Open to junior UX roles

Kim O'Neill

UX Designer — designing from research outwards.

UX designer blending user research, inclusive design and a touch of creative technology turning real user needs into clear, considered experiences.

Based in
Rosyth, Dunfermline
Education
BSc UX Design — Edinburgh Napier
Tools
Figma · Unity · After Effects · Canva · Miro · Google forms · Photoshop · Microsoft Office
Focus
Research-led, inclusive design
01 — About

Designing from research outwards.

I am a UX Designer with three years of experience designing digital products through academic projects at Edinburgh Napier University and Edinburgh College. I enjoy understanding users' needs through research and translating those insights into intuitive, accessible, and engaging experiences.

My strengths lie in user research, wireframing, prototyping in Figma, and communicating design decisions backed by evidence. I enjoy collaborating with others, value constructive feedback, and continuously iterate to create meaningful solutions that solve real user problems.

02 — Selected work

Four projects, end to end.

Each one structured the way I'd approach it on the job: Problem → Process → Outcome.

01
User-Centred Research Methods Solo

Edinburgh Tram Ticket Vending Machine

A User-Centred Usability Evaluation

Problem

Self-service ticket machines are everyday but rarely evaluated for usability or accessibility. In time-pressured stations - and with many users being tourists unfamiliar with the city - a confusing interface causes real pain points.

Process

A mixed-methods study from a pragmatic stance. Users tested a prototype of the current tram TVM interface; data was gathered through observation and a survey under informed consent and ethics approval. The work was grounded in Nielsen's usability heuristics (visibility of system status, consistency & standards, error prevention, aesthetic & minimalist design) and inclusive-design literature, then analysed using thematic analysis alongside ranked ordinal data.

Outcome

The study surfaced clear pain points - usability depended heavily on familiarity with Edinburgh, plus map/navigation difficulties and colour and button-placement issues - and proposed an improved interface to address them.

Existing Flow for Edinburgh Tram Service
current tram interface
Payment screen suggested improvements
Skills
  • Usability evaluation
  • Heuristic analysis
  • Survey design
  • Observation
  • Thematic analysis
  • Research ethics
  • Inclusive design
02
Designing the Visual Interface · High-fidelity Figma prototype Solo · Figma

Mama's Ice Cream

Promotional App & Design System

Problem

Ice cream vans turn up at unpredictable times and places; busy parents struggle to catch them, which disappoints excited kids.

Process

I built personas (primary: Helen, 34, a time-poor marketing manager with three kids; secondary: Jack, 4, easily excited), a mood board drawn from Italian-gelato branding (green, cream and pink), a user flow, wireframes and an information architecture with a full design system. Key features: van tracking by postcode, pre-order with skip-the-queue and a discount, location-based notifications, and a kid-friendly "create your ice cream" flow.

Outcome

A clear central call to action and the image-led ice-cream builder tested well, especially for involving children in ordering. Honest reflection: too many typefaces weakened the hierarchy, and the van "characters" weren't obviously interactive given time constraints. I responded to early feedback by adding the van-tracker map and characters to better meet the brief. Paired with a literature review, "Beyond the Screen," on gamification and VR for multisensory in-store engagement.

User Flow
Mood Board
User personas
Skills
  • Personas
  • User flows
  • Information architecture
  • Wireframing
  • Design systems
  • Hi-fi prototyping
  • UX writing
  • Reflective evaluation
03
Creative Technology Group of 4 · Unity

Understanding Visual Impairments Through Simulation

An interactive Unity experience

Problem

Everyday design assumes everyone sees the world the same way, yet many people live with visual differences that make ordinary tasks harder than designers expect.

Process

An interactive Unity experience of four connected rooms with identical layouts. Three apply post-processing filters simulating blurred vision, colour-vision deficiency and tunnel vision; the fourth shows normal sight. Users switch "visual personas" and complete simple tasks - counting apples, locating objects without bumping into them, climbing stairs, finding the cat picture - so the only variable is perception, not the environment. Built with a first-person controller and per-room post-processing, and inspired by Forza Horizon 5's accessibility settings, the Innsbruck goggle experiments and The Invisible Exhibition.

Outcome

The experience showed how design choices based only on colour, contrast or detail create invisible barriers, and argued for designing beyond the "average user" from the earliest stages. It built our teamwork, technical and problem-solving skills; the main constraint was a lack of experience using Unity.

