Ryan Byrne, Designer in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
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Ryan Byrne

Verified Expert  in Design

Designer

Location
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Toptal Member Since
March 16, 2020

Ryan is a multidisciplinary designer with a decade of experience in various product lifecycle roles. After being ranked as one of Cape Town's top creative talents by Design Times magazine in 2015 and winning an app of the year award in 2020, he has helped create innovative products for an array of clients, including Standard Bank, Old Mutual, Santam, and others. Ryan is an adaptable creative with a hybrid skill set in visual design, UI/UX, innovation strategy, and product management.

User Experience (UX)UX DesignProduct DesignUX ResearchWireframingUI DesignMobile UX DesignDigital Product DesignRapid PrototypingAdobe SuiteFigmaAdobe Experience Design (XD)App UIDesign SystemsLean UX

Portfolio

Work Experience

Freelance Designer

2020 - PRESENT
Ryan Byrne
  • Researched, prototyped, and tested the dashboard and user portal for Santam insurance, marking their first launch into the digital space.
  • Worked with King James Digital advertising agency as their primary UX consultant helping them expand their offering to their high-value client base.
  • Designed the marketing website for an Italian citizenship company expanding their brand potential and helping them reach new audiences.
  • Helped a telehealth company design and launched its MVP.
  • Helped research and launch an edtech startup that will provide equal access to education to 1,100 students over the next three years.
Technologies: Adobe Experience Design (XD), Figma, Sketch, Adobe Illustrator, InVision, Rapid Prototyping, Digital Product Design, UX Research, Wireframing, UI Design, Human-centered Design (HCD), Product Design, Design Systems, Mobile UX Design

Digital Product Designer

2017 - 2019
Byte Orbit
  • Managed small product teams consisting of one to five people, including UX/UI designers, UX researchers, and developers, and worked closely with executive teams in strategic decision making.
  • Conceptualized, tested, validated, and developed the UX of a Forex trading application for one of the largest retail banks in Africa.
  • Used human-centered design principles to help a large retail bank conceptualize an evolution to their product and offerings.
  • Developed the UX for a large credit card provider looking to grow their offering and enter the digital space.
  • Ran UX research for a startup looking to help small business owners to manage their businesses using digital means.
  • Created the user experience for a group savings application for Old Mutual South Africa.
  • Consulted with multiple clients on innovation strategy and user experience in various sectors.
  • Helped successfully design, found, and scale a social dining app to 1,000 users in six months.
Technologies: Figma, UXPin, Jira, iOS, Android, Web UX, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, InVision, Sketch, Rapid Prototyping, Digital Product Design, UX Research, Wireframing, UI Design, Human-centered Design (HCD), Product Design, Design Systems

Freelance Designer

2015 - 2017
Ryan Byrne
  • Researched, conceptualized, and developed the UX for a mobile app to Milky Lane, a waffle house franchise in South Africa.
  • Designed and developed a website for a juice delivery service in Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Designed a food delivery website for a sandwich shop franchise in Cape Town.
  • Owned the design of the mobile application for a digital magazine and radio station.
Technologies: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, InVision, Sketch, Adobe Suite, Rapid Prototyping, Digital Product Design, UX Research, Wireframing, UI Design, Human-centered Design (HCD), Product Design

Front-end Designer and Developer

2013 - 2014
Web Courses Bangkok
  • Designed a mobile responsive recruitment platform.
  • Branded The US Steak House chain in Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Built an online booking platform for Footsteps in Asia, a travel booking service in Thailand.
Technologies: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, WordPress, CSS4, HTML5, Product Design

Web Designer

2012 - 2014
Webcourses Bangkok
  • Designed a website for a recruitment company in Bangkok working in the IT sector. The project included branding updates, website design, and art direction.
  • Designed an online travel agency platform offering custom "off-the-beaten-track" experiences to travelers in Asia.
  • Developed graphic design courseware that helped teach students the graphic design course.
  • Designed a website for an annual creative arts conference in Bangkok.
  • Designed the website for the Kenyan embassy in Bangkok.
Technologies: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Sketch, InVision, Product Design
2015 - 2017

Bachelor's Degree in Design Ideation

Inscape Education Group - Cape Town, South Africa

OCTOBER 2017 - PRESENT

Design Sprints

Udacity

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