Hi, I'm Damien.
I’m an experience designer with skills in UX, UI and Service Design. I lead mobile, app and web projects from research and ideation, to wire-framing, prototyping, user-testing, and final UI.
I also write about technology for Vodafone and Medium, and I explore future tech design through writing speculative science fiction.
UX/SD Projects
Weatherzone App Redesign
Lead CX/UX
Weatherzone is Australia’s leading commercial weather information provider. In 2014, I lead a UX and visual redesign of Weathezone’s digital B2C product suite. The challenge was to appeal to both loyal weather enthusiasts, who love all the detail, while providing a frictionless experience to the millions of people just checking the daily weather.
App Redesign
New Snow & Ski App Design
Hotelscombined App Optimisation
Lead CX/UX
HotelsCombined is one of the leading hotel search aggregators in Australia, and is HUGE in South Korea. With so many competitors, basic search patterns evolve quickly. In 2015, the HC app needed a refresh and fast. Redesigning an already-successful app in such a competitive space was both an honour and a massive challenge.
User Account
400% increase in members
eCommerce Journey
4.5% increased bookings
Vodafone Click & Collect Launch
Lead CX/UX
To offer online customers more options to receive their purchases, Vodafone launched Click & Collect as an additional service to their free delivery. I conducted and recorded real-world customer journeys and created the service design map, and facilitated user-testing to refine the UX.
Customer Journey Mapping
Service Design Mapping
Weatherzone Website Redesign
Lead UX
“Awesome work … a better user experience … ultimately this has secured a new long term deal with significant revenue attached…”
Weatherzone Project Manager
Future Experience Design
Product & UX
In 2019, I published my sci-fi novel The Lenz, for which I designed the story’s main technology—an advanced MR (Mixed Reality) contact lens. Designing for sci-fi liberates designers from budget restraints, legacy technology, and stakeholder management; teaches us about design ethics; and it’s a lot of fun.
Processes
Customer Journey Mapping
Walking in the customer’s shows from end to end and documenting this gives a holistic view of the service, its highlights, and its flaws. These maps form the basis of a customer-led Service Design Blueprint.
Segment of map
Full map
Service Design Blueprint
Using a customer journey map as the basis, Service Design blueprints capture what happens behind the scenes (business processes and people) as customer use a service, highlighting wins and areas for development and/or improvements.
Research - User Needs
To explore how HotelsCombined could profile their users using existing data, I researched how industry leaders, online travel stores and information sites, and travellers themselves, talked about their traveling needs, to define user groups and match their specific needs to hotel features.
Research/UX Writing - Terminology
To validate terminology to use for our Click & Collect service launch, I established an approach to research current trends and user awareness.
Workshop Facilitation
Workshops bring people together, give them an opportunity to share their ideas, and bring information out of them that they might otherwise think isn’t useful. Workshops are fun and inform design decisions.
Digital Strategy
Using UX to align a business’s online and real-world experiences as one holistic experience.
UI Design
UI & Branding
eCommerce
eCommerce
Utility App
Online Style Guide
Infographics
Cyclone Advice
Carbon credit lifecycle
Drone service concept
Speculative Fiction
Writing and publishing speculative fiction allows me to explore and design future tech experiences.
Novel
Novel
Anthology
Design Experience
2017 to Present
UX/UI Designer
Client side | Web, Mobile, App (Native and Hybrid)
As a Senior UX/UI Designer in a great team, I lead the end-to-end UX design for many desktop, mobile and app projects, from discovery phase workshops, through the design iteration/testing process (including stakeholder management), to final UI design and dev support. I also supported the Service Design stream for our Digital transformation project, working with Deloitte.
2015-2016
UX/UI Designer
Client side | Web, Mobile, App (Native and Hybrid)
As Senior UX Designer I managed junior designers and worked with data analysts and development to A/B test improvements to a product that is translated into over 30 languages and has over 13million users per month. I also established UX thinking more into the development process, developing closer relationships with the development team.
- Redesigned user account and tools, contributing to 400% increase in memberships
- Refined 7 breakpoints to 1(+ a minimum width), improving productivity for both Design and Dev teams
- Improved App home screen and calendar, contributing to 4.5% increase in bookings
- UX and Visual Design for online booking, contributing to increase in revenue across all markets
- Creatively directed the production of complete online Style Guide
- Established UX/Design review process within development phase, workshops and stakeholder meetings
2012-2015
UX/UI Designer
Client side | Web, Mobile, App (Native and Hybrid)
Working with the Fairfax UX Team, I redesigned weatherzone.com.au, and the Weatherzone iPhone App, as part of a user-focused rebranding of all Weatherzone products. I also designed customized data and map-based B2B interfaces, and worked with 9News and Yahoo7 to translate their weather pages into refreshed responsive designs.
2011-2012
Digital Designer
Client-side | Web
I assisted the company’s transformation to a digital-focused product by designing and developing promotional and reusable digital elements. I also created journalistic infographics.
2017 - 2020 | Study
2010-2011
Content Editor/Digital Designer
Client-side | Web, Tablet
Working closely with development, branding, store product managers and warehouse logistics, I lead a team of two junior designers to develop the UX, visual design and content for Strathfield’s eCommerce site and for www.tasteliving.com.au.
2011 - 2020
Courses in UX & Future Tech
2019 | Service Design – Vodafone Training
2019 | Methods of Design Synthesis – Udemy | Certificate
2019 | Micro copy and UX Writing: Mini Course – UX Writing Hub
2019 | Gamification: Motivation Psychology & The Art of Engagement – Udemy | Certificate
2019 | Gamification & Behavioural Design – Udemy | Certificate
2018 | Designing for Virtual Reality: 1 Day Bootcamp – Academy XI
2013 | 3D Printing: A Hands-on Workshop – General Assembly
2011 | Agile Wire-framing and Prototyping – General Assembly
2005-2008 | Study
Masters in Design Science
Digital Media & Design
Awards & Prizes
Sony Foundation Scholarship
University of Sydney Digital Media Prize