Concept for the connected rooms

My role in the team: I was responsible for building a 3D room and I then applied one visual condition; my team applied different visual conditions to the same room, and the scenes were then merged into a single environment. The user was able to walk into different rooms and perform tasks with different visual conditions applied to each room.

Skills
  • Accessibility & inclusive design
  • Empathy / simulation
  • Interaction design
  • Teamwork
06
Interactive Experience Group · Figma · Trello

Mystery of Merchiston

Immersive Installation

Problem

The project aimed to create an interactive, in-person puzzle experience for Edinburgh Napier University's Open Days. The experience needed to showcase the university's technology facilities through an engaging narrative while encouraging prospective students to explore the space and collaborate to solve challenges. As the experience combined physical interaction with digital technology, it required a clearly defined user journey to connect each stage of the experience.

Process

I designed the end-to-end user flow in Figma, mapping the narrative, puzzles, and interactions into a single experience. Working closely with the team, I refined the flow through collaboration and stakeholder feedback, ensuring the experience remained engaging while aligning with the project scope. I also helped structure client presentations, using the user flow to communicate design decisions and project progress.

Outcome

The completed user flow provided a clear blueprint for development, enabling the team to move from planning into implementation with a shared understanding of the experience. It also became the primary tool for communicating the concept to stakeholders, supporting client discussions and helping guide the final design of the interactive puzzle experience.

Set up
Side view to show sound direction
Visual aids
Audio Control
User Flow

My role in the team: With strong user experience and research throughout the project, I crafted an engaging narrative following the history and stories of John Merchiston.

Skills
  • Immersive / experiential design
  • Multi-sensory interaction
  • Accessibility
  • Narrative design
  • Teamwork

More work

Technoculture & Society Solo · Figma (mind-mapping)

MindMend

Speculative Neural Chip for Mental Health

MindMend is a speculative UX project set in 2042 that explores how AI and neurotechnology could reshape access to mental healthcare. In response to increasing pressures on public mental health services, I designed a subscription-based neural implant and companion app while critically examining the ethical, societal, and environmental trade-offs of commercialising mental healthcare.

  • Speculative & critical design
  • Design research
  • Futures / world-building
  • Ethics
  • Visual presentation
Digital Storytelling Solo

Escape Tomb

Interactive Storytelling

A Sherlock Holmes-inspired escape room set in a newly uncovered Egyptian tomb. Players take the role of a skilled detective investigating an archaeologist's disappearance, cracking hieroglyphic codes and clues to expose a whodunit twist. The project covered genre and tone, themes (deception, intelligence, the pursuit of justice), protagonist/antagonist character diamonds, and a supporting cast players use to deduce the real culprit.

  • Narrative & experience design
  • World-building
  • Character design
  • Puzzle design
03 — Process

A flexible loop, not a rigid line.

I lean on this rhythm but revisit earlier stages whenever the evidence demands it.

  1. 01

    Research

    Understand the people, context and the real problem before designing.

  2. 02

    Define

    Turn findings into personas, problems and clear requirements.

  3. 03

    Ideate

    Sketch, map flows and explore concepts.

  4. 04

    Prototype

    Build wireframes through to high-fidelity, interactive prototypes.

  5. 05

    Test & reflect

    Evaluate against real users and heuristics, then iterate honestly.

04 — Skills

UX at the core, range around it.

Core UX

The skills I'm hired for and practise daily.

  • User research (surveys, observation, consent & ethics)
  • Usability evaluation & heuristic analysis (Nielsen's heuristics)
  • Thematic & ranked ordinal data analysis
  • Personas & user journeys
  • User flows & information architecture
  • Wireframing & low-to-high-fidelity prototyping
  • Design systems (colour, type, components, UX writing)
  • Accessibility & inclusive design
  • Interaction & experiential design
  • Speculative / critical design

Tools

What I design and build in.

  • Figma
  • Unity
  • After Effects
  • Canva
  • Miro
  • Google forms
  • Photoshop
  • Microsoft Office

Adjacent skills

Range that helps me collaborate and ship.

  • Visual & UI design
  • Illustration & vector (SVG)
  • Poster & packaging design
  • Digital storytelling & narrative design
  • HTML & CSS
  • 3D Modelling

Looking for a junior UX designer who starts with people?

I'm a recent graduate, ready to learn fast and pull my weight from week one. I'd love to hear what you're building.

kimberley_oneill@outlook.com