My approach to design is rooted in a fundamentally user-centric mindset where I always fight for the user.
I believe that empathy should be the cornerstone of any UX process and that it's pivotal to succeed in the digital age.
Great UX and great UI go hand in hand, and one should never be overlooked for the sake of the other. Good visual design is an essential, not an option anymore.
I thrive working with immersive prototypes and animation - as digital products truly come to life with movement.
Going beyond the realms om UX and UI, I do love being engaged at a product level. - being involved in discussions around user retention, bounce rates and growth.
I really enjoy overlaying UX processes with a business and product mindset that involves a holistic view including strategy, adoption and growth tactics.
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WORK
Case study, Vodafone
Case study, Nettoken
Case study, Tate Modern
Design Task, Vodafone
Personal Projects, Conceptual
The UI & Visual Design Archives - Explorations, Concepts & Discoveries.
ABOUT
To me, UX and Digital Product design is the all-encompassing process of creative problem-solving.
It’s the thoughtful, intentional application of design knowledge in order to craft functional & intuitive user experiences.
For me, the appeal of the UX field comes from a fundamental urge to understand human behaviour and psychology in order to craft user-centric and empathic experiences.
Design first struck a chord with me while discovering the Bauhaus movement when I got my Product Design Bachelors Degree at Beckmans College of Design.
Icons like Mies Van De Rohe, Marcel Breuer and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy made me realise that there’s an inherent truth to the axiom “Form follows function” which I personally swear by to this day when designing any user experience or interface.
How an application looks, is less important than the content and information you can engage with inside it.
A great interface, in my opinion, fades away after a while, as we stop noticing it and using it becomes natural to us.
Which is why good design should be unobtrusive, and why less is always more.
CONTACT
Want to talk, work or grab a coffee?
THE LAB
This is a collection of dreams and ideas, still finding their footing. A space where I explore art, untether creativity and serves as a playground of experimentation.
ACCOLADES
“Billy has been invaluable to the TOBi team since joining. His enthusiasm for helping us build a new and improved product is palpable.
His passion for good, customer-centric design is second to none and you can see this come through in his deliveries for the new conversational framework designs that will be the building blocks for TOBi 2.0.
Billy is proactive in his approach and fosters collaboration amongst team members – something which is critical for us as we build out a new development team and welcome new people to the product.
The quality of his output is high and he regularly hits the mark with design briefs that are less structured to help us with the new Honestly –
I can’t imagine running the product without Billy at this stage.
His work and attitude are exceptional”
Darragh Keog, Product Owner Vodafone
“Billy is a very skilled creative designer with a fast-moving mind.
He is very hands-on with solutions when it concerns all kinds of fashion and conceptual design work.
He is also very fun and a nice person to have around. I strongly recommend Billy from that perspective.”
Johan Schalin, Head of Menswear
Tiger of Sweden Jeans 2007 - 2020
“I worked with Billy at Allsaints where he was a designer.
Billy was instrumental on getting us started on our sustainability journey and for that I am truly grateful.
It was a pleasure to work with Billy”
Catherine Scorey, COO Allsaints
“I had the pleasure of working with Billy during his time at H&M.
He’s a team player and diligent designer, with a keen eye for details and spotting trends.
He took on extra projects from another concept and collaborated with the concept designer & other internal teams to deliver insightful market and competitor research, as well as both apparel and graphic designs that ended up being commercially viable and profitable for the organization”
Johan Nordéus, Section Head H&M
“Myself and the team at Nettoken really enjoyed working with Billy.
He was asked to explore the logic and design of a new complex feature with various intricacies and managed come up with extremely useful research and great suggestions that we will certainly use! Great energy.
I 100% recommend him!”
Simonetta d’Ottaviano, Co-Founder & CEO Nettoken
“Billy is a proactive, hard-working fountain of ideas.
He’s got a superbly keen eye for working designs, and he’s an absolute pleasure to have around in the office. I can’t recommend him strongly enough”
Erik Jörgensen, Creative Director Midnight Tower
Q&A
Q: Pick one typeface to bring to a deserted island
A: Probably Akkzidenz Grotesk, beautiful & versatile!
Q: Most underrated track ever?
A: Swedish Goth-Rock legends Tiamat’s “Brighter Than the Sun”
Q: Name 3 design heroes
A: Hero is a strong word, and designers are just people after all. But a couple of designers that have meant a lot to me both personally but also professionally are Peter Saville, Rick Owens & Chris Do.
Q: Three books on your nightstand at the moment
A: Ogilvy on Advertising, Do the F*cking Work: Lowbrow Advice for High-level Creativity & The Obstacle is the Way: The Ancient Art of Turning Adversity to Advantage.
Q: Mac or PC?
A: I don’t think political correctness isn’t necessary very applicable to design!
Q: Where do you look for inspiration?
A: Everywhere and nowhere in a way. Inspiration is almost like this ethereal being that doesn't always want to be found - when you look for it, it turns elusive and doesn't want to be found.
Sure, I scan Dribbble, Behance & Awwwards probably just as much as most other designers. And that's all fine and dandy. However, the more "profound" inspiration comes, for me, when you least expect it. In the shower, on a walk while listening to music on too high volume or from the end credits of a movie.
These are unexpected, unhinged, asynchronous, truly weird but also unique ideas that emerge from some primordial mental lava tunnel of the creative subconscious.
Personally, I can often time find simply the process of "designing" inspirational in itself. I'll randomly work on some idea I've had, which leads to something that leads to something else. Then I might put that idea away for two-three weeks and return to it, and then discover something else about it or a new angle.
Q: Top 5 movies
A: The Matrix, The LotR org Trilogy, The Fifth Element, Star Wars Episode 4-6 & Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula. That's a lot more than 5 though!
Q: Do you have any tattoos?
A: Yes, Several and many more planned ahead!
Q: Favourite design quote?
A: “Design is creativity in the service of others” / Margret Gould Stewart
Q: Where have you studied design?
A: Where haven’t I?
Jokes aside, I’ve got a Bachelors Degree in Product Design from Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm. I’ve studied Graphic Design & Advertising at Forsbergs and during my years in fashion at H&M I went through countless internal training programs including designing using hides & leather.
More recently I attended General Assembly’s User Experience Design Immersive and I’m a member of the Interaction Design Foundation (IDF) where I to this date hold 22 certifications in UX, UI, Visual Design, Research and Strategy.
Besides that, I’m always striving for personal & professional growth, and some of the courses I’m enjoying are by Motion Design School, Awwwards W.Academy, Linkedin Learning, Future Learn & The Conversation Design Institute.
PROJECTS
TEACHING &
SEMINARS
PODCAST
FREELANCING
I teach both in the more formal classroom experience (or remote since 2020-21) and in a more one to one coaching basis.
I currently have a ongoing collaboration with Medieinstitutet in Stockholm, Sweden where I teach classes of Digital Content Designers & Front End Developers the fundamentals of UX & UI, Usability Testing, Prototyping, Responsive Webdesign and much more.
Want to know more? Reach out here.
I run The Design Alchemy Podcast together with Dimi Lazarou of Symbolon Branding where take a peek behind the veil of the design industry and break down complex topics and examine, discuss and deconstruct the Great Work of visual communication and symbolism, and how they affect our culture.
Available on most podcast providers.
My favourite is Spotify, Check it out here.
I freelance regularly and I'm always open to the opportunity of a new and interesting collaboration.
I offer my expertise and services in UX, UI, Product Design as well as animation and prototyping.
Want to know more? Reach out here.
BILLY BOMAN - UX/UI & PRODUCT DESIGNER
