A handful of random facts to let you know a little bit more about who I am and some of the adventures I've had. By design, my life focuses on the things I'm most passionate about: family, surfing, coffee, design, music and getting 1% better every day.
A personal rundown of the 32 UX courses I've completed with the Interaction Design Foundation, covering everything from design thinking and user research through to AI, accessibility and mobile UX.
A guide to the best places to buy vinyl records in New Zealand, from independent stores and online shops through to a few hidden gems worth knowing about.
A practical breakdown of the 10-step design process I've developed over 19 years of UX/UI work, from the initial brief and sketching through to feedback, iteration and delivery.
How a search for a turntable stand turned into a lesson in design thinking, prototyping, and communicating ideas clearly enough for other people to build them.
A look at how my 16 Personalities ENFJ result, CliftonStrengths top 10, and neurodivergent thinking all point to the same thing: someone wired to solve complex problems and lead with purpose.
Six weeks of nights and weekends, hundreds of AI prompts, and one very old PHP-patched website. Here's everything I learned rebuilding my UX/UI portfolio from the ground up on WordPress.
Nine documentaries about design, creativity and craft that are genuinely worth your time, covering graphic design, typography, urban planning, advertising and indie game development.
A pushback on the "designers should" genre of advice. Whether it's coding, degrees or portfolios, here are some thoughts on making up your own mind.
Some practical tips and resources for junior and intermediate designers looking to grow their UX and UI skills, without spending a fortune.
A look at my vinyl record collection on Discogs, my home listening setup, and the electric drumkit I picked up along the way.
A simple, no-fuss Espresso Martini recipe using equal parts vodka, espresso and Kahlua. Shaken hard in a Boston shaker for the best result.
A reference list of popular serif and sans-serif typefaces used in graphic and digital design, with links to purchase or download each one.
A baked version of the original KFC 11 herbs and spices recipe, adapted from the Chicago Tribune. Crispy, flavourful and a lot healthier than the original.
A personal reading list spanning design, business, habits and leadership, books that have genuinely stuck with me and shaped how I think and work.
Maximise your time out of the water with strength training to improve your surfing.
Maximise your time out of the water with flexibility training to improve your surfing.
A personal list of purchases that have made a real difference to how I work, stay healthy and switch off, from noise-cancelling headphones through to an espresso machine and a drumkit.
The questions I ask when interviewing for a UX/UI design role, built around four things that matter most to me: people, projects, process and problems.
A personal list of the things that made 2019 a good year, from surfing an artificial wave in Wales and a new house build through to turning 40 and seeing TOOL live.
Every school holidays Molly and I sit down and come up with a list of things to do together. Here's what we got through.
A simple homemade muesli recipe using oats, honey, coconut oil and your choice of dried fruit, seeds and superfoods. Baked in the oven until golden.
A week-by-week breakdown of the UX process I followed for my User Experience paper at Victoria University, designing a police dispatch dashboard from brief through to prototype.
How I use a 4px/8px baseline grid and the traditional typographic scale to create consistent, well-structured layouts for web and mobile design.
A straightforward look at what I'm after, the kind of company, team and work that brings out my best.
A quick reference covering the core principles of UX and UI design, from usability and information architecture through to affordances, signifiers and user testing.
A personal guide to Wellington, New Zealand, covering the best places to eat, where to find craft beer and decent coffee, and things to do when you have visitors in town.
A simple, step-by-step process for making the perfect pot of loose leaf tea using a plunger, shared with me by a good friend.
Two free geometric fonts built 30 minutes at a time. One inspired by modular Lego-like shapes, one by Herbert Bayer's 1925 universal typeface. Both free to download and adapt.
Logo design isn't my primary service, but it's something I genuinely enjoy. Over the years I've taken on the occasional branding project alongside my core UX/UI work, and picked up a few personal projects along the way.