Hi, I’m Bob.

I’m a Product Designer and Design Team Manager based in Wellington, NZ.

MEGA | UX TEAM LEAD

Scaling skills for customer success

In this hybrid practitioner/manager role I wanted to amplify my skills and experience to make the biggest impact I could.

Building relationships through design thinking

As Product Design Manager I knew the value of trust and relationships in building a successful design team. What I didn’t appreciate was how critical these were for getting our new multi-disciplinary tax platform team up and running.

TOTARA LEARNING | LEAD PRODUCT DESIGNER

Taking a greenfield Learning Platform to market

This case study demonstrates my design and leadership qualities in what was a hugely ambitious undertaking. I lead a collaborative and innovative discovery phase to ensure the team met business objectives and delivered value to enterprise organisations such as EasyJet, MaibornWolff and Norther Care Alliance NHS Trust.

Mock up showing two Totara Engage screens

TOTARA LEARNING | HEAD OF DESIGN/LEAD DESIGNER

“TUI”, the Design System created as a side project

An opportunity arose to implement a Design System, which seemed a no brainer. My team were already committed to roadmap initiatives so I had to think outside the box about how we would create “TUI” as a side project.

Read how TUI was established

POWERSHOP | SENIOR PRODUCT DESIGNER (MOBILE)

Using evidence to achieve successful data visualisation outcomes

The mobile app was a critical customer channel for Powershop with its pay-on-the-go capabilities and finely-balanced data aesthetics. Adding more granular usage data required careful consideration, but first was the challenge of winning hearts and minds internally.

POWERSHOP | SENIOR PRODUCT DESIGNER (MOBILE)

Adding customer value with an activity tracker

This initiative was a great team effort. I encouraged customer-centred thinking and took an iterative, collaborative design approach to deliver this useful energy tracking feature.

View all work

“Underpinning everything I do is a drive to deliver value through empathy with the people using your products and through trust with the people I work with.”

As a designer

As a designer my goal is to support business success by creating effective, efficient and satisfying digital experiences for their audiences.

I have a generalist design background and specialise in designing complex B2B systems, workflows and interfaces that are intuitive, efficient and satisfying to use.

My approach is highly collaborative and evidence-based. I work fast with clear intentions, guided by a shared understanding of what constitutes quality and risk.

Tools: Pen/paper; Figma; Miro; Adobe Creative Suite; Asana; Jira; Confluence
Sectors: Energy, Government, Education and FinTech.
Areas: B2B platforms; Cloud/SaaS apps; Design systems; Mobile apps; Websites.
Services: Product visioning & strategy; Idea validation; Usability audits; Systems design; Workflow design; Wireframes/Prototypes.

As a design leader

As a design leader I champion customer-centricity and design thinking as a key value driver. My investment in cross-disciplinary relationships is essential for defining direction, aligning on goals, unblocking teams and delivering great customer experiences.

As a people leader I strive to create a trusting environment where designers are encouraged to share ideas, be creative and develop in their craft.

As a member of product leadership teams, I’ve successfully advocated for evidence based customer-centric thinking and helped deliver product visions and strategies, OKRs, business cases and stakeholder engagement models as part of product leadership teams.

Strengths:

People leadership;
Team building;
Customer advocacy;
Coaching and mentoring;
Asynchronous collaboration;
Stakeholder management;
Business value drivers;

As a person

I’m a restless person who doesn’t do bored well! When not on taxi duty for my kids I’ll be walking my dogs on Wellington’s beaches, playing football for my local club, jamming on guitar or losing in a pub quiz.

I enjoy reading and listening to podcasts. My preference is for non-fiction and I tend towards topics on history, psychology, economics and Leeds United (not in that order sadly).

I’ve recently taken evening courses in life-drawing and Te Reo Māori for Beginners. I’ve volunteered as a coach and committee member for my local football club and as a fund raiser for ChangeMakers, a non-profit organisation helping refugees settle in New Zealand.

Testimonials

"Bob is an authentic manager and leader, always leading by example and treating others with respect and empathy."

Ash West reported directly to Bob as Senior Product Designer, Xero
"He has the rare skill of being able to get his hands dirty, under the hood or lead a team to get the job done. He is trustworthy and does not bullshit."

Lulu Pachuau reported to Bob at Provoke and later worked with Bob
"Bob's thoughtfulness and maturity shine through in everyday interactions. He doesn't shy away from difficult conversations and drives for better outcomes."

Georgia Cottrell managed Bob as Product Design Director, Xero
"Bob was a key contributor helping form the vision, strategy and storytelling for the Global Tax group. He challenged with empathy and lifted the bar for everyone."

James Crosswell worked with Bob as Product GM of Global Tax, Xero
"His strengths lie in his empathy-led leadership, his coaching of designers and his deep strategic design thinking. He was always a valuable voice in leadership discussions and is a strong design professional."

Mark Stevenson managed Bob as Head of Product at Totara Learning
"Bob always took the time to engage, understand and motivate our team with rituals and tools for growth and reflection. He elevated our design quality with regular critiques and sharing sessions."

John Dentino reported directly to Bob as Senior Product Designer at Xero
"I had the pleasure of managing Bob for several years at both Provoke and Powershop, and it was a truly rewarding experience. He possesses a wealth of expertise in creating and leading interaction designs for complex software"

Zef Fugaz managed Bob as Head of Design at Provioke and Powershop
"He has always been supportive and found ways to push me gently out of my comfort zone, which allowed me to excel in my role in a real short period of time."

Sid Bhattacharjee reported directly to Bob as product Designer at Xero
"As my manager, Bob was an incredible mentor who played a pivotal role in helping me become a skilled UX designer. He consistently provided coaching and guidance, and always encouraged me to take on new challenges and explore my full potential."

Kim Seng Ng reported directly to Bob as Product Designer at Totara Learning

View all Bob's testimonials on LinkedIn

Hi, I’m Bob.

I’m a Product Designer and Design Team Manager based in Wellington, NZ.

Scaling skills for customer success

Building relationships through design thinking

Taking a greenfield Learning Platform to market

“TUI”, the Design System created as a side project

Using evidence to achieve successful data visualisation outcomes

Adding customer value with an activity tracker

As a designer

As a design leader

As a person

"Bob is an authentic manager and leader, always leading by example and treating others with respect and empathy."

"He has the rare skill of being able to get his hands dirty, under the hood or lead a team to get the job done. He is trustworthy and does not bullshit."

"Bob's thoughtfulness and maturity shine through in everyday interactions. He doesn't shy away from difficult conversations and drives for better outcomes."

"Bob was a key contributor helping form the vision, strategy and storytelling for the Global Tax group. He challenged with empathy and lifted the bar for everyone."

"His strengths lie in his empathy-led leadership, his coaching of designers and his deep strategic design thinking. He was always a valuable voice in leadership discussions and is a strong design professional."

"Bob always took the time to engage, understand and motivate our team with rituals and tools for growth and reflection. He elevated our design quality with regular critiques and sharing sessions."

"I had the pleasure of managing Bob for several years at both Provoke and Powershop, and it was a truly rewarding experience. He possesses a wealth of expertise in creating and leading interaction designs for complex software"

"He has always been supportive and found ways to push me gently out of my comfort zone, which allowed me to excel in my role in a real short period of time."

"As my manager, Bob was an incredible mentor who played a pivotal role in helping me become a skilled UX designer. He consistently provided coaching and guidance, and always encouraged me to take on new challenges and explore my full potential."