About.
I'm nate, a UI Designer with 20+ years across aviation, healthcare & insurance. Building accessible design systems that scale. Helping companies elevate their brand. 🚀
I'm nate, a UI Designer with 20+ years across aviation, healthcare & insurance. Building accessible design systems that scale. Helping companies elevate their brand. 🚀
Ready to elevate your brand?
no fluff >
just results
Ready to elevate your brand?
no fluff >
just results
Ready to elevate your brand?
no fluff >
just results
Career Snapshot
- 0+
Years in design
Which is roughly 34,000 hours of hands-on work, all fueled by countless coffees.
- 0
Design systems
Built from scratch, uplifted or adapted from white-label solutions for web, iOS, and Android.
- 0
Years in healthcare
Designing award-winning clinical software to make complex tools intuitive for healthcare professionals.
- 0
Products shipped
Full stack: native iOS/Android, web platforms in React, and cross-platform apps with React Native.
Design Systems
Design Systems
Web, iOS, Android
Web, iOS, Android
Figma-to-Code
Figma-to-Code
20+ Yrs Experience
20+ Yrs Experience
Some companies I've helped over the years...
Some companies I've helped over the years...
Roles.
Some companies I've worked with
Some companies I've worked with
Design System Manager
Senior UI Designer
Senior UI Designer
Senior UX/UI Designer
Earlier Career Highlights
Design System Manager
Senior UI Designer
Senior UI Designer
Senior UX/UI Designer
Earlier Career Highlights
Design System Manager
Senior UI Designer
Senior UI Designer
Senior UX/UI Designer
Earlier Career Highlights
Nathan has been a great asset to HCF and to the design team overall. He joined during the redesign of our flagship application, and quickly took charge of some delicate UI processes. His deliverables have been of the highest standard, raising the bar internally and even helping the rest of the team with custom tools and helpers that have improved the way we organise, track, and deliver our artefacts. Nathan has also been a great team player, both within and outside the design team itself. He built strong relationships with the stakeholders, happy to share his knowledge and latest discoveries with a smile. His communication style was both approachable and to the point, a very effective communicator in a large team. I would not hesitate hiring Nathan and am genuinely looking forward to working with him again in the future, should our paths cross again.
Nathan has done great work in Virgin Australia's Digital Design team as a Senior UI Designer; establishing the foundation for our design system, reworking design creation processes that streamlined our workflow and applying a much-needed technical framework to drive consistency and high-quality design across our channels. I appreciate his non-nonsense approach and clear communication style. You can rely on him to tackle complex design challenges and deliver practical solutions.shing the foundation for our design system, reworking design creation processes that streamlined our workflow and applying a much-needed technical framework to drive consistency and high-quality design across our channels. I appreciate his non-nonsense approach and clear communication style. You can rely on him to tackle complex design challenges and deliver practical solutions.
Nathan always showed a clear passion for building the right products for the right users. Over the years, I have worked with him on multiple product teams and in each one, Nathan demonstrated a deep understanding of the problem and produced creative designs to meet the needs. He is able to deliver on tight timelines, works well in a team and responds well to feedback. I enjoyed working with Nathan and look forward to seeing what he creates next.
Nate is a joy to work with. He would be my go-to designer when I sought exceptional creativity. He is so good at looking at all of our design inputs and synthesizing them into prototypes - and then on to realizing them fully. He takes critiques of his designs really well because he really just wants the best outcome. He knows that it's an iterative process and that we'll never nail it the first, second, or even the tenth time. His designs for our work at SickKids are still relevant and thriving, years after he conceived them. Our designers still love to iterate on his designs, despite him not being involved in that particular work anymore. This shows how great he is at developing a design language for others to take on. I have nothing but praise for Nate as an exceptional design colleague.
