Hi! 👋 I’m a Product Designer based in Cape Town, South Africa, looking to have fun while collaborating and creating meaningful work. My background ranges from working in product design studios to in-house for startups.
Education
2022
Digital Marketing Certification Course,
I completed an online Digital Marketing certification course at Red & Yellow to up-skill in best practices in Marketing Strategy, Social Media Advertising, Paid Advertising, Social Media Management and SEO.
2021
Design System Bootcamp,
I upskilled in best practices for managing and building design systems.
2018
BA in Interaction Design,
I completed and received my Bachelor’s Degree in Interaction Design, while completing electives in Photography and Illustration in my final year.
Experience
2020 - Present
Product Designer,
Logic + Rhythm is a remote technology studio that helps companies get their ideas off the ground by designing, prototyping, and building great software together. As a member of this team, I focused on product design, prototyping, and quality assessment for various digital products, including Switchboard, Bueno, and Current. My work contributed to helping companies receive further funding.
2020 - 2021
Freelance Creative Director,
H+H Digital Co. is a marketing firm that uses technology and innovation to produce growth and conversion. Their methods are specifically crafted to deliver results - tangible results. As a Freelance Creative Director, I assisted the agency with all Graphic Design related tasks, including social media graphics, branding, ebooks, illustration, and landing page builds, as well as Video Asset creation for Live streaming and Animations.
2020
Freelance Product Designer,
Turn.io is a web app that allows social impact organizations to connect with millions of users on large-scale messaging platforms such as WhatsApp. As a Product Design contractor, I collaborated with the Turn.io team for 6 months to design new features for their web application.
2018 - 2020
Product Designer,
MakeReign is a digital product design studio for ambitious brands, specializing in interaction design and pushing the benchmark in eCommerce and retail with digital products. I worked on a range of digital products for Woolworths, including the Woolworths Mobile App, Ecommerce Website and Woolworths Financial Services App. My duties included workshop facilitation, user research, user testing, wireframing, UI design, design system management, prototyping, asset prep, and quality assessment.
2017 - 2018
UX / UI Designer,
Longbeard Creative is a digital media agency that aims to stir creative revolution in the digital non-profit space. They provide design services, including website design, graphic design, and social media asset creation, to support their clients' missions. As a UX/UI Designer, I participated in all aspects of the design process, from creative exploration to quality assessment. My duties included website architecture, style tile creation, user interface design, user research, graphic design, and asset creation for social media.
Testimonials
CEO at Him + Her Digital Co
I have worked with Nicola on two different occasions, and given the opportunity I would work with her again. As a designer she is flawless and smart. She always understood what the client wanted and I trusted her to deliver. Never did I have an instance where the client was dissatisfied. And to the point, Nicola had my complete trust. When she said she would do something she did it, and I knew she would do it well. She went above and beyond her job requirements: working on processes with project managers, trying out new software and making recommendations (even for departments she was not in), help with hiring, and even setting up a Christmas card exchange. Nicola wasn't just a valuable person within our work culture, she helped to craft the culture itself. Nicola is, and always will be, one of the best hires I have ever made in my work history. I cannot recommend her enough.
Co-Founder at Turn.io
I can't quite put into words what a delight it was to have Nicola work with us at Turn.io for 6 months. Even as a freelancer, she acted like a permanent team member - taking real ownership over what she was delivering, thinking through holistic design for the business and went beyond what was expected of her in a Product Design role. She works well in a fully remote team with a lot of autonomy because she's great at communicating. I never had to ask where we were with the designs, what she needed support on or when she would deliver because she would have already told me. She elevated the design of our product at Turn.io and we are so glad she was part of our startup journey!
COO at Longbeard Creative
Nicola worked for Longboard Creative on our design team, and throughout that time she was an extremely creative and capable designer. Nicola had a fantastic eye for unique designs, and was able to implement some great strategies. Nicola focused mostly on UX/UI design. She played a significant role in connecting the site with the user experience. She has an innate, and unique ability to connect the details to the bigger picture. Her designs allowed Longboard to be both innovative and user-friendly, as such our clients were always happy. Another large part of Nicola’s job with us was coordinating thoughts and ideas from our South African office. She was always thoughtful and considerate. Nicola is a natural leader, as well as an excellent team player. Nicola can work independently, which makes her a special find for any organisation she works for. At Longboard, we believe that Nicola can do anything, and as such she is very highly recommended.