Senior Product Designer - Ronan McKinless

It’s all me, me, me...

Working with some of the most recognisable brands in the world, including Apple, BT and Cadillac; I’ve designed experiences that have been used 10’s of millions of times.

As well as agency work designing for established brands, I’ve also been part of startups. Octopus Energy had only 50 customers when I was hired as it’s first designer and its now £7bn global market leader.

I’m now in a position to use my expertise to inspire the next generation of designers, delivering lectures at Ulster University, Belfast.

View full CV

↓

How I work

Honestly, I just like to get stuck in.

I want to solve problems.
The most interesting problems are the most ambiguous ones. Users will always tell you what they want, but they often are say they want faster horses rather than the idea of the car. It’s up to us as designers to figure out what the root problem is and solve it.
I want to listen to as many different voices as possible.
Current users, potential users, product managers, engineers, customer service staff, CEOs, CTOs, MMOs, anyone that has something relevant to say.
I love working with data.
Having access to a data set and just asking questions of it to see what stories emerge. This is always a great way to quantify a point, but it’s never the whole story.
Creating solutions collaboratively.
A projects success rests on your chemistry as a team. This is especially true between designers and developers. Bringing developers into the ideation process has always led to better outcomes in my experience.
Feedback and impact.
Whether it’s a journey, an app, a website or even an email subject line, getting it out there is only the start. Real users in real scenarios is the best way to get feedback on your solutions.
And then, off we go again...
I want to solve problems.
The most interesting problems are the most ambiguous ones. Users will always tell you what they want, but they often are say they want faster horses rather than the idea of the car. It’s up to us as designers to figure out what the root problem is and solve it.
I want to listen to as many different voices as possible.
Current users, potential users, product managers, engineers, customer service staff, CEOs, CTOs, MMOs, anyone that has something relevant to say.
I love working with data.
Having access to a data set and just asking questions of it to see what stories emerge. This is always a great way to quantify a point, but it’s never the whole story.
Creating solutions collaboratively.
A projects success rests on your chemistry as a team. This is especially true between designers and developers. Bringing developers into the ideation process has always led to better outcomes in my experience.
Feedback and impact.
Whether it’s a journey, an app, a website or even an email subject line, getting it out there is only the start. Real users in real scenarios is the best way to get feedback on your solutions.
And then, off we go again...
I want to solve problems.
The most interesting problems are the most ambiguous ones. Users will always tell you what they want, but they often are say they want faster horses rather than the idea of the car. It’s up to us as designers to figure out what the root problem is and solve it.
I want to listen to as many different voices as possible.
Current users, potential users, product managers, engineers, customer service staff, CEOs, CTOs, MMOs, anyone that has something relevant to say.
I love working with data.
Having access to a data set and just asking questions of it to see what stories emerge. This is always a great way to quantify a point, but it’s never the whole story.
Creating solutions collaboratively.
A projects success rests on your chemistry as a team. This is especially true between designers and developers. Bringing developers into the ideation process has always led to better outcomes in my experience.
Feedback and impact.
Whether it’s a journey, an app, a website or even an email subject line, getting it out there is only the start. Real users in real scenarios is the best way to get feedback on your solutions.
And then, off we go again...
I want to solve problems.
The most interesting problems are the most ambiguous ones. Users will always tell you what they want, but they often are say they want faster horses rather than the idea of the car. It’s up to us as designers to figure out what the root problem is and solve it.
I want to listen to as many different voices as possible.
Current users, potential users, product managers, engineers, customer service staff, CEOs, CTOs, MMOs, anyone that has something relevant to say.
I love working with data.
Having access to a data set and just asking questions of it to see what stories emerge. This is always a great way to quantify a point, but it’s never the whole story.
Creating solutions collaboratively.
A projects success rests on your chemistry as a team. This is especially true between designers and developers. Bringing developers into the ideation process has always led to better outcomes in my experience.
Feedback and impact.
Whether it’s a journey, an app, a website or even an email subject line, getting it out there is only the start. Real users in real scenarios is the best way to get feedback on your solutions.
And then, off we go again...

