That experience stuck with me. Years later, I led design as a the sole designer at a startup, working closely with the founders and the team through to its acquisition by SEEK. After the acquisition, I established the UX research practice on the platform, which helped me transition into a UX role.
That path taught me why my old website failed. It wasn't a design problem. It was a strategy problem. The site never communicated who I was, what I offered, or why someone should choose me.
Product design taught me to think from the user's perspective first, and to match what people need with what a business is trying to achieve. That's the piece most websites are missing. Not better visuals. Better thinking.
Outside of work, I'm involve in a variety of ministry at my local church (IREC Sydney), where I take part in teens ministry and also digital ministry, covering photography, videography, and animation. It's where I've kept sharpening those same visual skills, in a completely different setting.