Nathan is one of those exceptionally rare individuals who is not only extremely skilled at what he does but also genuinely enjoys it. He consistently goes above and beyond, effectively balancing his confidence with being an attentive listener. Moreover, he possesses a proactive nature and consistently strives for self-improvement. When it comes to task delegation, you can wholeheartedly rely on him, as he consistently exceeds expectations in his delivery. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have Nathan as a valuable member of my team.
I've had the pleasure of working with Nathan as he has played a key role in advancing our design system. He brought a sharp creative eye and a strong attention to detail that consistently elevated the quality and consistency of our design work, navigating varying levels of technical and operational constraint. Nathan thrives when given structure but is equally capable of working independently, showing initiative and ownership over his projects. His contributions helped us lay solid foundations for scalable and cohesive design practices. I'd recommend Nathan for any team looking for a thoughtful, technically talented designer with a passion for the craft and its strategic importance.
Nathan has been a great asset to HCF and to the design team overall. He joined during the redesign of our flagship application, and quickly took charge of some delicate UI processes. His deliverables have been of the highest standard, raising the bar internally and even helping the rest of the team with custom tools and helpers that have improved the way we organise, track, and deliver our artefacts. Nathan has also been a great team player, both within and outside the design team itself. He built strong relationships with the stakeholders, happy to share his knowledge and latest discoveries with a smile. His communication style was both approachable and to the point, a very effective communicator in a large team. I would not hesitate hiring Nathan and am genuinely looking forward to working with him again in the future, should our paths cross again.
Nathan has done great work in Virgin Australia's Digital Design team as a Senior UI Designer; establishing the foundation for our design system, reworking design creation processes that streamlined our workflow and applying a much-needed technical framework to drive consistency and high-quality design across our channels. I appreciate his non-nonsense approach and clear communication style. You can rely on him to tackle complex design challenges and deliver practical solutions.shing the foundation for our design system, reworking design creation processes that streamlined our workflow and applying a much-needed technical framework to drive consistency and high-quality design across our channels. I appreciate his non-nonsense approach and clear communication style. You can rely on him to tackle complex design challenges and deliver practical solutions.
Nathan always showed a clear passion for building the right products for the right users. Over the years, I have worked with him on multiple product teams and in each one, Nathan demonstrated a deep understanding of the problem and produced creative designs to meet the needs. He is able to deliver on tight timelines, works well in a team and responds well to feedback. I enjoyed working with Nathan and look forward to seeing what he creates next.
Nate is a joy to work with. He would be my go-to designer when I sought exceptional creativity. He is so good at looking at all of our design inputs and synthesizing them into prototypes - and then on to realizing them fully. He takes critiques of his designs really well because he really just wants the best outcome. He knows that it's an iterative process and that we'll never nail it the first, second, or even the tenth time. His designs for our work at SickKids are still relevant and thriving, years after he conceived them. Our designers still love to iterate on his designs, despite him not being involved in that particular work anymore. This shows how great he is at developing a design language for others to take on. I have nothing but praise for Nate as an exceptional design colleague.
Nathan is one of those exceptionally rare individuals who is not only extremely skilled at what he does but also genuinely enjoys it. He consistently goes above and beyond, effectively balancing his confidence with being an attentive listener. Moreover, he possesses a proactive nature and consistently strives for self-improvement. When it comes to task delegation, you can wholeheartedly rely on him, as he consistently exceeds expectations in his delivery. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have Nathan as a valuable member of my team.
I've had the pleasure of working with Nathan as he has played a key role in advancing our design system. He brought a sharp creative eye and a strong attention to detail that consistently elevated the quality and consistency of our design work, navigating varying levels of technical and operational constraint. Nathan thrives when given structure but is equally capable of working independently, showing initiative and ownership over his projects. His contributions helped us lay solid foundations for scalable and cohesive design practices. I'd recommend Nathan for any team looking for a thoughtful, technically talented designer with a passion for the craft and its strategic importance.
