About me
I like to work with people who care about user centred, inclusive design.
I have a passion for accessibility and designing for everyone no matter what their ability.
Most recently I've become a product owner for a design system, specialising in design team processes, community building, and my passion lies with user centred design. To set a baseline for the health of our components I'm leading an accessibility-led health check. Everything I do is rooted in WCAG 2.1 (to be 2.2) standards.
Key knowledge and software
- Inclusive design advocacy
- WCAG 2.X
- Equality Act
- Americans with disabilities Act
- Equality / Public sector bodies Act
- User centred design methodologies
- Design system product leadership
- Accessibility auditing
- HTML and CSS
- WAI-Aria
- Figma / Sketch
- Github / Github projects
- Zeroheight
- Jira
- NVDA
Past 10 years work experience
Alcumus: Design system lead
December 2022 - Present
I'm currently the design system lead for the organisation. As a company that is based on compliance, getting buy in for WCAG has been refreshing in this role.
To create baseline OKR's for the health status of our components I've been building an accessibility audit and assessing elements through the lens of WCAG for designers, developers and content creators.
Elekta: Senior UX Designer (design system)
November 2021 - December 2022
I was the lead designer and then product owner of Elekta's new enterprise software design system.
I created and implemented design team ways of working and user centred design-thinking, including building a community and it's processes to transform the way that the organisation sees design.
I actively advocated for accessibility and I was a key contact with our sales and legal departments for compliance with the new title 3 of ADA in the US, Equality Act, and WCAG 2.1.
I championed user centred design and taught junior members techniques for lean user research and a11y testing.
NHS Digital: Senior Interaction Designer
May 2017 - November 2021
I was a senior designer working on the NHS website, I designed and built accessible services such as find my NHS number, worked on the Covid booking service blueprints as a service designer and I was the lead designer for the service manual team (design system). I attended design research every 6 weeks.
In addition to my day to day work, I organised the London design huddles, building a weekly community of designer show and tells.
I also organised code clubs for colleagues not working in design pushing semantic design and user centred thinking.
Citizens Advice: Contract Senior Interaction Designer
November 2015 - April 2017
I led the visual design of the new case management system which now forms the backbone of the organisation CRM offering.
Within my role, I visited Citizen Advice locations and interviewed service users to inform the prototyping of various modules within the system. The new case management system is WCAG compliant and we regularly tested with users via DAC who had access requirements, including neurodiverse users and those with motor and vision impairments
Freelance Interaction Designer
2012 - 2017
Over the course of 5 years as a freelance designer, I acquired lots of professional experience, working in-house and for agencies across London. I lead user testing, worked as a visual and UX designer, and occasionally practicing my HTML and CSS skills as a front end developer.
Education
In 2022 I actively sought an accessibility mentor. For the past year I have bi-weekly meetings with them. My goal of this mentorship is: gain CPACC certification and to get an accessibility led role.
Pre-pandemic, I volunteered for BlindAid in London and did sight guide training with them. My remit was to partner with a blind person and take them out for trips, to socialise witht them an offer IT support.
The empathy I learnt was invaluable. I'm looking to restart this journey again in 2023.
Past education includes:
- Introduction to Web Accessibility
- GDS prototype kit and service design training
- BA (Hons) Design: Graphics (2:1)
- BTEC Art Foundation (Distinction)
- 3 x A Levels, 11 x GCSEs (A-C)