Hi, I’m Patrick. Here’s some info about me and how I design

As AO’s UX Design Manager, I oversee multiple product squads and designers' design activities, ensuring a High-quality design output. Mentoring and coaching are the methods I use to develop top-notch designers, helping them consistently produce exceptional work and currently managing a highly effective team of 6 designers.

I believe design is a brilliant tool for innovation. Design Thinking is at the core of my work philosophy, helping me craft customer-centric experiences by putting customers at the heart of my design and strategy decisions. I am passionate about sharing my knowledge and expertise—everyone can benefit from learning Design Thinking.

Design should be a team sport. It's not about one "rock star" designer anymore; it's all about teamwork and collaboration with various disciplines. I love fostering this spirit through workshops and collaborative sessions, where diverse groups work seamlessly together. I’ve helped introduce Lean UX practices into workplaces to encourage this approach.

I wasn't always a UX designer. I started my journey in animation and filmmaking, learning the power of storytelling and visual design to move audiences. While learning design on the job, I’ve since completed a professional diploma in UX Design from the UX Design Institute. I have furthered my knowledge with courses from the Interaction Design Foundation.

There's more to me than design. I'm an avid runner, dreaming of owning a classic Land Rover, a passionate cook, and a coffee enthusiast. Coffee, for me, marks the start of a day.

If you need a Head of UX Design or UX Design Manager who brings a passion for user-centred design to your teams, I’m ready to help. Reach out, and we can have a chat.

How I approach design & leadership

Know the user

I've boosted engagement with our research platform, speeding up design tests and increasing iterations. By teaming up with research experts, our design team now crafts intuitive, elegant user journeys. This has resulted in more test-and-learn cycles, leading to better and more impactful designs.

Explore ideas

I've encouraged my design team to think broadly about their design challenges and generate multiple solutions. By collaborating with customers and stakeholders, we decide on the best option. This approach has increased our confidence in our output, resulting in more prototypes and improved project performance.

Show early, show often

We've streamlined our design feedback process with frequent design reviews and quick video demos. This has built confidence in my design team's abilities with our stakeholders; we believe it has improved our ways of working and sped up project timelines by cutting down on meeting times while still getting quality feedback.

Collaboration

Collaboration is important to me; people just work better together. I guide my design team to engage with as many points of view as possible. I believe it results in higher-quality, more well-rounded design solutions. The activities can be as simple as face-to-face calls or large-scale workshops.

Make it real

I believe in creating realistic prototypes to evaluate our design choices. Each idea will always be better evaluated in its intended context. Seeing a mobile design on your own phone gives customers and stakeholders the right framing to critique the experience. By leading teams to demo through prototypes rather than mocks, we've seen more user testing sessions and cycles of iteration in a sprint.

Mentoring

I mentor UX designers and help them develop their skillsets so they can achieve their goals. One of my biggest joys since becoming a design leader is seeing how my team is progressing and getting better. I truly believe it's ultimately their efforts that make them successful, but I love being part of that journey with them. As well as mentoring my teammates, I volunteer on ADPList.