Say hello

A hands-on design leader who builds.

I’m Rich. I’m a hands-on design leader across product design, research and design systems, with a background as a front-end developer. I build and prototype, leaning on AI.

My work sits where research, data and craft meet business goals, from B2B SaaS enterprise software to B2C experiences across web, app and wider digital ecosystems.

Impact

Selected results across B2B SaaS and consumer products.

  • 90%adoption of an evaluation tool I built and took company-wide
  • +6%more users starting a quote, from reworking an app’s navigation
  • +11points on usability (SUS), from 67 to 78, after a ground-up redesign
  • +23points of design maturity, from 59% to 82% in two years
  • £7mannualised recurring revenue I helped generate through conversion optimisation

Selected work

Five case studies across people, customer, experience and process. They’re password protected, so ask me for access.

ExperienceUnilyPassword required

From legacy CMS to AI-native employee experience

The biggest transformation in Unily’s history: a ground-up rebuild with AI-assisted content creation, delivered on time.

ExperienceCuvvaPassword required

Enhancing navigation to drive growth

Reworking an app’s information architecture as the business moved into new products.

CustomerCuvvaPassword required

Strategic research to shape future direction

Discovery that decided which mobility ideas to back, and which to drop.

PeopleCuvvaPassword required

Building a clear path for designer growth

A career framework and evaluation tool that gave designers a clear route to progress.

ProcessMoneySuperMarketPassword required

A seamless transition to ‘money calm’

A design system that carried a brand repositioning through the whole customer experience.

Experiments in AI

Small things I’ve built with AI, some for fun and some for work.

Work tool

Awards ceremony

A show-style awards night for a summit, with a drum roll, reveals and confetti. Invented names.

Open it
Work tool

Summit budget map

Mapped where colleagues were travelling from to plan a summit’s travel budget. Invented data.

Try it
Work tool

Wheel of teams

A spin-the-wheel to pick the running order at a team Show & Tell, with sound effects.

Spin it
Tool

Weight projection

A weight projection tool, mocked up as a working concept.

Try it
Game

This or That

Made for kids: a pick-one-or-the-other game, built from a single prompt.

Play it
Game

Don’t say what I say

Made for kids: a word game, built with AI.

Play it

How I work

I lead through four lenses. Each shows up twice: in how I lead, and in how I operate day to day.

PeopleWho · Internal

Diverse teams build better products.

I build inclusive teams with a real mix of backgrounds and skills, then coach, set clear expectations and grow designers into leaders.

Customer / userWho · External

Nothing good starts without insight.

I build research into how teams decide, with programmes like Voice of Customer.

ExperienceHow · External

Craft that earns trust.

I set the vision and raise the bar: clear, accessible experiences with a point of view, held together by a design system.

ProcessHow · Internal

Make good work repeatable.

I shape how work gets done: ways of working, design operations and design systems, with AI put to work so teams ship quality faster.

Kind words

From people I’ve worked with and for.

No fluff, and he always challenged appropriately.

Rich was an outstanding design partner to the Product team at Cuvva. He’s proactive and effective at creating research plans with clear, actionable goals, always focused on driving meaningful outcomes. There was no fluff or attempt to confirm our own biases, and he always challenged appropriately.

Joe Wapshott
Head of Product, Cuvva
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Experience

  • 2025–26Head of DesignUnily
  • 2022–24Head of Design & ResearchCuvva
  • 2019–21Group Head of Design & ResearchMoneySuperMarket Group
  • 2017–18Head of UX & ResearchMoneySuperMarket Group
  • 2014–16Senior UX ManagerMoneySuperMarket Group
  • 2013–14Lead DesignerAeroParker
  • 2008–14Head of InteractiveKMP Digitata

Brands I’ve worked with

  • American Express
  • Asda
  • British Gas
  • Chester Zoo
  • Lakeland
  • Makro
  • Manchester Airports Group
  • MoneySuperMarket
  • MoneySavingExpert
  • National Archives
  • Nokia
  • Trek America
  • Very

Writing and speaking

  • 2009–2016
    HTML5 Doctor

    Co-founder and editor-in-chief of what became one of the leading HTML5 resources.

  • 2012
    Beginning HTML5 and CSS3

    Co-author, published by Apress. Five chapters written, two edited, and on university reading lists.

  • 2016
    Disrupting price comparison using design sprints

    A talk at UX Cubed in Liverpool on how MoneySuperMarket used design sprints.

  • 2014
    Camp Digital

    A talk and panel on using HTML5 device APIs and context to improve user experience.

  • 2010–2014
    .net magazine and Creative Bloq

    Tutorials and features on HTML5 and CSS, including the HTML5 Gallery column.

  • 2010
    Speak the Web

    Gig-style mini web conferences in four northern cities. All sold out, raising over £1,500 for local charities.