The interface is the easy part.

The hard part starts first: dense processes, scattered decisions and conflicting truths.

Senior product designer specialising in discovery, complex workflows and product strategy.

I use research, information architecture, writing and prototypes to give users, business and technology the same thing to look at before the expensive part begins.

Based in the Eastern Cape. Remote-first, with travel when the work is better done in the room.

PROJECTS

Selected work

Lead Product Designer

Absa CIB

From Word, Excel and email to one coherent product system.

View project →

Lead Product Designer

Absa CIB

From Word, Excel and email to one coherent product system.

View project →

Lead Product Designer

Absa CIB

From Word, Excel and email to one coherent product system.

View project →

Senior Product Designer

MTN

A shared product model for teams split across countries, tools and priorities.

View project →

Senior Product Designer

MTN

A shared product model for teams split across countries, tools and priorities.

View project →

UX/UI Designer

The Plaster House

A clearer story for a charity, a simpler way to help, and room to grow.

View project →

UX/UI Designer

The Plaster House

A clearer story for a charity, a simpler way to help, and room to grow.

View project →

METHOD

How I work

Start with the workflow, not the screens.

Beware of a bad idea done well. Digitising a messy process just makes the mess look official.

Start with the workflow, not the screens.

Beware of a bad idea done well. Digitising a messy process just makes the mess look official.

Start with the workflow, not the screens.

Beware of a bad idea done well. Digitising a messy process just makes the mess look official.

Make the invisible problem discussable.

Teams often disagree because they’re arguing from different pictures of the same work.

Make the invisible problem discussable.

Teams often disagree because they’re arguing from different pictures of the same work.

Make the invisible problem discussable.

Teams often disagree because they’re arguing from different pictures of the same work.

Make the smallest useful thing.

An agenda that sets context. Notes that capture what was actually agreed. A shared whiteboard. An annotated screenshot. A doodle on a napkin. The artefact is not the point. It’s the shared understanding it creates.

Make the smallest useful thing.

An agenda that sets context. Notes that capture what was actually agreed. A shared whiteboard. An annotated screenshot. A doodle on a napkin. The artefact is not the point. It’s the shared understanding it creates.

Make the smallest useful thing.

An agenda that sets context. Notes that capture what was actually agreed. A shared whiteboard. An annotated screenshot. A doodle on a napkin. The artefact is not the point. It’s the shared understanding it creates.

More homework. Less meetings.

Set the context, frame the questions and do the homework before the meeting. Use the time together for the tricky conversations.

More homework. Less meetings.

Set the context, frame the questions and do the homework before the meeting. Use the time together for the tricky conversations.

More homework. Less meetings.

Set the context, frame the questions and do the homework before the meeting. Use the time together for the tricky conversations.

BACKGROUND

About me

From pre-dot-bomb to design systems

My career began in the fin de siècle, weeks before the dot-com bubble burst: exquisite timing. Since then I’ve moved from creative direction and hands-on web design into UX, product design and complex enterprise systems. The labels change. The underlying work doesn’t: make complicated systems understandable and help different people build them together.

From pre-dot-bomb to design systems

My career began in the fin de siècle, weeks before the dot-com bubble burst: exquisite timing. Since then I’ve moved from creative direction and hands-on web design into UX, product design and complex enterprise systems. The labels change. The underlying work doesn’t: make complicated systems understandable and help different people build them together.

From pre-dot-bomb to design systems

My career began in the fin de siècle, weeks before the dot-com bubble burst: exquisite timing. Since then I’ve moved from creative direction and hands-on web design into UX, product design and complex enterprise systems. The labels change. The underlying work doesn’t: make complicated systems understandable and help different people build them together.

More about me

→

Nice things people say:

“Tim is exactly the kind of person you want on your team. He is highly experienced, a pleasure to work with, quick to embed himself, and consistently makes things easier for those around him through his clarity, structure, and collaborative approach.”

– Celestine “Zie” Ngulube, Head of Design, Absa CIB

“Tim is the most encouraging and inspiring team leader I have worked for. He is objective and decisive, yet fair and kind."

– Melody Vermaerke, Service and Product Design Lead, Helm

Get in Touch

Contact

Senior product design for work that’s stalled, disorganised or difficult to ship.

Available for senior contract and permanent roles, and focused consulting work.

tim@indie.co.za

078 757 0447

LinkedIn

© 2026 Tim Jones