require a stunning, easy to understand, engaging product but in order to succeed, it was going to have to revolutionise the loyalty programme industry.

Side Projects

2020
  • Built a responsive website marketplace for over 14 thousand healthcare professionals and volunteers during COVID-19, streamlining registration and communication processes.

  • Connected healthcare professionals needing scrubs with local volunteers who made them, enhancing the supply chain during the pandemic.

Education

2004 — 2005
MSc Computer Animation at University of Westminster
London
2001 — 2004
BSc, Multimedia Technology at Leeds Met University
1999 — 2001
BSc Multimedia Technology at Leeds Beckett University
Leeds

Certifications

2020

Completed an intensive training program focused on embedding continuous discovery practices within product teams. Gained expertise in conducting regular customer interviews, rapid prototyping, and evidence-based decision-making. Learned to develop and test hypotheses to validate ideas and inform product design and development. Mastered techniques for fostering a culture of curiosity and continuous learning within cross-functional teams. Acquired skills to empower teams and stakeholders to interrogate assumptions and create customer-centric solutions. Developed proficiency in building and scaling discovery practices in fast-paced agile environments.

Contact

Portfolio
Read.cv
LinkedIn
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