Map
Audits + workshops to map and align 12 journeys
Making every message clearer and more consistent
Lifecycle email and ux lead (journey mapping, content, templates, build)
Merged strategy, storytelling and technical craft to deliver measurable impact in a fast feedback loop
Context
Marketing teams were firefighting, devs patching brittle templates, and users giving up mid-flow. Twelve disconnected journeys collapsed into chaos
The challenge: rebuild confidence with one unified system that shipped faster and actually got clicked
Brief
Five-month secondment with a US B2C brand to unify lifecycle journeys under one scalable system, leading strategy, design, templates and build through to deployment
Move a research wireframe into a clear, compliant, build-ready prototype that users could trust and developers could confidently build
Approach
Prototype
Prototyped fast, tested early, validated ideas with real users
Solve
Worked with engineering to automate workflows and turn constraints into solutions
Refine
Each sprint layered automation + A/B testing for continuous improvement
Outcome
Unified 12 fragmented journeys into one coherent lifecycle system
Restored trust across marketing, product and engineering through shared patterns
Created a foundation for continuous optimisation rather than one-off campaigns
Above-the-fold clarity
You’ve got 400 pixels before a swipe, so let’s make them count
Readable, lovable type
Clear, readable type because users don’t scroll for benefits, they stop when they see them
Perso with purpose
Personalisation isn’t creepy when it’s helpful
Impact
Clearer hierarchy and intent turned disengagement into growth
"Ian brought true design leadership — raising the quality of our work, guiding the team with clarity, and pushing us to think more strategically about the user experience"
+28% CTR
Clearer calls-to-action above the fold → boosted engagement on mobile
+11% CTR
Concise, snappier headlines → more clicks across campaigns
+41% CTOR
Smarter personalisation → significantly higher click-to-open rates
What was built
Mapped cross-team content flows for personalisation and faster delivery
Reusable email system
Streamlined 45 monthly emails across 12 journeys with a unified approach
Consistent UX patterns
Aligned Figma and SFMC patterns to reduce dev time and errors
Automation-ready templates
Dynamic link generator and real-time basket tracking streamlined ops
Continuous optimisation loops
A/B testing revealed what worked, from motion to message and offer
Focus outperforms completeness
A small number of well-chosen levers delivered more impact than a broader redesign would have done
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Didn't move the needle
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Priority levers
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Not worth it
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Valuable, not viable
Design decisions
What guided the design
Readable-first email hierarchy, ensuring key messages remained clear within crowded inbox environments and constrained email layouts
Less content, clearer storytelling, reducing cognitive load so recipients could quickly understand the purpose of each email
Mobile-first structure, allowing messages to remain legible and scannable on small screens where most emails were opened
Trade-offs
Message clarity over legal prominence, keeping the primary message visible above the fold rather than buried beneath compliance text
Standardised layouts over bespoke designs, making lifecycle journeys easier to maintain and reuse across campaigns
Reliable rendering over visual complexity, ensuring emails displayed consistently across inconsistent email clients
Deliberately omitted
Heavy personalisation that felt artificial, avoiding messaging that could appear overly automated or insincere
Custom mobile font embedding, which added technical complexity without meaningfully improving readability
Decorative features that added little value, keeping the focus on message clarity rather than visual novelty
