Product Designer & UX Researcher
I work with fintech, SaaS and high growth teams to turn complex problems into clear, considered products. Research first. Holistic design thinking. 10+ years across finance, ecommerce and B2B SaaS.
What I do
End to end experience design with a strong focus on user flows, interaction design and information architecture. I facilitate design thinking workshops and design crits in person, remote and asynchronously, using tools like Loom to keep distributed teams moving.
Mixed method research across the full discovery to validation cycle. Methods include stakeholder and user interviews, contextual enquiry, usability testing (moderated and unmoderated), card sorting, journey mapping, task analysis and affinity mapping.
Comfortable across disciplines and with stakeholders at every level, PMs, BAs, engineers, commercial leads and clients. Experienced in requirements gathering, Agile and Waterfall delivery, and translating between design thinking and technical constraints.
Experienced working independently, remotely and asynchronously across distributed teams. I've run design crits and design thinking workshops asynchronously, keeping decisions moving without requiring everyone in a room at the same time.
Selected work
Car & Classic · 2021 to 2022
Europe's largest classic car marketplace had 4 million monthly users and a mobile experience its own users described as "clunky", yet they kept coming back.
Brain in Hand · 2023
A B2B SaaS platform serving 25,000 neurodivergent individuals had a data problem scattered across three disconnected tools.
Penny · Financial Companion · Littlewoods
A retail giant asked if it could become a financial services company. The research said yes, but only if we designed for protection, not freedom.
About
I'm TJ, a senior product designer and UX researcher with over 10 years' experience across finance, fintech, ecommerce, utilities, publishing and B2B SaaS. I work best on products where getting things right really matters, where clarity, trust and precision aren't optional extras.
I'm research led by instinct. I start with discovery, think holistically and design experiences that hold up under pressure, not just in a prototype. I'm equally comfortable running a stakeholder workshop, facilitating a usability session, gathering requirements across functions, or getting into the detail of a user flow.
I've worked in house, agency side and as a freelance lead, in Agile and Waterfall environments, including as the first UX hire in a new Product team at Car & Classic, where I helped establish the design practice during a period of significant growth. I'm now focused on fintech and SaaS challenges, working fully remotely on a contract and freelance basis.
Outside of product work, I run Coastarian Creative, a design consultancy and the umbrella for my wider creative practice, which includes Field Notes, a writing project exploring food, place, craft and culture. I'm also developing an English course for non native speakers working in tech, and completing my UX writing qualification.
Product Designer & UX Researcher · 10+ years · Remote
Established UX practice at Europe's largest classic car marketplace, delivering across search, browse, listing, auctions and seller tools.
Redesigned user management for a B2B SaaS platform supporting 25,000 neurodivergent adults.
Senior UX for Sutherland Labs, Omobono, Hearst, Zalando, LloydsBank, Post Office and others.
Coming soon
UX writing, microcopy, voice and tone in complex product contexts.
Thoughts on research, working in fintech, and the things design school doesn't teach you.
An English course for non native speakers working in tech.
Get in touch
Available, looking for a new role in fintech, health, SaaS and beyond. Prefer full time remote but open to hybrid and contract work. Based in the UK, Kenya and US.