I want to solve problems.
The most interesting problems are the most ambiguous ones. Users will always tell you what they want, but they often are say they want faster horses rather than the idea of the car. It’s up to us as designers to figure out what the root problem is and solve it.
I want to listen to as many different voices as possible.
Current users, potential users, product managers, engineers, customer service staff, CEOs, CTOs, MMOs, anyone that has something relevant to say.
I love working with data.
Having access to a data set and just asking questions of it to see what stories emerge. This is always a great way to quantify a point, but it’s never the whole story.
Creating solutions collaboratively.
A projects success rests on your chemistry as a team. This is especially true between designers and developers. Bringing developers into the ideation process has always led to better outcomes in my experience.
Feedback and impact.
Whether it’s a journey, an app, a website or even an email subject line, getting it out there is only the start. Real users in real scenarios is the best way to get feedback on your solutions.
And then, off we go again...
I want to solve problems.
The most interesting problems are the most ambiguous ones. Users will always tell you what they want, but they often are say they want faster horses rather than the idea of the car. It’s up to us as designers to figure out what the root problem is and solve it.
I want to listen to as many different voices as possible.
Current users, potential users, product managers, engineers, customer service staff, CEOs, CTOs, MMOs, anyone that has something relevant to say.
I love working with data.
Having access to a data set and just asking questions of it to see what stories emerge. This is always a great way to quantify a point, but it’s never the whole story.
Creating solutions collaboratively.
A projects success rests on your chemistry as a team. This is especially true between designers and developers. Bringing developers into the ideation process has always led to better outcomes in my experience.
Feedback and impact.
Whether it’s a journey, an app, a website or even an email subject line, getting it out there is only the start. Real users in real scenarios is the best way to get feedback on your solutions.
And then, off we go again...
I want to solve problems.
The most interesting problems are the most ambiguous ones. Users will always tell you what they want, but they often are say they want faster horses rather than the idea of the car. It’s up to us as designers to figure out what the root problem is and solve it.
I want to listen to as many different voices as possible.
Current users, potential users, product managers, engineers, customer service staff, CEOs, CTOs, MMOs, anyone that has something relevant to say.
I love working with data.
Having access to a data set and just asking questions of it to see what stories emerge. This is always a great way to quantify a point, but it’s never the whole story.
Creating solutions collaboratively.
A projects success rests on your chemistry as a team. This is especially true between designers and developers. Bringing developers into the ideation process has always led to better outcomes in my experience.
Feedback and impact.
Whether it’s a journey, an app, a website or even an email subject line, getting it out there is only the start. Real users in real scenarios is the best way to get feedback on your solutions.
And then, off we go again...
I want to solve problems.
The most interesting problems are the most ambiguous ones. Users will always tell you what they want, but they often are say they want faster horses rather than the idea of the car. It’s up to us as designers to figure out what the root problem is and solve it.
I want to listen to as many different voices as possible.
Current users, potential users, product managers, engineers, customer service staff, CEOs, CTOs, MMOs, anyone that has something relevant to say.
I love working with data.
Having access to a data set and just asking questions of it to see what stories emerge. This is always a great way to quantify a point, but it’s never the whole story.
Creating solutions collaboratively.
A projects success rests on your chemistry as a team. This is especially true between designers and developers. Bringing developers into the ideation process has always led to better outcomes in my experience.
Feedback and impact.
Whether it’s a journey, an app, a website or even an email subject line, getting it out there is only the start. Real users in real scenarios is the best way to get feedback on your solutions.
And then, off we go again...

Software & Skills

Proficient

Have experience with

HSBC

Senior UX Designer (Contract)

Apr 2025 — June 2025

Conducted multi-market research on airport customer behaviour in the UK, Hong Kong and UAE, engaging 750+ survey participants and running 14 in-depth interviews with frequent flyers.
Synthesised insights into customer profiles and journey maps, revealing behavioural shifts that challenged brand assumptions.
Informed HSBC’s five-year global airport brand strategy, influencing senior Global Brand Marketing leaders.

