About

Hi! 👋 I’m a Senior Product Designer based in Cape Town, South Africa, with 6+ years experience from working in product design studios to in-house for startups. I enjoy collaborating and creating meaningful work.

I'm currently working at CommandBar - an AI-powered platform that helps Saas businesses to improve user adoption and retention.

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

2023 - Present

Senior Product Designer,

CommandBar is a platform that offers AI-powered tools to onboard and retain users on your platform. My current role is to assist with all product design related tasks within CommandBar's platform.

2020 - 2023

Senior 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

During her 3 years at Logic + Rhythm she was able to consistently break down large, abstract problems and deliver various different solutions to them. Her visual design and prototyping skills compliment her ability to communicate her thought process and command a large audience while she's presenting her work.

Scott Savarie

Co-Founder at Logic + Rhythm

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. 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.

Joshua Tijerina

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.

Pippa Yeats

Co-Founder at Turn.io

Nicola is a natural leader, as well as an excellent team player. She 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.

Nathan Tijerina

More About Me

What to expect while working with me

What environments I work best in

What type of projects I am interested in

What are my goals right now

What I do outside of work

© Nicola Badenhorst 2023

© Nicola Badenhorst 2023