Image of Rob

Transforming ideas into reality through accessible design.

About

Hi, I'm Rob - a researcher and experience designer based in the lower North Island of New Zealand. I'm passionate about creating accessible, user-centered designs that make a real difference in people's lives.

With a strong grasp of design trends and an empathetic approach, I work to understand how users think, feel, and interact - designing experiences that truly meet their needs.

My journey began in multimedia with a love for 3D animation, eventually leading me to UX theory and design. While working in the public sector, I conducted user research and helped shape accessible solutions across a range of projects.

Today, I bring together skills in UX/UI design, visual design, accessibility, animation, and front-end development to deliver thoughtful, end-to-end design solutions.

Work

Export New Zealand

UX UI Front-end

To address the diverse needs of regional teams across New Zealand, I conducted UX research with regional leaders. This informed the creation of low-fidelity wireframes and allowed for testing and feedback before proceeding to develop high-fidelity designs.

Front-end development was undertaken to transfer the prototype to HTML, SASS/CSS and javaScript before embedding within a Content Management System.

View website(this link opens an external website)

New Zealand Customs Service

UX Front-end

As part of a collaborative team effort, I conducted UX research and design for the reconstruction of the Customs Service website. This project brought together the expertise of both the NZ Customs Service and government vendors to ensure a successful outcome.

Once the website was launched ongoing Front-end and design work was continued to finish user stories and add enhancements.

(this link opens an external website)View website

a11y Guidance

Accessibility UI Front-end

The foundation of the accessibility (a11y) guidance originated from an internal project at the Ministry of Social Development. Initially developed to support internal project managers, content creators, designers, and developers, it was later adapted and enhanced for public users.

The guide outlines existing standards and provides helpful guidance to ensure all features meet accessibility (WCAG) standards.

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Ministry of Social Development

UX Prototyping

The Single Client View project was a substantial endeavor aimed at consolidating multiple software systems into a unified platform for staff at Work and Income offices.

As part of a larger team, I extracted valuable insights from user research and low-fidelity wireframe testing. These insights informed the development of high-fidelity prototypes, which were then tested and refined based on feedback from New Zealand Work and Income staff members.

A generic light mode and the dark view were designed for testing environmental lighting conditions.

(this link opens an external website)View prototype

iPayroll

UX Visual Design Prototyping

In my current role, I lead an ongoing Design System project aimed at improving product development efficiency. This Design System promotes visual consistency, incorporates design principles, and acts as a shared language for both design and development teams.

Through continuous feedback, research and design strategies are undertaken to create a usable system providing design rules, accessibility, patterns and diagrams.

(this link opens an external website)View prototype

iCito

UX Illustration Prototyping Front-end

iCito launched in 2024 following close collaboration with stakeholders, product management, and the software team.

Front-end development focused on translating the prototype into HTML, SASS/CSS, and JavaScript for our product overview.

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History

Explore the evolution of my skillset and discover how my experiences in teaching, human interaction, animation, and user-centered design have shaped me into the creative designer I am today.

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2024

Teaching

Diploma of Teaching completed in the early childhood sector, specialising in human interaction and development.

Multimedia Design

Tertiary studies in digital media focussing on web design, visual design, animation and video.

3D Modelling and Animation

Research and development in 3D animation with an emphasis on Character animation.

Video Production

Final year studies in Digital Video Post Production. Specialisation in compositing 3D animation in real-time environments.

Tertiary Teaching

Teaching Advanced Animation with a key focus on Design, Character Rigging and Animation.

Web Design

Web design & development using HTML, CSS3 for web based animation and motion graphics.

Javascript

Vanilla javaScript and jQuery development utilised for interactive development and Web 3D.

User Experience

Further studies toward User Experience (UX) for web design and user Interface development.

Front-end Development

Design and development in the global sector utilising NodeJS, JavaScript, Gulp and SASS/CSS.

Web Advisory

Web and Usability specialisation in the public sector based upon NZ government web standards.

Accessibility

Embedding accessibility into design and testing to meet Web Accessibility (WCAG) & Usability standards.

Agile

Agile certification for implementing more flexibility and change in the web application work flow.

UX Design

UX Design in the payroll sector inclusive of user research, print, web and product design.

UI Development

UI Design & development for building Design Systems, High fidelity prototyping and websites.

Contact

Want to get in touch? Drop me a line!