Stuart Steel

Case Studies

Resumé

Contact me

Stuart Steel

Stuart Steel

Lead UX designer, Melbourne

I’m a multi-skilled and technically capable UX designer with 15+ years experience of solving problems and translating user needs into intuitive and effective designs.

I’m a multi-skilled and technically capable UX designer with 15+ years experience of solving problems and translating user needs into intuitive and effective designs.

What do you do?

I work hard to understand users and, on that basis, I design beautifully simple digital experiences that align user needs with business goals.

I work closely with product owners and dev leads to ensure that my designs are both practical and effective. I like to get things done, so where it's helpful I write code too.

I write micro-copy that's clear, concise and helpful, guiding users to achieve their goals, and making interfaces feel simple and compelling.

What do you do?

I work hard to understand users and, on that basis, I design beautifully simple digital experiences that align user needs with business goals.

I work closely with product owners and dev leads to ensure that my designs are both practical and effective. I like to get things done, so where it's helpful I write code too.

I write micro-copy that's clear, concise and helpful, guiding users to achieve their goals, and making interfaces feel simple and compelling.

What's your special skill?

I'm an end-to-end UX designer and I get things done. If there is a skill or a role missing in your team, I will fill that gap. If something new needs to be explored, I will pull on my boots. If you need something designed yesterday, I will have it completed with a day to spare.

What's your special skill?

I'm an end-to-end UX designer and I get things done. If there is a skill or a role missing in your team, I will fill that gap. If something new needs to be explored, I will pull on my boots. If you need something designed yesterday, I will have it completed with a day to spare.

What sort of work are you interested in?

I’m interested in any role that ticks one or more of the following three boxes:

- Short, fast contract work. If there’s a tight deadline, all the better
- Team building. I love taking young designers and turning them into effective and confident professionals.
- Health, biomedical or education sectors. I have an academic background in neuroscience and I want to move into these sectors.

What sort of work are you interested in?

I’m interested in any role that ticks one or more of the following three boxes:

- Short, fast contract work. If there’s a tight deadline, all the better
- Team building. I love taking young designers and turning them into effective and confident professionals.
- Health, biomedical or education sectors. I have an academic background in neuroscience and I want to move into these sectors.

What have you designed?

Energy and mobile SIM products, Digital Products, Mobile Apps, Online Retail Stores, Business Indexes, Intranets, Marketing Emails.

I've done design work for small businesses all the way through to national and international brands.

What have you designed?

Energy and mobile SIM products, Digital Products, Mobile Apps, Online Retail Stores, Business Indexes, Intranets, Marketing Emails.

I've done design work for small businesses all the way through to national and international brands.

What have you coded?

CMS websites, Shopify Stores, Templates for applications, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Page Load Speed Optimization, Marketing Emails, JQuery, React, Angular

What have you coded?

CMS websites, Shopify Stores, Templates for applications, CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Page Load Speed Optimization, Marketing Emails, JQuery, React, Angular

What have you written?

User Interface Text and Micro-copy, Website Copy, User Interview Test Scripts, User Personas, Marketing Emails

What have you written?

User Interface Text and Micro-copy, Website Copy, User Interview Test Scripts, User Personas, Marketing Emails

What do colleagues say about you?

"Very fast"

"Thoughtful, considered and research-backed. …always extremely generous with his knowledge and time."

"Easy to work with. Technically strong."

"…highly recommend him for his technical skill, his calm approach and his grasp of client's business needs."

"You excel on getting the job done with minimal input from others. Your flair for new ideas and the way you articulate your thoughts on new concepts is great and always well received. "

What do colleagues say about you?

"Very fast"

"Thoughtful, considered and research-backed. …always extremely generous with his knowledge and time."

"Easy to work with. Technically strong."

"…highly recommend him for his technical skill, his calm approach and his grasp of client's business needs."

"You excel on getting the job done with minimal input from others. Your flair for new ideas and the way you articulate your thoughts on new concepts is great and always well received. "

WORK HISTORY

Circle In is a digital-first employee benefits platform for enterprise organisations, providing on-demand support to corporate workers balancing work with caregiving and/or parenting.

Brought in to deliver Circle In’s new app within an aggressive three month timeframe, the design and build work ran concurrently.

