About me

About me

I’m a freelance, senior designer based in London. I specialise in both digital and print, and have an interest in UX. I also have a background in photography and photo retouching.

Education

MSc Psychology 
Birkbeck, University of London (current)

Master of Multimedia Design
Monash University, Melbourne, Australia (2004)

Fine Arts (Photography)
Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne (2002)

International Exchange Program
Pratt Institute, New York City (2001)

Experience

I’ve been a designer since 2005, freelancer since 2010, with a 3-year permanent role at OgilvyOne from 2014-17, in between (aka the freelance sandwich).

Agencies: Goya Studio, Rapp UK, Ogilvy, Keko London, Connected Pictures, Edelman, Squint/Opera, 360i Europe, Poke, Adam&Eve/King Henry, Proximity, Archibald Ingall Stretton, Firebelly, Redwood, AKA, Banner, Investis, Salterbaxter, and Spinnaker.

When I’m not designing I like finding faces everywhere, travelling, swimming, yoga, cooking, sewing and taking pictures. Am currently studying my Masters in Psychology, hope to work in psychedelic therapy in the future.

Brands

Sectors

Consumer, B2B, food, baby, healthcare, financial, government, technology, aviation, charity, automotive, beauty, fashion, luxury.

Testimonials

  • Nina is an exceptionally creative designer. Her understanding of users and best design practice helped us create sites that looked great and fulfilled our requested design objectives. She manages all aspect of the design process with ease and assurance. I recommend her fully as a colleague and designer.

     
    McGee NobleDigital Content Manager, Sport.co.uk / Media Corporation plc, London
  • I worked extensively with Nina when she was Lead Designer and I was Creative Director on OgilvyOne's SMA/Nestlé account. Combining exceptional attention to detail with a natural creative spark, she is a delight to work with. I can't recommend Nina highly enough.
    Paul HancockCreative at OgilvyOne, London
  • I have had the pleasure of working with the lovely Nina over many years at Ogilvy One. She is one of the most reliable designers I have ever worked with - you can always trust a job passed to her, knowing it will be done asap, with tidy files, logical thinking and a great design. Along with visual skills and design talent (print and digital) she has a technical expertise too which adds another layer to her skills. I can't recommend Nina highly enough* *And I will really miss her at Ogilvy!
    Julie FeatherstoneSenior digital creative, OgilvyOne, London

  • Nina is one of a kind - her signature is her outstanding work which not only meets the brief and is delivered on time (if not early!) but with added sparkle and love which only Nina can create.

    Her extensive experience across digital, social, web design, print and beyond means I'm confident she can excel at any challenge she is faced with. Her thoughtful and vital questions at briefing ensure the whole team has an understanding of the task at hand and we're all set to deliver the best work we can. Nina is calm, humble and always brings excellent, relevant ideas to any project she touches. She's a true gem to know and work with!
    Laura StandenSenior Account Manager, OgilvyOne, London

  • Nina is a great designer very creative and easy to communicate with. You can always rely on Nina to get you a professional result with designs that clients love. Nina has good creative skills in photography, illustration, logo and print design etc. However I think what really sets Nina apart is that she is also really good at the coding and technical side of web design. Not many designers are good at both!

    Nick SibbingWeb Designer, Artful - Web, Print, Design, Melbourne
  • The work Nina has done for me, graphic design, website and CV building have been invaluable to my business, Devi Productions. She is creative, artistic, professional, knowledgable, reliable and fun to work with. She creates the space for her client's own input with ease while suggesting excellent ideas. In getting to know Nina I can see this comes from years of experience, a brilliant work ethic together with an open and warm disposition. I look forward to all future work with Nina and highly recommend her if you want creative, high-level presentation.
    Devaki ThomasMarketing/PR Specialist at The Bhavan

Skillset

Digital

  • Websites
  • Mobile & apps
  • Emails
  • Social media
  • Banners, page takeovers, animated GIFs
  • UX
  • WordPress (CSS customisation and template setup)
  • Basic HTML and CSS

Work

Print

  • Advertising formats
  • Publications
  • Stationery & flyers
  • Posters
  • Billboards
  • Magazines
  • Exhibition stands

Work

Brand identity

  • Custom logos
  • Brand identity
  • New or rebranding
  • Will always work to understand business objectives and strategy

Work

Guidelines

Creation of brand guidelines documents with detailed specifications.

Illustration

  • Custom illustration
  • Infographics
  • Icons
  • Diagrams
  • Medical illustrations

Work

Photography and retouching

  • Photo retouching to support design
  • Photography style recommendations
  • Image searching

Pitches

Head down, get it done, keep it fun

Software

  • Photoshop
  • Indesign
  • Illustrator
  • Sketch
  • WordPress
  • Keynote
  • Premiere (basic)
  • HTML & CSS (basic)

All files and layers labelled and organised with attention to detail.

Style and approach

If I had a style it would be clean and organised with attention to detail and user experience in mind. My approach to design is to base it on the individual needs of the project. Rather than using the latest design trends or follow a certain style, I try to put the design in context of potential customers or users, and work with clients to discover what their project is trying to achieve, and come up with designs that help them do that. I try to infuse my designs with the mood that the design needs to invoke in the end user.

On designers..

Designers aren’t just creative people that can make things pretty because they have software to do so; they are professionals who organise information, lead customers on user experiences, translate arbitrary business goals and ideas into something visual and tangible, and think about many different factors of psychology, mood, technology and context when coming up with design concepts. We work in a field that is constantly changing and expanding, while trying to make work that is stimulating and interesting for our clients and their customers (and hopefully ourselves too!).