James Rhodes
Verified Expert in Design
Designer
Barrie, ON, Canada
Toptal member since July 21, 2017
James is a digital product designer, UI/UX specialist, and certified Framer Expert with 10+ years of experience. He creates modern, conversion-focused websites and products that balance beauty with usability. With expertise in Framer development, prototyping, and brand systems, James helps startups and businesses ship faster, elevate their brand, and deliver user-centered digital experiences that drive results.
Portfolio
Tecton Ketones™ – Brand, Product & AI-driven Visual System
Work Experience
Senior Product & Brand Designer
Independent Client Engagements
- Led the end-to-end design of a scalable visual and content system for a consumer health brand, spanning brand identity, product pages, and social media.
- Designed modular product page and subscription experiences for Shopify, improving clarity, consistency, and ease of iteration across launches.
- Developed a repeatable AI-assisted image and motion workflow to accelerate content production while maintaining brand control and credibility.
- Defined category-based visual frameworks, including gradient systems and layout components, to ensure consistency across marketing and educational content.
- Collaborated closely with founders and stakeholders to translate business goals into clear product and design direction.
- Oversaw and reviewed work from supporting designers and developers to maintain quality and consistency across deliverables.
Lead Product Designer
OPENREEL
- Spearheaded the design of OpenReel's core product, resulting in an entirely new business product and revenue, which increased user engagement and significantly increased customer satisfaction scores.
- Transformed OpenReel's design process by introducing a design system and methodologies, resulting in a 40% increase in project delivery speed.
- Led a cross-functional team of designers and developers, successfully delivering five major new product offerings on schedule and within budget.
- Presented product design strategies and updates to stakeholders, effectively communicating design value and fostering strong relationships.
- Collaborated with the marketing and sales teams to align product design with brand strategy, contributing to increased brand recognition.
Senior Manager
Roots
- Managed a team of designers and developers to improve and update the online/digital appearance consistently.
- Implemented strategic improvements to the platform.
- Managed relationships with several agency partners.
- Implemented leading design improvements to the online site.
- Designed monthly newsletters and online banners promoting products.
- Updated meta information to align with global standards.
- Developed and pitched monthly online campaigns to upper management.
- Worked strategically with photographers to align imagery with monthly online brand campaigns.
Art Director
Adidas
- Directed brand design and development projects, enhancing the digital presence and engagement of the brand.
- Managed a team of designers, ensuring alignment with brand vision and project goals.
- Spearheaded innovative design strategies that resulted in a 20% increase in user engagement.
- Created innovative design solutions for multiple brands within the company.
- Led project meetings and reviews daily, weekly, and annually.
- Conducted employee performance reviews, which included goal setting and performance checkups.
- Challenged the status quo in all areas of design and development.
Senior Designer
Adidas
- Created marketing material and in-store retail campaigns across Canada.
- Designed and prepared finished art for product and communication support materials.
- Developed Canadian-specific marketing—ensuring consistency with global corporate identity guidelines.
- Created innovative UI experiences for many types of user/customers.
- Prepared layouts for advertising and in-store POS concepts.
- Coordinated with managers to develop new ideas/concepts to boost brand marketing.
- Prepared and delivered final files to printers for production.
Web Designer
Traffic Works Media
- Designed leading-class websites for various clients around the world. Worked closely with the development team through handoffs.
- Built brand identities and completed brand guides for various clients. Ensured each client was left with a curated set of logos and assets for their business.
- Created innovative UI experiences for many types of users/customers.
Education
Advanced Diploma in Graphic Design
Durham College - Oshawa, Ontario
Certifications
Framer Experts Certification
Framer
Skills
Tools
InVision, InVision App, Adobe, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Acrobat Pro CC, Adobe Lightroom, Sketch, AI Tools, Asana, Cinema 4D, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Experience Design (XD), Principle, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, Adobe CC, Jira
Platforms
Webflow CMS, Webflow, MacOS, Figma, Adobe Suite, Mobile, iOS, Shopify
Industry Expertise
Marketing, Sports, Fitness
Languages
HTML, CSS
Other
Style Guides, Logo Design, Branding, Web App UI, Web App Design, Art Direction, Digital Design, Print Design, Ad Design, Poster Design, Responsive Web Design (RWD), Web Design, Web Banner Design, Design, Advertising Design, User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), UI Design, Visual Design, Image Manipulation, Framer, Presentation Design, Product Design, UI Components, Layout Design, Graphic Design, Front-end Design, Design Systems, Web UI Design, Website Design, AI-generated Video, AI Design, Landing Page Design, Website CMS, Mobile App Design, eCommerce, Prototyping, Notion, Startups, Video Editing, Cross-platform, Apps, Blogging, Wireframing, Mobile Design, Adobe Premiere, Websites, Lifestyle, Visual Identity, Web App UX, Web Applications, SaaS, Software as a Service (SaaS), B2B, Interactive UI, Mobile UI, Responsive UI, Responsive Web Apps, Typography, Framer Motion, Jitter, Brand Strategy, Visual Systems, Social Media Design, Product Marketing, eCommerce Design, AI in Design, Creative Direction, Motion Design
Experience
- Advertising Design - 12 years
- Visual Design - 12 years
- Digital Design - 12 years
- UI Design - 9 years
- Product Design - 8 years
- Figma - 5 years
- Framer - 5 years
- AI Tools - 3 years
Tools
- AI Tools
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