Ulster University

Lecturer

Oct 2024 — Now

Mentored students across undergraduate and masters courses in Digital, Product and UX Design.
Lectured and created lesson materials for AR/VR design, advanced prototyping and Figma Auto Layout.
Achieved consistently high student satisfaction scores.

General Motors

Lead UX (Contract)

Dec 2022 — April 2024

Designed an immersive AR showroom concept for Cadillac’s Paris flagship, overlaying real-time glass renders onto display vehicles and integrating AI-driven feature tours intended for multi-market rollout.
Created UX flows and contributed to the design system for the Cadillac Lyriq EV app (EU market), covering onboarding, charging and servicing journeys.
Redesigned KYC and lease application processes, reducing test completion time by 1+ minute.

Lead UX (Contract)

Sept 2021 — Nov 2022

Designed the UX for a new hub security feature for the BT Business app, enabling users to fully control device access and network permissions.
Defined and conducted user testing of the Hub Security feature. Users had 100% task completion and feedback such as “really easy to navigate” and “very simple and clear” despite feature complexity.

Apple

Lead UX (Contract)

April 2021 — June 2021

Audited and optimised online sales journeys for Deutsche Telekom, Apple’s largest European sales partner. Used heuristic review and analytics analysis to identify friction points.
Collaborated with Apple’s internal design team and Deutsche Telekom’s online teams to ensure solutions aligned with both brand and business objectives.

Lead UX (Contract)

Jan 2020 — March 2021

Iterated the wi-fi onboarding experience for the BT Business app, applying a user-focused, step-by-step approach to improve usability.
Designed an online security feature enabling users to manage content accessibility.
Mapped the BT Business app, documenting features and responsible teams across four design teams to enhance cross-team collaboration.

Skills Builder

Product Designer (Pro Bono)

Jan 2020

Led a 2-week sprint to diagnose and redesign the onboarding journey for Skills Builder Hub, a teacher platform for assessing pupils and accessing skills resources.
Trained in-house staff in user testing and prototyping, embedding ongoing UX capability.
Achieved 1,100% increase in first-time users opening resources (3% up to 36%) and 82% increase in completed assessments after implementation.

The Scouts

Lead UX (Contract)

Sept 2018 — Sept 2019

Led the design of a new programme planning tool as part of The Scouts’ Digital Transformation team, supporting leaders in planning sessions for young people nationwide.
Conducted in-depth interviews and prototype testing with Scout Leaders across the UK to capture real-world planning practices and pain points.
Collaborated with product managers, fellow designers and developers to deliver a tool aligned with organisational and volunteer needs.

Octopus Energy

IC Product Designer

Jan 2016 — Aug 2018

Redesigned customer communications and billing flows to make account information clearer. This work reduced queries by 74%, won a Customer Experience Award and set a new industry standard.
Designed the initial UX and UI for Kraken, now an industry-leading energy and account management system used by utilities worldwide.
Designed and managed the build of a sales app for Octopus Electric Vehicles, collaborating with a product expert, in-house developer and external leasing partner Tusker.
Led the launch of a new energy tariff with boiler cover from HomeServe, collaborating with legal and operations teams to ensure a seamless customer experience. Delivered in under three weeks.

Tangent Snowball

Senior UX: Oct 2014 — Mar 2015

UX Designer: Oct 2013 — Oct 2014

Worked with large clients such as Walkers, Carlsberg & Sky.
Designed an e-commerce website and a mobile-first experience for creating customised gifts for beauty brand Nails Inc.
Identified a skills gap among account managers and ran internal classes teaching Google Analytics fundamentals.

Worked with large clients such as Walkers, Carlsberg & Sky.
Designed an e-commerce website and a mobile-first experience for creating customised gifts for beauty brand Nails Inc.
Identified a skills gap among account managers and ran internal classes teaching Google Analytics fundamentals.

Triplicate

Head of Web: 2011 — 2012

Web Designer: 2009 — 2011

Designer: 2008

Worked with clients from a broad range of industries, including financial services, construction and fashion.
Introduced new ways of working on web projects and established a web function within the business.
Managed a team of 3 developers and designers. We worked on everything from small one page websites, to several complete re-designs for major clients.

ronanmckinless.com

v1.01

2025