Bristol, England

Hello,

I'm Sam Baber

I’m a Senior Product Designer and Design System Guru living in Bristol. Please take a look through my portfolio and experience, if you have any questions reach out!

A little about me

Thank you for taking the time to look through my website. My collective experience has allowed me to be come a well rounded designer with a specialism in UX, Design Systems and UI. I pride myself on my ability to take control of my own situation and look for areas to grow within each role I take.

EXPERIENCE

Storyteq - ITG

Senior Product Designer (UX/UI/Design Systems)
August 2024 - Present

I help drive the design and development of our white-label SaaS Content Management Platform (CMP), enabling global brands such as Heineken, Mass Mutual, Rituals, Sky, John Lewis Partnership, and M&S to scale their creative production seamlessly. A key focus of my work is implementing a themeable, tokenised design system that empowers clients to customise their branding efficiently. This system ensures a consistent user experience while supporting the rapid deployment of campaigns across diverse channels.

In addition to designing intuitive user experiences, I play a pivotal role in improving internal processes and implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that enhance team efficiency and collaboration. By establishing clear workflows and optimising design operations, I ensure our teams can deliver high-quality results at pace and scale. Through a blend of user-centred design, scalable solutions, and streamlined processes, I contribute to making our CMP a critical tool for marketers striving to elevate their creative output and simplify production workflows.

Staysure Group  

Digital Product Designer (UX/UI/Design Systems)
May 2022 - Present

I joined as the first designer on the digital team to drive digital transformation and increase conversion. In the initial phase, we achieved a 3% increase, adding £2 million to the year-end margin. I addressed UI inconsistencies and poor accessibility on the Staysure and Avanti websites, implementing a basic design system and using Optimizely for A/B testing to improve usability. Involved in the full end-to-end process, I led user research, created wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs, collaborating with cross-functional teams to iterate and implement designs based on feedback.

Later on I spearheaded the newest design systems strategy, establishing the Design Systems Guild for cross-team collaboration. I built three design systems from scratch, utilised latest release Figma’s variables, and adopted an atomic design methodology, integrating components into our Storybook library for consistency and efficiency.

Direct Line Group  

Digital Product Designer (UX/UI)
January 2021 – May 2022

At DLG I focused the majority of my time being the main product/visual designer on the home insurance section of the websites. I designed across all of the main insurance brands at DLG which included Direct Line, Churchill and Privilege. I worked collaboratively with data analysts, UX researchers and content writers on the identification of pain points within the digital customer journeys. Using my skillset to maximise the visual impact we have with our brands and identify opportunities within the market to deliver innovative solutions/product.

Maddison Ltd

Freelance - Industrial Designer
October 2020 - November 2020

Working with Maddison, I was brought in to work on a few projects in varying stages of their development. During concept development I explored form and surface finish for wearable tech devices utilising Keyshot and Solidworks; applying bump maps and editing the material graph to produce final renders. Using Photoshop, I also explored garment forms and textures, as well as device integration into the garments.

Loughborough Design School

Design & Marketing Intern
February 2019 - July 2019

Working within the marketing department I was given responsibilities which included event organisation, graphic design, website & social media management, text/video/image editing. I was involved heavily with the organisation of the Design School's Degree Show 2019. I co-organised with members of the marketing team and wider university staff. As well as working closely with the students to provide them with the best opportunity to show case and present their final year projects.

Iconmobile - Berlin

User Experience Design Intern
August 2018 - February 2019

Working as an intern in the UX strategy department I focused my time on creating wireframe concepts and conducting market research. With an emphasis on expanding my UX/UI toolkit learning new skills in Sketch and Adobe XD. I was thrown in the deep end which involved working within an agile team on a multi - million euro project, where I had to collaborate with front end developers, backend developers as well as industrial designers and electrical engineers.

EDUCATION

Industrial Design & Technology - 2:1

2016 - 2020

Loughborough University

Throughout my degree, I undertook a variety of modules that have progressed me greatly as a professional designer. The different modules include: Industrial Design, User Experience Design, Design Communication, Prototyping for Design, Design for Manufacture, as well as a few others which built my skillset. My degree allowed me to become a more rounded designer with abilities in various different aspects of design, making me a problem solver who can execute ideas to reach their full potential.

Sixth Form
2014 - 2016
The Bath Studio School

A Level Photography - A*
A Level Product Design - B
BTEC L3 Creative Media: TV & Film - Double Distinction

Extra Qualifications
2021 - 2022
Google UX Design Certificate
UserZoom Academy Certificate
Contentsquare Fundamentals/Expert Certificate

SKILLS

Software

Technical

  • UX Design
  • Graphic Design
  • Visualisation
  • UI Design
  • Industrial Design
  • 3D Printing
  • User Testing
  • Sketching
  • Photography

Interpersonal

  • Team Work
  • Organisation
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Creativity
  • Decision Making

When I'm not designing...

I spend a lot of my time playing sports and keeping active. I also have always had a passion for music, so during one of the lockdowns I started to produce drum and bass music and learnt how to DJ. I have released a few tracks on Spotify and Apple music feel free to take a listen 🤪