victoria.ticky.thompson

Design Lead or Senior UX/UI Designer

About Candidate

Salary
AED
Job Categories ( For Example : Flutter Developer or Data Engineer Like That ) )
Address

Location

Education

B
BA (Social Dynamics) 2018
Stellenbosch University

I completed my degree where I majored in psychology and politics and minored in philosophy.

A
Advanced Diploma in User Centred Design 2019
Red and Yellow Creative School of Business

The course focused on the theory and principles, application and practice; and professional practice of user centred design.

P
Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Science 2023
Essex University Online

The course focused on the broad field of computer science.

Work & Experience

I
Internship Sep 2019 - Oct 2019
411 Agency

I completed an internship at 411 Agency, where I was asked to assist on a brief that involved the redesign of Nolands website. Nolands is an international audit and advisory firm. The reason that Nolands requested the redesign of their website was because they wanted to combine their international and national website, and make the overall website more concise. During my time at 411 Agency, I completed a competitive analysis, UX heuristic evaluation, digital content audit, sitemaps and low-fidelity mock ups.

I
Internship Aug 2019 - Sep 2019
NTT

During this period, I received a brief from the Red & Yellow Creative School of Business to design postcards as part of my workplace learning experience at NTT's Greenhouse Department. The project required me to document my insights and experiences in the creative industry, with the designs created using Adobe Illustrator.

G
Graduate Program 2020 - 2021
DVT (Dynamic Visual Technologies)

I completed a one year graduate program at DVT. During the graduate program, I received training in UX/UI design and software development.

J
Junior/Intermediate Product Designer 2021 - 2022
DVT and Nedbank

I was permanently employed by DVT and outsourced to Nedbank, where I collaborated with the Forex team to deliver impactful design solutions. One of my key projects involved designing the user flow for adding international recipients on the Nedbank MoneyApp and website. This required executing the full UX process, including conducting user research and competitive analysis, creating low, medium, and high-fidelity mockups in Sketch, performing user testing, and collaborating closely with the broader design team to ensure alignment and consistency. During this time, I also developed a comprehensive understanding of Forex terminology, acronyms, and the specific regulatory and operational requirements essential to the bank’s processes, enabling me to design solutions that met both user and business needs. Additionally, I helped work on a second project, the High-Value Payments team, where I designed a platform for staff to process incoming and outgoing payments. This project aligned with the International Standards Organization’s (ISO) mandate for banks to adopt ISO 20022 and the new MX format for SWIFT messages. The initiative focused on simplifying and unifying the financial sector and global business communication by introducing universally applicable terminology. This standardization enhances international payments, reduces risk, and ensures a more streamlined approach to cross-border transactions.

D
Design Lead 2022 - 2024
Dotcom Software and Standard Bank Group

I developed design solutions tailored to the agricultural sector within the banking industry. We built a product under the brand name, OneFarm Grow, which streamlines commercial outgrower programs by digitizing the supply chain, enhancing visibility, optimizing procurement processes, and enabling agribusinesses to focus on core production activities. This innovation ultimately unlocks access to financial services for both smallholder farmers and agribusinesses. My core responsibilities included the end-to-end design and implementation of a robust design system, built from the ground up to represent the OneFarm brand consistently across both web and mobile platforms. I collaborated closely with stakeholders across multiple countries where OneFarm operates, ensuring the designs aligned with local requirements. A key aspect of my role involved conducting in-depth user research to deeply understand customer needs across various agricultural value chains. This required international travel, where I conducted on-the-ground interviews with smallholder farmers to gather actionable insights and ensure the product addressed real-world challenges. I was responsible for creating low, medium, and high-fidelity mockups, while maintaining ongoing communication with product management to align design decisions with business goals. Using Figma, I developed interactive prototypes and conducted user testing sessions to validate the usability and functionality of the designs. Collaboration with the engineering team was central to my work. We partnered closely through regular feedback sessions to ensure seamless implementation of the designs. This proactive teamwork allowed us to refine the product continuously and deliver a polished experience before launching into a live environment.

D
Design Lead or Senior UX/UI Designer 2024 - Current
Dotcom Software and BCX

I am a permanent Design Lead at Dotcom Software, a BCX-powered brand, where I am driving the design of an innovative point-of-sale system for the pharmaceutical sector. This system is being developed using the open-source Avalonia framework, allowing for a seamless and scalable user experience tailored to the unique needs of the industry.

Portfolio

Skills

User Experience
85%
User Interface
85%
Usability testing
85%
Forex
50%
SWIFT payments
50%
Sustainability
70%
Agriculture
60%
UX research
85%
Prototyping
85%
Design consulting
85%
Design leadership
65%
Figma
80%
Illustrator
70%
Sketch
80%
Adobe XD
80%
HTML, CSS
60%
Jira
70%
Github
70%
Visual Studio Code
65%
Public Speaking
80%

Awards

S
Standard Bank Hackathon Third place
The Standard Bank Group Hackathon is a highly competitive innovation challenge that brings together top talent to develop cutting-edge solutions for real-world financial and technological problems. As one of Africa’s leading financial institutions, Standard Bank hosts this event to drive innovation in the industry, providing participants with access to expert mentorship, advanced tools, and the opportunity to create impactful solutions within a limited timeframe. As the team leader, I took the initiative to assemble and guide a diverse group of talented individuals, ensuring we had the right mix of skills to tackle the challenge effectively. Through strategic planning, collaboration, and leveraging our collective expertise, we developed a compelling solution that stood out among a highly competitive field. Winning third place in this prestigious hackathon is a significant achievement, recognizing our ability to think critically, execute efficiently, and present a solution that impressed industry experts. This accomplishment reflects not only our technical and creative strengths but also the power of strong leadership and teamwork under pressure.