A little about me
I’m a curious creature and love to work with others who share a passion for solving problems. With experience in design agencies, the public sector and freelance work, I have a broad range of creative skills and am comfortable either rolling my sleeves up and leading a project full cycle or teaming up to craft a solution.
I’m at my best exploring ideas that weave narratives into design, products, spaces or experiences ensuring that they meet their objectives and are meaningful, intuitive and delightful for users. I refocused my career in 2023 and pivoted into experience design, using my background in brand design as a unique combination to craft user-centred experiences that address real-world challenges.
When I’m working, Magnus, (my black lab) is usually curled up snoozing under my desk, unless he’s chasing his ball outside like a loon. And, when I’m not working, you’ll either find me on the beach in the sun or wild Scottish rain, eating anything and everything that’s seafood or renovating my quirky little house.
If you fancy a cuppa and a chat, I’d love to meet you.
Skills
Design thinking | Storyboarding
Persona development | User flows
Journey mapping | Service blueprinting
Competitive analysis | Stakeholder mapping
Information architecture | Wireframing
Interactive prototyping | Usability testing
Visual design | Copywriting
Video editing | Illustration
Tools
Figma
Adobe Creative Cloud
(InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop,
After Effects and Acrobat)
Miro
Some nice words...
“
Being in a team with Tess is a pleasure. Her work style is thoughtful, detailed and open to collaboration, with her years of experience clear in how she manages a project. We have bonded over strong decision making and a practical outlook on problems, making each project we work on streamlined and effective. Working with Tess is a blast!
Wynne O’Brien, Experience Designer
“
Tess and her team delivered an innovative approach for a social impact/healthcare design project by reframing the challenge through comprehensive research and delivering a coherent, patient-centred solution. Tess demonstrated an exceptional level of skill and dedication to the project throughout and the client was thrilled with the creative approach and meticulous attention to detail, praising the team’s ability to not only meet but exceed his expectation.
Amit Patel, Creative Director of Experience Haus
“
One of Tess’ many strengths is as a true collaborator, her keen eye, bold style and attention to detail is implemented in every project no matter the scale or significance of the project.
Roxana Haines, Staff Director of Scottish Opera
“
We have collaborated with Tess on a number of high profile projects and she is a pleasure to work with. Calm, creative, assured, insightful and bright, Tess is a top notch designer who continually produces excellent work. Her ability to think ‘on and off the page’ is a major asset.
David Dunn, Managing Director of 442 Design
“
Tess has consistently surpassed my expectations and demonstrates an ability to analyse and understand complex issues with dedication and flexibility to meet our needs. This combined with her knowledge, experience and intrinsic aptitude is why I would highly recommend both the quality of work and Tess, whose passion, commitment and enthusiasm are inspiring.
Laura Sharpe, Programme Manager Education and Young People at See Me
“
There are not enough attributes that describe the brilliant work that Tess delivers. She has real talent for design and consistently delivers work of the very highest standard. We have worked with Tess over a number of years the inventive approach to her work has been of real benefit to Artlink. I certainly hope to work with her on many more projects.
Jan-Bert van den Berg, Director of Artlink Edinburgh and the Lothians
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I have worked with Tess twice in the last year and on both occasions have been impressed. She is very creative, highly professional and pays great attention to detail. I look forward to the next collaboration.
Jane Burridge, SHS Burridge Architects
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It’s rare to find a designer who engages so intelligently and creatively with the subject matter. She’s professional, efficient, and a pleasure to work with.
Barney Jeffries, Editor at World Wildlife Fund
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Tess provided an insightful response to our brief, encapsulating our ideas and producing an excellent design very well in tune with our ethos and values. Excellent communication, consistently responsive to our needs and highly professional service.
Thursa Sanderson OBE, Chief Executive of Drake Music Scotland
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Tess listened to what we wanted but she also pushed our creative boundaries and encouraged us to try new things – resulting in a more exciting and engaging product. She was always patient, flexible and personable, and she delivered top quality work on time.
Leonie Brown, Editorial Manager at British Lung Foundation
“
Tess always delivers on time and never fails to throw in that sparkly magic dust that gives the project that creative edge we all look for. I wouldn’t hesitate to bring Tess into a design team.
Paula Murray, Director at Supertonic
“
Tess is fantastic to work with. An extremely creative designer, her response to a brief is spot on every time. She’s also fast, absolutely accurate, helpful and reliable. Oh, and really patient – she makes projects so much easier!