Hello, I’m Alex—

Hello, I’m Alex—

Hello, I’m Alex—

Digital product designer from the UK turning complex ideas into clean, intuitive experiences.

Digital product designer from the UK turning complex ideas into clean, intuitive experiences.

Digital product designer from the UK turning complex ideas into clean, intuitive experiences.

Previously Staff Product Designer at Arcadia, accelerating the climate‑tech revolution one pixel at a time.

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My work

My work

My work

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cardProject

cardProject

cardProject

An instagram advert and site module for Arcadia Rewards

Arcadia • Gamification for Solar

A conceptual rewards system designed to bridge the gap between sign-up and solar activation. Users earn a playful currency by taking climate-positive actions, which they can redeem in a sustainability marketplace—making the Arcadia experience instantly rewarding.

Coming soon

Product Design

badge

Branding

An instagram advert and site module for Arcadia Rewards

Arcadia • Gamification for Solar

A conceptual rewards system designed to bridge the gap between sign-up and solar activation. Users earn a playful currency by taking climate-positive actions, which they can redeem in a sustainability marketplace—making the Arcadia experience instantly rewarding.

Coming soon

Product Design

badge

Branding

An instagram advert and site module for Arcadia Rewards

Arcadia • Gamification for Solar

A conceptual rewards system designed to bridge the gap between sign-up and solar activation. Users earn a playful currency by taking climate-positive actions, which they can redeem in a sustainability marketplace—making the Arcadia experience instantly rewarding.

Coming soon

Product Design

badge

Branding

Contactually • CRM dashboard

I revisited my earlier Contactually dashboard to align with 2025 relationship‑management needs. The overhaul introduces a modern visual language, a tighter information hierarchy, and AI‑powered context, turning a once static view into a proactive command centre.

Coming soon

Product Design

Contactually • CRM dashboard

I revisited my earlier Contactually dashboard to align with 2025 relationship‑management needs. The overhaul introduces a modern visual language, a tighter information hierarchy, and AI‑powered context, turning a once static view into a proactive command centre.

Coming soon

Product Design

Contactually • CRM dashboard

I revisited my earlier Contactually dashboard to align with 2025 relationship‑management needs. The overhaul introduces a modern visual language, a tighter information hierarchy, and AI‑powered context, turning a once static view into a proactive command centre.

Coming soon

Product Design

About

About

About

Where it all started...

I didn’t exactly walk through the front door of design—I sort of climbed in over the metaphorical Glastonbury fence. At sixteen I was in a noisy little band, and somebody had to make us look legit online, so I opened up Dreamweaver and taught myself just enough HTML to build a website. Between after‑school rehearsals and weekend shows, I was patching together logos, tweaking photos, and figuring out how CSS worked (well… mostly). Turning home‑recorded tracks into something that looked like a proper release was addictive, and soon other artists were asking for the same treatment.

That’s when it clicked: branding and design are just another way to play in a band—only the instruments are fonts and hex codes.

That’s when it clicked: branding and design are just another way to play in a band—only the instruments are fonts and hex codes.

That’s when it clicked: branding and design are just another way to play in a band—only the instruments are fonts and hex codes.

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Auto

The matterhorn with my legs and snowboard at the bottom of the frame
The matterhorn with my legs and snowboard at the bottom of the frame
The matterhorn with my legs and snowboard at the bottom of the frame
Alex sat in a conference room looking at the speaker
Alex sat in a conference room looking at the speaker
Alex sat in a conference room looking at the speaker
A panoramic photograph of the Arcadia team sat in the National gallery
A panoramic photograph of the Arcadia team sat in the National gallery
A panoramic photograph of the Arcadia team sat in the National gallery
Illustration of an Alt text tag
Illustration of an Alt text tag
Illustration of an Alt text tag
A black and white photograph of Alex Strasman
A black and white photograph of Alex Strasman
A black and white photograph of Alex Strasman
My band, "The Vibe" circa. 2011
My band, "The Vibe" circa. 2011
My band, "The Vibe" circa. 2011
Rick Astley in Never Gonna Give You Up
Rick Astley in Never Gonna Give You Up
Rick Astley in Never Gonna Give You Up

When I realised I wasn’t Rick Astley

Music took me to Bath Spa University for a BA in Commercial Music, but while everyone else was perfecting their set lists, I was busy redesigning their album art and tidying up their MySpace pages (yes, I'm that old). The emails about freelance projects started coming faster than Ed Sheeran singles, and somewhere in my final year I had to admit the obvious: I was better at Photoshop than power‑chords. So I swapped the stage lights for a laptop screen and made design my main gig.

The future... (Now)

Fast‑forward a few years (for a deeper dive, check out the experience section)—I’ve just wrapped eight busy years as a Staff Product Designer at Arcadia. I worked across both their Community Solar and Platform products, built and maintained a design system that kept everything looking tight, mentored younger designers, and teamed up with engineers to simplify complex user journeys in an emerging space.

I’m back in freelance mode now—keen to meet people who want to make cool things together.

I’m back in freelance mode now—keen to meet people who want to make cool things together.

I’m back in freelance mode now—keen to meet people who want to make cool things together.

I still write music (the demos are safely hidden on a hard drive), and when I’m not glued to Figma you’ll find me chasing snow, bombing down mountain‑bike trails, or planning the next trip somewhere new.

Experience

Experience

Experience

Fifteen+ years in the making: the gigs that shaped my craft.

Arcadia logo

Staff Product Designer

Arcadia

·

Full-time

Jul 2017

-

Apr 2025

·

7 years 10 months

Washington D.C.

