I'm Robin, a Digital Product Designer
I design websites and apps. Over 30 years experience. Based in the UK. I cover the product design lifecycle from research and discovery through to UI production.
More about me
Background
I started designing websites in the mid-nineties, my first clients being local businesses and my secondary school.
My career in user-centred design began in 2004 when legendary form designer, Caroline Jarrett, was brought in to train the team how to run usability tests.
In 2013, I moved into a full-time UX role with a digital design agency. Since then I’ve worked for clients across many sectors, including finance, e-commerce, government, telecoms and utilities.
The jobs I apply for usually have the words 'Product Designer' or 'UX Designer' in them.
How I work
In smaller teams, I can cover the entire the product design lifecycle, from discovery and research through to the creation of polished UI designs.
In larger teams, I work closely with specialists such as service designers, visual designers and UX researchers.
My approach is to build good relationships with those I work with, bringing them along on the design journey.
I understand that stuff only makes it in front of users if it’s not too costly so I always work with developers to find the most efficient solutions.
Why I do it
My favourite part of the job is uncovering the things that really annoy users and thinking up ways to fix them. I love working with others to come up with possible solutions, then turning these concepts into realistic prototypes and watching people try to use them.
I enjoy making the complex feel simple. I want to turn everyday sources of frustration into effortless experiences.
Focus areas
Strategy & leadership
Running cross-functional design workshops
Leading design teams, training and mentoring juniors
Influencing decision-makers on product strategy
Pitching new innovations, ideas and approaches
Championing UX via talks and blogs
Research & ideation
Generating insights from user feedback and analytics
Interviewing users to uncover stories and pain points
Visual problem-solving with sketches, user flows and wireframes
Building realistic, interactive prototypes
Running usabilty tests, moderated and unmoderated
Design & production
Producing responsive, developer-ready UI assets
Creating and maintaining design systems
Designing to W3C and WAI accessibility standards
Information architecture: site maps, navigation schemes, content governance
Writing plain English copy and micro-content
Preferred tools
Miro for workshops, flow diagrams and collecting ideas
Figma for UI design, asset libraries and clickable prototypes
I was a guest on the Understanding Users podcast
I was honoured to be the inaugural guest on Mike Green's long-running 'Understanding Users' podcast.
I did a talk for the UX Oxford meetup
In this 2021 talk, I discuss the challenges designers face when someone says "Why don't we just test it?".
I go through examples of how poor testing methodology can lead you down the wrong path, and how to avoid this.
I also cover how Waitrose was able to use online testing tools to troubleshoot a live UX issue in 24 hours.
I wrote an article about how to sort your Lego bricks, UX-style
How I applied a user-centred design process to come up with a Lego storage solution that works:
"Last Christmas I decided that sorting out my family’s large collection of loose Lego bricks would be time well-spent. A few years back my wife had on display a collection of fancy Lego houses that got reduced to rubble, supposedly by the Darth Vader minifigure according to our son. The ultimate aim of my Lego-sorting project was to restore these buildings to their former glory…"
If you think I can help you, or you have a role that I'd be good for, drop me a message. I'm available for freelance and contract work now.
Find me on LinkedIn
© Robin Potter Design Services Ltd