I am driven to help create a positive impact on children’s wellbeing, through play and technology.

Hello! I am a creative problem solver, Play Designer and Principal UX with over 16 years experience. I design systems that enable children to interact with digitally connected devices, in ways that feel intuitive, engaging and beneficial. 

I have designed award winning a play based products for the Australian Government, at LEGO, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and as start up co founder. 

Complex, international projects, partnering with subject matter experts, organisations, academics, schools and universities, technical developers and of course target users – requiring the capacity to communicate effectively, manage teams, listen and distill complex deliverables  into understandable, delightful play experiences. 

Career highlights

LEGO Education

Digital Experience Manager

Dec 2017 - Now

Experience making play based digital connected products and prototypes for young audiences

I created and implemented the UX strategy for these products–ensuring cross-functional teams (including development, marketing, education design, creative and leadership) could evaluate and identify opportunities to drive projects and provide a development road map.

It’s not a linear process! It’s the why, what and how.

• Designed digital concepts for connected products informed by Design Thinking, and a focus on users and their context of use.

• Managed and defined digital requirements in cross functional teams based on insights delivered by the teams.

• Drove planning through research, design, execution, testing and delivery

  • Created user stories, user flows, wireframes and sitemaps

  • Designed UI and illustrations for rapid prototyping.

  • Designed and conducted user tests in classrooms (DK, US, CH, full stack testing).

  • Maintained budgets, contractual agreements for design external resources.

  • Managed internal and external design and development teams, locally and internationally, managing prioritisation and deliveries

• Strong stakeholder management skills and experience engaging and discussing with senior management and partners

  • Presentation to Leadership Teams and Steering Committees across all projects.

  • Facilitated workshops - Sales and Partner Marketing Conference for Early Learning digital products

  • Established inter-project review and feedback sessions across LEGO Education to help maximise design and development sharing opportunities.

  • Conducted focus groups and interviews with educators to evaluate solutions and ensure that they met real world classroom requirements.

• Analysis and audits of existing products against accessibility, from findings created guidelines for the key roles within Lego Education

Results:

• Machine Learning and AI Prototype
  A connected software experience for high school students to create machine learning models to execute with LEGO robots.

• Early Years coding experience
  A pre-school app using Scratch coding language enabling young children to program the LEGO DUPLO robot prototype with light, sound and movement.

• Coding Express
  Preschoolers are introduced to early coding concepts via a motorised train and an open play companion app allowing looping, conditional coding, sequencing and story telling with digital elements.

LEGO
Front End and Brand

Interaction Design Manager/Specialist

Jan 2016 - Dec 2017

We were the behind-the-scenes innovation drivers, working with the products in the earliest stages of development, long before the concepts are revealed to the outside world.

I delivered:

• High and lo fidelity digital protoypes for a new leg of CREATOR product line. Re-engaging children aged between 6 and 9 with the core creative “LEGO experience”. The digital offering extends their physical play: inspiring, activating and providing a platform for sharing childrens’ creativity.

• Managed development and delivery pipelines, created production guidelines and UX leading prototype production.

• Qualitative research, with a small number of customers to understand product pain points.

• Mixed reality prototypes for pre-schoolers for LEGO DUPLO on iPad.

• Contributed to development of the design language guidelines for Digital Behaviour Building for connected toys within the “Build & Code” space.

Australian Government Department of Education & Training & Millipede Games
Early Learning Languages Australia pilot

Principal UX and Play Designer - consultant

Jan 2015 - Nov 2015

Funded by the Australian Government, the Early Learning Languages Australia app series is an AUD$9million national program to test the effectiveness of language learning via digital learning in preschools.

I delivered designs across 5 apps each with between 5 - 6 language centric play based activities, and unique thematic narratives:

• Concept development.

• Designed game play systems and mechanics, including purposeful, goal orientated design, open-ended, toy like, creative, and pure play experiences.

• Universal app structures.

• Developed and conducted testing within preschools.

• Communicated and managed stakeholders across 50+ project team across play design.

Results:

• The program has been rolled out nation wide to over 4000 early learning centres.

• 231,000 children have participated in the program since 2016.

• Additional funding of AUD$7million has been secured to include another 5 languages.

• 2016 Gold, App Design Awards, EdTech.

Big Ice Cream Games Studio

Co-Founder, Head of Creative

2013 – 2016

As a co-founder of Big Ice Cream we bootstrapped the development of our first product, Big Baby - an open play, digital nurture doll for iOS.

I delivered:

• Concept development, game structure, universal guidelines, play mechanics, illustration and graphic design.

• Secured grant funding for development.

• Market and competitor research and analysis.

• Developed and implemented marketing and communication strategy.

• Managed international development team.

• Quality assurance testing plans, user acceptance testing.

• App store marketing and material and maintenance strategy implementation.

Results:

• Number #1 Education and Kids categories on the App Store across 20 countries.

• App Store Best of 2013, An Innovative Kids App - 8 countries.

• Parents’ Choice Recommended Award Winner 2014.

• Metro Screen Development Grant from Screen NSW 2013

• 2014 Emerging Exporter NSW Premier Award

• Awarded Screen Australia Interactive Games Fund 2014 Grant

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Innovation Department

Senior User Experience Designer

2008 - 2012

A small design and development team, spearheading digital innovation projects for the entire organisation working across online, television and radio.

I was UX Lead for mobile and the flagship touch screen products - aggregating content from across the organisation, streaming live news, tv and radio services on devices.

Results:

ABC iPad App, ABC Android App and ABC Mobile Portal from ideation through to production and launch.

ABC iPhone App was a 6 months project from concept through to launch.

• 1 million downloads within 12 months from launch

• App Store Best of 2010

• World Summit Award Winner, Mobile Content, m-Media & News 2010

A suite of apps for the children’s television show Bananas in Pyjamas, targeting 2 – 4 year old children.

Play and Learn App suite
Proof of concepts and prototypes
UX and play design across a series of pre-school prototypes aligned to the Early Years Learning Framework, Australia’s play based pre-school curriculum. Incorporating the use of touchscreen technology into a learning environment delivering content focused on social, emotional and cognitive development.

British Council, Australia

Communications Manager

2008 – 2004

Tools

• Sketch

• Figma

• Invision

• Confluence

• Jira

• Adobe Suite

• MS Suite