Katie McKenzie
Product Designer
Well hello there! 👋
I’m Katie, a pint-sized, tea loving designer from New Zealand
now living in Edinburgh, Scotland
I believe life is all about experiences… (deep, I know!).
I fell in love with design when I realised how it shapes and improves everyday interactions, no matter how big or small. I'm passionate about using human-centered design to create products that genuinely help people and make their lives easier.
Over the past six years, I’ve applied this approach to digital products in both the finance and technology industry, learning a ton from the talented designers around me.
Experience
UX Designer
N-able
Oct 2023 - Present day
I lead the design of complex IT management features, creating seamless experiences for managed service providers (MSPs) and their end-users. Key achievements include:
Advancing our design system, 'Apex,' by defining new components and design patterns.
Optimising the onboarding experience of our flagship product, 'Cloud Commander,' to enable more successful and self-sufficient partner onboardings.
Collaborating with Product and Engineering leadership to shape strategy and direction within my product area.
Driving end-to-end design for multi-tenant cloud management features, including Microsoft Teams and Product Licenses integration.
UX Designer
N-able
|
Oct 2023 - Present day
I lead the design of complex IT management features, creating seamless experiences for managed service providers (MSPs) and their end-users. Key achievements include:
Advancing our design system, 'Apex,' by defining new components and design patterns.
Optimising the onboarding experience of our flagship product, 'Cloud Commander,' to enable more successful and self-sufficient partner onboardings.
Collaborating with Product and Engineering leadership to shape strategy and direction within my product area.
Driving end-to-end design for multi-tenant cloud management features, including Microsoft Teams and Product Licenses integration.
UX Designer
N-able
Oct 2023 - Present day
I lead the design of complex IT management features, creating seamless experiences for managed service providers (MSPs) and their end-users. Key achievements include:
Advancing our design system, 'Apex,' by defining new components and design patterns.
Optimising the onboarding experience of our flagship product, 'Cloud Commander,' to enable more successful and self-sufficient partner onboardings.
Collaborating with Product and Engineering leadership to shape strategy and direction within my product area.
Driving end-to-end design for multi-tenant cloud management features, including Microsoft Teams and Product Licenses integration.
Product Designer
Xero
Jul 2021 - May 2023
I worked as part of a cross-functional team made up of Design, Product and Engineering to deliver initiatives that helped Xero improve their help and support experiences including:
Enhancing our community forum pages to ensure accessibility and inclusivity up to WCAG 2.1 (AA) standard
Critiquing multiple vendors' user experience as part of our Learning Management System procurement process
Creating efficiencies in our partner onboarding process to achieve an estimated cost savings of $2m in customer acquisition over 2 years
Building consistency and scalability in our Product through systems thinking and re-usable components resulting in reduced development effort
Product Designer
Xero
|
Jul 2021 - May 2023
I worked as part of a cross-functional team made up of Design, Product and Engineering to deliver initiatives that helped Xero improve their help and support experiences including:
Enhancing our community forum pages to ensure accessibility and inclusivity up to WCAG 2.1 (AA) standard
Critiquing multiple vendors' user experience as part of our Learning Management System procurement process
Creating efficiencies in our partner onboarding process to achieve an estimated cost savings of $2m in customer acquisition over 2 years
Building consistency and scalability in our Product through systems thinking and re-usable components resulting in reduced development effort
Product Designer
Xero
Jul 2021 - May 2023
I worked as part of a cross-functional team made up of Design, Product and Engineering to deliver initiatives that helped Xero improve their help and support experiences including:
Enhancing our community forum pages to ensure accessibility and inclusivity up to WCAG 2.1 (AA) standard
Critiquing multiple vendors' user experience as part of our Learning Management System procurement process
Creating efficiencies in our partner onboarding process to achieve an estimated cost savings of $2m in customer acquisition over 2 years
Building consistency and scalability in our Product through systems thinking and re-usable components resulting in reduced development effort
Digital Designer
Bank of New Zealand
Nov 2018 - Jul 2021
Whilst working at BNZ Digital, I collaborated on a variety of projects across multiple digital channels, some of which included:
Designs to unify and evolve our payment flow to also meet the needs of our business banking customers
Promoting the value of design by creating a ‘future banking’ mobile app prototype as a artefact to influence business strategy & roadmaps
Refreshing our internet banking platform designs to be more consistent
Contributing to the creation of the BNZ design system and sketch component library
Digital Designer
Bank of New Zealand
|
Nov 2018 - Jul 2021
Whilst working at BNZ Digital, I collaborated on a variety of projects across multiple digital channels, some of which included:
Designs to unify and evolve our payment flow to also meet the needs of our business banking customers
Promoting the value of design by creating a ‘future banking’ mobile app prototype as a artefact to influence business strategy & roadmaps
Refreshing our internet banking platform designs to be more consistent
Contributing to the creation of the BNZ design system and sketch component library
Digital Designer
Bank of New Zealand
Nov 2018 - Jul 2021
Whilst working at BNZ Digital, I collaborated on a variety of projects across multiple digital channels, some of which included:
Designs to unify and evolve our payment flow to also meet the needs of our business banking customers
Promoting the value of design by creating a ‘future banking’ mobile app prototype as a artefact to influence business strategy & roadmaps
Refreshing our internet banking platform designs to be more consistent
Contributing to the creation of the BNZ design system and sketch component library
Tools I'm proficient in
Figma
Miro
Adobe Creative Cloud
Jira + Confluence
Slack
Teams
Education
Massey University
Bachelor of Visual Communication Design (Honours)
2014 - 2018
Achieved with First Class Honours
2014 - 2018
My Values
Constantly learn & grow
I strive to have a ‘growth mindset’ and embrace failures or mistakes as opportunities for growth. I believe in taking every opportunity to learn and improve - whether that be through conferences & courses, receiving feedback or taking inspiration from others to help improve my craft.
