Skill Set

Strategic design is a discipline that applies design principles to understand markets, users, and problems — as well as to build and test new, user-centred solutions.

It’s typically associated with the early phases of products and services, where ambiguity is high and direction is still being shaped.

In many cases, strategic design comes before product management, laying the groundwork for what gets built and why.

More recently, the two disciplines have begun to merge — with strategic design often seen as product management at the earliest stages of a product’s life.

Strategic design focuses on the early phases of a product or service — often before there’s a clear understanding of what should be built.

It typically evolves into, or hands over to, product management once the direction becomes more defined and the concept begins to take shape.

The work involves developing a deep understanding of the space, the users, and their needs — and forming a clear point of view about the types of solutions that could address the problems at hand.

Strategic designers use tools like user mapping, value proposition design, feature identification, and early prototyping. The process often includes designing the underlying business model as well.

At its core, strategic design is a balance between developing a strong point of view and testing it — using a mix of qualitative and quantitative research to guide iteration and alignment.

I have over 15 years’ experience creating impactful, user-centred products and services.

I’ve led dozens of product initiatives — both building brand new products and evolving existing ones.

I’ve worked with cross-functional teams across product studios, corporates, tech companies, and government agencies, helping teams establish and mature their product, research, and design practices.

Much of my work blends strategic design and product management, using design to explore and define direction — and product thinking to deliver it.

I’ve always been passionate about business, products and design.

🧠 High School

I was first introduced to the foundations of user research and human-centred design in high school, through my studies in Society & Culture.

We learned how to map users, form assumptions, test those assumptions, and evolve our thinking based on the results — a process that still underpins how I work today.

🎓 Undergraduate

In my early 20s, I studied Psychology at the University of Sydney, where I was introduced to social psychology, behavioural economics, and a range of frameworks for understanding human behaviour.

I also built a strong foundation in both qualitative and quantitative research.

🌍 Semester Abroad

Towards the end of my degree, I spent a semester abroad in the Netherlands, studying social entrepreneurship.

It was there that I first encountered formal product, user, and business frameworks — and began to see how business and design could come together to make real-world impact.

🎓 Master’s in Management

I followed up with a Master’s degree in Business Management, focused on human-centred design, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

The program deepened my understanding of design thinking and strategic design, and introduced a wide range of new tools and practices.

✈️ CrowdFlight

During the program, a few classmates and I entered — and won — a Deloitte business innovation competition with a concept called CrowdFlight: a platform for conducting user research using passengers’ spare time on flights.

After graduating, we tried turning the concept into a real startup. I led the user and product effort, applying everything I’d learned so far.
We eventually stepped away from the venture, but it was a pivotal experience — one that cemented my love for early-stage product thinking and strategic design.

📚 Doubling Down on Learning

After CrowdFlight, I dove even deeper into the theory. I read widely on product, design, and user thinking — and actively sought out mentors and practitioners from across the human-centred design space, keen to learn all I could.

❄️ Antarctica

Around this time, I joined a design and innovation think tank expedition to Antarctica.

I helped lead the program, designing its structure and assembling a team of facilitators and designers.

🚗 GoFar

I then joined GoFar, a connected car startup working to make everyday vehicles smarter and more sustainable.

I led our go-to-market efforts and applied strategic design principles to better understand users, sharpen the product, improve the experience, and position it more clearly to the market.

🧪 Fusion Labs

After GoFar, I joined Fusion Labs, a leading product and design agency.

I started as a Product Lead, guiding cross-functional teams through high-intensity design and innovation projects.

I later became Head of Product, leading the agency’s product and design consulting arm.

I helped develop a unified product and design practice, mentored both internal and client teams, and led some of our most complex strategic initiatives.

🧱 Boral

After Fusion Labs, I spent several years contracting — blending strategic design with product leadership.

One of my key clients was Boral, where I served as Principal Product Manager in Residence.

I helped establish their innovation lab, develop product teams, shape the internal product and design practice, and create ventures to diversify Boral’s market offering.

📺 ABC

Next, I joined the ABC as a Product Strategy Lead.

While the role was closely tied to product management, it leaned heavily on strategic design — helping teams develop a unified approach across product and design, rethink the existing portfolio, and better understand their users.

I worked closely with executive leadership to shape the digital product strategy and embed stronger design and discovery practices across teams.

🌊 Pebble

After several years of contracting, I founded Pebble, a product and design studio — bringing together strategic design, product management, product design, and user research into a single, coherent practice.

My vision for Pebble was to contribute meaningfully to the space of design-led innovation.

I built a network of collaborators, led projects across industries, mentored teams, and developed a number of tools and frameworks in the space.

🎙 Lecturing

Alongside client work, I also returned to Maastricht University as a guest lecturer — teaching product, users, and ventures to the next generation of designers and entrepreneurs.

🌾 Department of Agriculture

At the start of 2024, I returned in-house — hoping to focus on a smaller number of long-term, high-impact products.

I joined the Department of Agriculture, where I’ve led the development of two major internal platforms — foundational systems to support Australia’s agricultural exports for years to come.

Alongside product and design leadership, I’ve also helped shape the department’s internal practice — embedding strategic thinking across multiple teams and initiatives.

🧩 Wrapping Up

And that brings us to the key milestones of my journey so far.

Of course, there have been many other threads — from running and joining design jams, think tanks, and incubators, to experimenting with product ideas, developing design frameworks, and working on a wide range of projects.

But all in all, this is my path — shaped by curiosity, craft, collaboration, and a deep love for building things that matter.