Luke De Angelis
Design Director
HCF Australia
Nathan has been a great asset to HCF and to the design team overall. He joined during the redesign of our flagship application, and quickly took charge of some delicate UI processes. His deliverables have been of the highest standard, raising the bar internally and even helping the rest of the team with custom tools and helpers that have improved the way we organise, track, and deliver our artefacts. Nathan has also been a great team player, both within and outside the design team itself. He built strong relationships with the stakeholders, happy to share his knowledge and latest discoveries with a smile. His communication style was both approachable and to the point, a very effective communicator in a large team. I would not hesitate hiring Nathan and am genuinely looking forward to working with him again in the future, should our paths cross again.
Alex Plummer
General Manager
Virgin Australia
Nathan has done great work in Virgin Australia's Digital Design team as a Senior UI Designer; establishing the foundation for our design system, reworking design creation processes that streamlined our workflow and applying a much-needed technical framework to drive consistency and high-quality design across our channels. I appreciate his non-nonsense approach and clear communication style. You can rely on him to tackle complex design challenges and deliver practical solutions.
Akib Uddin
Product Manager
Google
Nathan always showed a clear passion for building the right products for the right users. Over the years, I have worked with him on multiple product teams and in each one, Nathan demonstrated a deep understanding of the problem and produced creative designs to meet the needs. He is able to deliver on tight timelines, works well in a team and responds well to feedback. I enjoyed working with Nathan and look forward to seeing what he creates next.
Joseph Cafazzo
Executive Director
Healthcare Human Factors
Nate is a joy to work with. He would be my go-to designer when I sought exceptional creativity. He is so good at looking at all of our design inputs and synthesizing them into prototypes - and then on to realizing them fully. He takes critiques of his designs really well because he really just wants the best outcome. He knows that it's an iterative process and that we'll never nail it the first, second, or even the tenth time. His designs for our work at SickKids are still relevant and thriving, years after he conceived them. Our designers still love to iterate on his designs, despite him not being involved in that particular work anymore. This shows how great he is at developing a design language for others to take on. I have nothing but praise for Nate as an exceptional design colleague.
Christian Newski
Design Lead
Telstra Health
Nathan is one of those exceptionally rare individuals who is not only extremely skilled at what he does but also genuinely enjoys it. He consistently goes above and beyond, effectively balancing his confidence with being an attentive listener. Moreover, he possesses a proactive nature and consistently strives for self-improvement. When it comes to task delegation, you can wholeheartedly rely on him, as he consistently exceeds expectations in his delivery. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have Nathan as a valuable member of my team.
Dan Fischer
Head of Design
Virgin Australia
I've had the pleasure of working with Nathan as he has played a key role in advancing our design system. He brought a sharp creative eye and a strong attention to detail that consistently elevated the quality and consistency of our design work, navigating varying levels of technical and operational constraint. Nathan thrives when given structure but is equally capable of working independently, showing initiative and ownership over his projects. His contributions helped us lay solid foundations for scalable and cohesive design practices. I'd recommend Nathan for any team looking for a thoughtful, technically talented designer with a passion for the craft and its strategic importance.
Awards.
Award
Nomination
Year
Design+Code
Design
+Code
My passion for design extends to the underlying code, smoother collaboration = smarter builds. From crafting Figma plugins, to collaborating with developers on HTML, React, Swift, and Kotlin.
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No actual developers were harmed in the making of this component, though their best practices may have been creatively interpreted with the help of many AI assistants.
FAQ.
Got questions? I’ve got answers.
Here’s everything you need to know about working with me.
As the UI designer, my work was part of a team effort at Virgin Australia that delivered big results. Our squad's features drove over $4M in new annual revenue, including a $1.7M lift from a new flight search and a $2.3M+ boost from new in-app purchase options.
The key is making the system the easiest path for them to build. I partner with engineers to create a workflow they can trust, which includes clear semantic versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH), detailed changelogs, and design tokens that are synced directly from Figma via its REST API. Help setup Figma's CodeConnect, with some team on-boarding and you have strong foundation > It’s about building a practical toolkit, not just a rulebook.