Constantly learn & grow
I strive to have a ‘growth mindset’ and embrace failures or mistakes as opportunities for growth. I believe in taking every opportunity to learn and improve - whether that be through conferences & courses, receiving feedback or taking inspiration from others to help improve my craft.
Constantly learn & grow
I strive to have a ‘growth mindset’ and embrace failures or mistakes as opportunities for growth. I believe in taking every opportunity to learn and improve - whether that be through conferences & courses, receiving feedback or taking inspiration from others to help improve my craft.
Teamwork makes the dream work
Cheesy but true! I believe that a collaborative design process within cross-functional teams always leads to higher quality outputs and solutions. Bringing together unique perspectives and expertise, results in diverse problem solving, creative ideation, and more robust designs.
Teamwork makes the dream work
Cheesy but true! I believe that a collaborative design process within cross-functional teams always leads to higher quality outputs and solutions. Bringing together unique perspectives and expertise, results in diverse problem solving, creative ideation, and more robust designs.
Teamwork makes the dream work
Cheesy but true! I believe that a collaborative design process within cross-functional teams always leads to higher quality outputs and solutions. Bringing together unique perspectives and expertise, results in diverse problem solving, creative ideation, and more robust designs.
Strive for excellence, not perfection
I’ve always kept myself to a high standard and unlike perfectionism - I accept that mistakes are inevitable, and value what I learn from them. My high standards help keep me accountable and allow me room for self-improvement.
Strive for excellence, not perfection
I’ve always kept myself to a high standard and unlike perfectionism - I accept that mistakes are inevitable, and value what I learn from them. My high standards help keep me accountable and allow me room for self-improvement.
Strive for excellence, not perfection
I’ve always kept myself to a high standard and unlike perfectionism - I accept that mistakes are inevitable, and value what I learn from them. My high standards help keep me accountable and allow me room for self-improvement.
Purpose drives motivation
I find I have a lot more energy when I’m working on something with meaning and purpose. If I can see the positive impact that my work is having, through either the data or customer feedback, it helps motivate me.
Purpose drives motivation
I find I have a lot more energy when I’m working on something with meaning and purpose. If I can see the positive impact that my work is having, through either the data or customer feedback, it helps motivate me.
Purpose drives motivation
I find I have a lot more energy when I’m working on something with meaning and purpose. If I can see the positive impact that my work is having, through either the data or customer feedback, it helps motivate me.
Keep it simple
The concept of ‘less is more’ is especially true in design with the simplest solution often being the best. I share in the belief that good design is invisible and harder to achieve as it often takes more time, effort and consideration to turn something complex into something simple.
Keep it simple
The concept of ‘less is more’ is especially true in design with the simplest solution often being the best. I share in the belief that good design is invisible and harder to achieve as it often takes more time, effort and consideration to turn something complex into something simple.
Keep it simple
The concept of ‘less is more’ is especially true in design with the simplest solution often being the best. I share in the belief that good design is invisible and harder to achieve as it often takes more time, effort and consideration to turn something complex into something simple.
Balance = happiness
For me to thrive I need balance. I personally value having a healthy work-life balance and working with just the right amount of challenge.When I can leave work without stress, and still have energy for my personal life - I’m happy.
Balance = happiness
For me to thrive I need balance. I personally value having a healthy work-life balance and working with just the right amount of challenge.When I can leave work without stress, and still have energy for my personal life - I’m happy.
Balance = happiness
For me to thrive I need balance. I personally value having a healthy work-life balance and working with just the right amount of challenge.When I can leave work without stress, and still have energy for my personal life - I’m happy.
Got questions?
I’m always excited to collaborate on innovative and exciting projects!
Phone
+44 07897 307735
Got questions?
I’m always excited to collaborate on innovative and exciting projects!
Phone
+44 07897 307735
Got questions?
I’m always excited to collaborate on innovative and exciting projects!
Phone
+44 07897 307735