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I have been working in the field of user-centred design since 1997. I have worked on a wide variety of projects - from short-term projects over a couple of weeks - to long-term projects lasting a couple of years. Projects have included billing applications, VoIP applications, eCommerce, Account management and Interactive TV and many others. My core deliverables have been focused on creating high and low-fidelity prototypes, wireframes, site maps, concept sketches, navigation flows, personas, design documentation and a variety of usability testing methods including user testing and usability inspection. I can recognise conflicts between user needs, system constraints and business goals and interact well with all stakeholders to offer solutions without compromising on the user experience.

Experience

Stepstone
Lead UX Designer, Mar 2023 - Oct 2024

I led UX and conversational design for a new AI-powered job ad analysis tool, defining the product from the ground up. Partnering with data scientists and developers, I shaped a user-centric experience through prototypes and testing, aligning AI insights with natural, confidence-boosting interactions.

Wongdoody
Lead UX Designer, Oct 2021 - Apr 2022

Lead UX designer working with The Financial Times Visual Storytelling team to create a game with goal to reach Net Zero by 2050.

Stepstone
Senior UX Designer, Aug 2019 - Jan 2021

Large scale B2B platform harmonisation program looking at ecomm, account management and self service.

Lloyds Banking Group
Lead UX Designer/Service Designer, Jan 2019 - Aug 2019

Working with financial analysts and data scientists as part of the Lloyds Machine Intelligence Portal to create AI powered financial forecasting tools.

Totaljobs
Senior User Experience Architect, Jan 2018 - Present

My role was to reimagine the entire jobseeker experience for the Totaljobs group and its brands. The 9 month project involved creating concepts for the core journeys focusing on the personalsiation and humanising of the jobseeker experience. Defining research projects, remote and face to user testing of new brand assets, task driven testing. Production of interactive prototypes for testing and stakeholder review. Presentation of ideas and concepts to senior stakeholders and teams

Ticketmaster - Seatwave - Get Me In
Senior User Experience Architect, Oct 2017 - Dec 2017

Sole UX designer responsible for improving the user experience of a three highly complex B2B legacy systems during platform migration. Responsible for researching of users and creation of personas. Assisting with requirements gathering. Delivery of highly interactive Axure prototypes and wireframes for testing and evaluation with users

StepStone
Senior User Experience Architect, Oct 2016 - July 2017

Tasked with redesigning the native app experience for the Stepstone Group implementing new features and improved user experience for the groups 40 brands in 22 countries. Managing the different requirements from various product owners and Customer Experience teams for multiple brands.

The Economist Group
Lead User Experience Architect, Jan 2016 - July 2016

Sole UX architect responsible for improving the user experience during the re-platforming of the Economist eCommerce journey. Design and testing of Manage My Account area for The Economist

TotalJobs
Senior User Experience Architect, Mar 2014 - Dec 2015

Working client side in a fast paced and dynamic environment for the largest and fastest growing online recruitment business in the UK with over 7 million active users.

Coast Digital
Freelance User Experience Designer Feb 2014 - Mar 2015

Freelance position for a digital marketing agency working on the redesign of The Education and Training foundation website. Worked in a lean UX environment with head of strategy, one developer, and a visual designer to very tight timescales.

BT
Senior UX Architect BT Usability Group, Aug 1999 - July 2012

Engaged as lead UX designer on a wide variety of projects both internal employee facing and external consumer facing.Pioneered the use of interactive prototyping to improve the design process using Axure RP. Collaborated on the creation of a set of Usability Acceptance Criteria, a tool used to measure the effectiveness of good UX. Briefed and managed external teams tasked with providing visual design, development or user testing. Regarded as a subject matter expert, held UX surgeries and sat in on various meetings to offer UX guidance and solutions.

Lernout & Hauspie
Web Developer Dec 1997 - Jul 1999

Lloyds Insurance Syndicates
Freelance User Experience Designer Sep 1997 - Dec 1997

Recommendations

Anna Coppola.  —  . UX Manager at The Economist

"Rick has been working in my team leading interaction design and user experience on a highly transformational, particularly challenging, geographically distributed project. Rick's extensive experience across the diverse spectrum that encompasses the UX field combined with his ability to manage project uncertainty as well as stakeholder expectations has been extremely important for the steady progression of the project and to keep the project focused on improving the end-user experience. Page 2 It has been a pleasure working with Rick and I highly recommend him to anyone needing to hire a Senior UX professional."

Richard Giazzi.  —  . Group Product Manager - Native Mobile Apps at StepStone

"If you need someone who's supremely talented at interpreting user behaviour and feedback into the best possible user experience, then Rick's absolutely your man. He's able to build incredible interactive prototypes, go out onto the streets to get first hand user reaction and then use those observations to influence and optimise the final UX definition. If your business depends on user-centric design, you need this guy."

Lawrence Hardy.  —  . Head of Product Management at TotalJobs Group

"Rick is an exceptional talent and a pleasure to work with. His wisdom, pragmatism, user centered creativity and wizardry on Axure has helped us measurably revolutionise our experience. In doing so, he has helped define our user personas, improved our audience research and testing, suggested and shaped product innovations, formed excellent working relationships with our Agile delivery teams, and expertly managed passionate stakeholders. I'd welcome an opportunity to work with him again."

Darren Bond  —  . Digital Strategy Director at Coast Digital

"Rick is an absolute pleasure to work with. He brings a wealth of experience to projects and can apply a wide range of user experience skills and techniques. He is proactive and delivered above and beyond expectations on projects worked on. All of this, while being a lovely chap as well. He managed to build an excellent rapport with the customers he worked with and helped shape their solution so that it pleased all stakeholders in the project first time around. I look forward to working with him again in the future."

Education

University College Suffolk  —  Software Engineering Bsc(Hons)

University College Suffolk  —  HND Art and Design University College Suffolk