On the 'Journey Tracker' project at Virgin Australia, our squad had to wrangle a massive amount of live flight data. My role was to design a clean and simple UI that made all that complexity feel calm and intuitive for the user. It was a huge team effort that ended up being a first for any Australian airline.
The opposite. A good system handles the boring, repetitive stuff so the team can focus its energy on solving the truly unique, hard problems. It creates consistency where you need it, and freedom where it counts.
It's a team sport. I design to WCAG standards, but the real work is partnering with developers to build accessibility into our core components from the start. That way, building inclusively becomes the default for everyone.
The time it saves developers is huge, but we also track its impact on the product itself. We look for things like fewer UI bugs, getting new features out the door faster, and seeing real lifts in conversion on the things we build with it.
I've worked at both ends of the spectrum: from lean startups where I've built nimble systems from scratch, to enterprise scale at Virgin Australia where the system I helped build was used across 2 brands, 7 squads, and 150+ people.
As the UI designer, my work was part of a team effort at Virgin Australia that delivered big results. Our squad's features drove over $4M in new annual revenue, including a $1.7M lift from a new flight search and a $2.3M+ boost from new in-app purchase options.
The key is making the system the easiest path for them to build. I partner with engineers to create a workflow they can trust, which includes clear semantic versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH), detailed changelogs, and design tokens that are synced directly from Figma via its REST API. Help setup Figma's CodeConnect, with some team on-boarding and you have strong foundation > It’s about building a practical toolkit, not just a rulebook.
On the 'Journey Tracker' project at Virgin Australia, our squad had to wrangle a massive amount of live flight data. My role was to design a clean and simple UI that made all that complexity feel calm and intuitive for the user. It was a huge team effort that ended up being a first for any Australian airline.
The opposite. A good system handles the boring, repetitive stuff so the team can focus its energy on solving the truly unique, hard problems. It creates consistency where you need it, and freedom where it counts.
It's a team sport. I design to WCAG standards, but the real work is partnering with developers to build accessibility into our core components from the start. That way, building inclusively becomes the default for everyone.
The time it saves developers is huge, but we also track its impact on the product itself. We look for things like fewer UI bugs, getting new features out the door faster, and seeing real lifts in conversion on the things we build with it.
I've worked at both ends of the spectrum: from lean startups where I've built nimble systems from scratch, to enterprise scale at Virgin Australia where the system I helped build was used across 2 brands, 7 squads, and 150+ people.
As the UI designer, my work was part of a team effort at Virgin Australia that delivered big results. Our squad's features drove over $4M in new annual revenue, including a $1.7M lift from a new flight search and a $2.3M+ boost from new in-app purchase options.
The key is making the system the easiest path for them to build. I partner with engineers to create a workflow they can trust, which includes clear semantic versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH), detailed changelogs, and design tokens that are synced directly from Figma via its REST API. Help setup Figma's CodeConnect, with some team on-boarding and you have strong foundation > It’s about building a practical toolkit, not just a rulebook.
On the 'Journey Tracker' project at Virgin Australia, our squad had to wrangle a massive amount of live flight data. My role was to design a clean and simple UI that made all that complexity feel calm and intuitive for the user. It was a huge team effort that ended up being a first for any Australian airline.
The opposite. A good system handles the boring, repetitive stuff so the team can focus its energy on solving the truly unique, hard problems. It creates consistency where you need it, and freedom where it counts.
It's a team sport. I design to WCAG standards, but the real work is partnering with developers to build accessibility into our core components from the start. That way, building inclusively becomes the default for everyone.
The time it saves developers is huge, but we also track its impact on the product itself. We look for things like fewer UI bugs, getting new features out the door faster, and seeing real lifts in conversion on the things we build with it.
I've worked at both ends of the spectrum: from lean startups where I've built nimble systems from scratch, to enterprise scale at Virgin Australia where the system I helped build was used across 2 brands, 7 squads, and 150+ people.
Some companies I've helped
Some companies I've helped