In less than 58 working days I completed:

5 workflows, 60+ responsive screens designed

5 workflows, 60+ responsive screens designed

5 workflows, 60+ responsive screens designed

3 Interactive prototypes built

3 Interactive prototypes built

3 Interactive prototypes built

2 user tests scripted and run

2 user tests scripted and run

2 user tests scripted and run

4 HTML email and MS Office Message templates designed and coded

4 HTML email and MS Office Message templates designed and coded

4 HTML email and MS Office Message templates designed and coded

New app launched in September with 1 day to spare. Customer migration was successful

New app launched in September with 1 day to spare. Customer migration was successful

New app launched in September with 1 day to spare. Customer migration was successful

The new sign-up funnel is significantly more efficient, converting at 94%

The new sign-up funnel is significantly more efficient, converting at 94%

The new sign-up funnel is significantly more efficient, converting at 94%

LEAD UX DESIGNER

Firebrand Digital

2021 – May 2024

Firebrand is a consultancy specializing in UX and UI design and a partner agency with Meta. The role involved a portfolio of projects for customers including telco felix, and online retailers Vine Apparel and Wanderers Travel Co.

Managed a dev team of 4

Managed a dev team of 4

Managed a dev team of 4

UX research and design for the award winning telco felix. Over 80% of their website and app is my work

UX research and design for the award winning telco felix. Over 80% of their website and app is my work

UX research and design for the award winning telco felix. Over 80% of their website and app is my work

Designed felix's new suite of plans, and the launch of their product into retail stores. These changes contributed to 100% customer growth in the following year.

Designed felix's new suite of plans, and the launch of their product into retail stores. These changes contributed to 100% customer growth in the following year.

Designed felix's new suite of plans, and the launch of their product into retail stores. These changes contributed to 100% customer growth in the following year.

UX design and page speed optimisation on multiple Shopify e-commerce stores

UX design and page speed optimisation on multiple Shopify e-commerce stores

UX design and page speed optimisation on multiple Shopify e-commerce stores

SENIOR/LEAD UX DESIGNER

amaysim

2017 - 2021

Amaysim launched a new retail energy brand by acquiring Click Energy in 2017.
Hired as the principal designer for this energy brand 3 months after this acquisition, my role initially focused on wire framing and UI design but rapidly expanded into product design, user research, user testing and systems analysis. When amaysim sold its energy arm in 2020 I switched to designing their mobile products.

Successfully designed and launched the amaysim post-paid energy plans and sales funnel 3 months after being hired

Successfully designed and launched the amaysim post-paid energy plans and sales funnel 3 months after being hired

Successfully designed and launched the amaysim post-paid energy plans and sales funnel 3 months after being hired

Conducted ground-breaking user research on energy customer expectations and perceptions of energy products. amaysim became the first company to package energy products like pre-paid phone plans.

Conducted ground-breaking user research on energy customer expectations and perceptions of energy products. amaysim became the first company to package energy products like pre-paid phone plans.

Conducted ground-breaking user research on energy customer expectations and perceptions of energy products. amaysim became the first company to package energy products like pre-paid phone plans.

Innovative product and interface design, copywriting and user testing for amaysim’s market first pre-paid energy plans.

Innovative product and interface design, copywriting and user testing for amaysim’s market first pre-paid energy plans.

Innovative product and interface design, copywriting and user testing for amaysim’s market first pre-paid energy plans.

Designed the new purchase funnel and main app usage screens for amaysim's mobile products

Designed the new purchase funnel and main app usage screens for amaysim's mobile products

Designed the new purchase funnel and main app usage screens for amaysim's mobile products

SENIOR DEVELOPER, THEN SENIOR/LEAD UX DESIGNER

Sensis

2011- 2017

Sensis was the owner of the White and Yellow Pages, running both its print and online products.
Initially hired as a front-end developer, but transitioned to UX design in 2014

Hired as development support for the Sensis intranet, I arrived two weeks after the entire intranet management team was retrenched. I ended up single-handedly redesigning, rebuilding and relaunching the intranet within the first 4 months. User documentation and further refinements completed in 2 months after that.

Hired as development support for the Sensis intranet, I arrived two weeks after the entire intranet management team was retrenched. I ended up single-handedly redesigning, rebuilding and relaunching the intranet within the first 4 months. User documentation and further refinements completed in 2 months after that.

Hired as development support for the Sensis intranet, I arrived two weeks after the entire intranet management team was retrenched. I ended up single-handedly redesigning, rebuilding and relaunching the intranet within the first 4 months. User documentation and further refinements completed in 2 months after that.

Seconded to the White Pages UX team, as it struggled to save a new site design from being rolled back. within 3 weeks I saved the design by identifying a critical user experience error and developing a solution. I achieved this by building an Angular code prototype of the UX design and facilitating effective user testing.

Seconded to the White Pages UX team, as it struggled to save a new site design from being rolled back. within 3 weeks I saved the design by identifying a critical user experience error and developing a solution. I achieved this by building an Angular code prototype of the UX design and facilitating effective user testing.

Seconded to the White Pages UX team, as it struggled to save a new site design from being rolled back. within 3 weeks I saved the design by identifying a critical user experience error and developing a solution. I achieved this by building an Angular code prototype of the UX design and facilitating effective user testing.

Led a 3-person design team that redesigned the White Pages as the site was moved to a new data structure. The new site launched successfully and on time. High fidelity prototypes and fortnightly user testing were a critical part of this success.

Led a 3-person design team that redesigned the White Pages as the site was moved to a new data structure. The new site launched successfully and on time. High fidelity prototypes and fortnightly user testing were a critical part of this success.

Led a 3-person design team that redesigned the White Pages as the site was moved to a new data structure. The new site launched successfully and on time. High fidelity prototypes and fortnightly user testing were a critical part of this success.

LEAD FRONT-END DEVELOPER

Bwired

2010-2011

BWired is a digital marketing agency and content platform whose main client was Nintendo Australia.

Lead and mentored a 4-person dev team

Lead and mentored a 4-person dev team

Lead and mentored a 4-person dev team

Rebuilt the client relationship with Nintendo Australia after significant issues with overpromising and under-delivering

Rebuilt the client relationship with Nintendo Australia after significant issues with overpromising and under-delivering

Rebuilt the client relationship with Nintendo Australia after significant issues with overpromising and under-delivering

Designed and built specialist marketing content in both HTML and Flash

Designed and built specialist marketing content in both HTML and Flash

Designed and built specialist marketing content in both HTML and Flash

Successfully liaised with multiple clients

Successfully liaised with multiple clients

Successfully liaised with multiple clients

FOUNDER AND BUSINESS OWNER

Acorn Web, Weave Web

2010-2011

A website design and development business with 7 employees, serving mostly small businesses. Our largest clients were Environment Victoria and Fairwork Australia.

FRONT-END DEVELOPER & UX DESIGNER

Amcor

2003-2007

Amcor is an international manufacturer of product packaging. Initially hired on a 6 week contract as a prototype developer, I ended up rewriting the application's entire front-end code base, and finished carrying out UX design as well as code development.

As part of a 2 member design and prototype team I doubled the velocity of the 6 member dev team in my first year. I achieved this through test-driven design which reduced rework, and by rewriting the client-side code base, reducing average page size by 80%.

As part of a 2 member design and prototype team I doubled the velocity of the 6 member dev team in my first year. I achieved this through test-driven design which reduced rework, and by rewriting the client-side code base, reducing average page size by 80%.

As part of a 2 member design and prototype team I doubled the velocity of the 6 member dev team in my first year. I achieved this through test-driven design which reduced rework, and by rewriting the client-side code base, reducing average page size by 80%.

stu.steel@gmail,com

https://stuartsteel.com.au

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-steel-ux/

Capabilities

UX Design

Interaction Design

User Research

User Testing

UI Design

Copywriting

Prototyping

Accessibility

HTML/CSS

JavaScript

Motion Design

Tools + skills

Figma

Framer

HTML prototypes

Shopify

Misc. AI tools inc. ChatGTP, Claude, Midjourney & Bolt

Photoshop

After Effects

WANT TO get in touch?

Let’s chat

Thanks for checking out my work.


I believe in rapid iteration, early sharing, and learning from mistakes. I believe that design is about solving problems, not creating art. Good design aims to make small, meaningful improvements to people’s daily lives.


If you want to work with me, or learn more about my design process, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Copyright © 2024 Stuart Steel

WANT TO get in touch?

Let’s chat

Thanks for checking out my work.


I believe in rapid iteration, early sharing, and learning from mistakes. I believe that design is about solving problems, not creating art. Good design aims to make small, meaningful improvements to people’s daily lives.


If you want to work with me, or learn more about my design process, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Copyright © 2024 Stuart Steel

WANT TO get in touch?

Let’s chat

Copyright © 2024 Stuart Steel