·

Remote

I joined Arcadia as the company’s first official design hire, back when the product was still rough around the edges and the team was just beginning to scale. My first challenge was to instil a consistent design language across the existing product, which at the time focused primarily on Renewable Energy Certificates. From there, my role evolved alongside the company—through new product launches like SmartRate, several brand overhauls, and eventually, a full shift toward consumer energy products and platform services. Over the next seven and a half years, I grew into a Staff Product Designer role, working across almost every part of the product landscape. I led design efforts on both Arcadia’s flagship Community Solar product and our platform offering—an API-based solution that provides utility data infrastructure for other climate tech companies. I also designed and shipped a complete overhaul of our internal operations tools, partnering closely with PMs and engineers to reimagine how account data was structured and how teams navigated the customer lifecycle. This work dramatically improved how our internal teams managed solar placements, tracked customer journeys, and understood the broader business picture. Along the way, I built and maintained our design system to keep everything sharp and consistent, mentored junior designers as the team grew, and worked across disciplines to make sure design was always tied into the wider product strategy. It was a long and rewarding chapter—equal parts scrappy and strategic—and I left proud of the team and systems we’d built.

Read more

Arcadia logo

Staff Product Designer

Arcadia

·

Full-time

Jul 2017

-

Apr 2025

·

7 years 10 months

Washington D.C.

·

Remote

I joined Arcadia as the company’s first official design hire, back when the product was still rough around the edges and the team was just beginning to scale. My first challenge was to instil a consistent design language across the existing product, which at the time focused primarily on Renewable Energy Certificates. From there, my role evolved alongside the company—through new product launches like SmartRate, several brand overhauls, and eventually, a full shift toward consumer energy products and platform services. Over the next seven and a half years, I grew into a Staff Product Designer role, working across almost every part of the product landscape. I led design efforts on both Arcadia’s flagship Community Solar product and our platform offering—an API-based solution that provides utility data infrastructure for other climate tech companies. I also designed and shipped a complete overhaul of our internal operations tools, partnering closely with PMs and engineers to reimagine how account data was structured and how teams navigated the customer lifecycle. This work dramatically improved how our internal teams managed solar placements, tracked customer journeys, and understood the broader business picture. Along the way, I built and maintained our design system to keep everything sharp and consistent, mentored junior designers as the team grew, and worked across disciplines to make sure design was always tied into the wider product strategy. It was a long and rewarding chapter—equal parts scrappy and strategic—and I left proud of the team and systems we’d built.

Read more

Arcadia logo

Staff Product Designer

Arcadia

·

Full-time

Jul 2017

-

Apr 2025

·

7 years 10 months

Washington D.C.

·

Remote

I joined Arcadia as the company’s first official design hire, back when the product was still rough around the edges and the team was just beginning to scale. My first challenge was to instil a consistent design language across the existing product, which at the time focused primarily on Renewable Energy Certificates. From there, my role evolved alongside the company—through new product launches like SmartRate, several brand overhauls, and eventually, a full shift toward consumer energy products and platform services. Over the next seven and a half years, I grew into a Staff Product Designer role, working across almost every part of the product landscape. I led design efforts on both Arcadia’s flagship Community Solar product and our platform offering—an API-based solution that provides utility data infrastructure for other climate tech companies. I also designed and shipped a complete overhaul of our internal operations tools, partnering closely with PMs and engineers to reimagine how account data was structured and how teams navigated the customer lifecycle. This work dramatically improved how our internal teams managed solar placements, tracked customer journeys, and understood the broader business picture. Along the way, I built and maintained our design system to keep everything sharp and consistent, mentored junior designers as the team grew, and worked across disciplines to make sure design was always tied into the wider product strategy. It was a long and rewarding chapter—equal parts scrappy and strategic—and I left proud of the team and systems we’d built.

Read more

Contactually logo

Product Designer

Contactually

·

Full-time

Nov 2014

-

Jun 2017

·

2 years 8 months

Washington D.C.

·

Remote

As Contactually’s first in-house designer, I led all aspects of design across the product and marketing experience during a period of rapid growth. Working closely with product managers and engineers in a fast-paced startup environment, I was responsible for UX/UI design, user research, and building a scalable design foundation. I owned the complete redesign of Contactually’s end-to-end experience — from onboarding and web application flows to the design of our mobile app on both iOS and Android. My work focused on helping users (particularly customer agents) get immediate value from the product by guiding them through network setup and surfacing the right tools to strengthen and maintain their client relationships. Notable projects included the Smart Email Template Creator, ScaleMail, the Universal Contact Sidebar, the “Bucket Game” engagement mechanic, and a full redesign of the public-facing marketing site. I also established a rudimentary but effective design system and style guide, introducing component-based UI patterns and ensuring visual consistency across platforms — all while balancing multiple high-priority initiatives and managing input from a wide range of stakeholders. This role taught me how to thrive as a solo designer within a startup, delivering high-quality design quickly and iteratively, while helping to shape the direction of the product and company brand.

Read more

Contactually logo

Product Designer

Contactually

·

Full-time

Nov 2014

-

Jun 2017

·

2 years 8 months

Washington D.C.

·

Remote

As Contactually’s first in-house designer, I led all aspects of design across the product and marketing experience during a period of rapid growth. Working closely with product managers and engineers in a fast-paced startup environment, I was responsible for UX/UI design, user research, and building a scalable design foundation. I owned the complete redesign of Contactually’s end-to-end experience — from onboarding and web application flows to the design of our mobile app on both iOS and Android. My work focused on helping users (particularly customer agents) get immediate value from the product by guiding them through network setup and surfacing the right tools to strengthen and maintain their client relationships. Notable projects included the Smart Email Template Creator, ScaleMail, the Universal Contact Sidebar, the “Bucket Game” engagement mechanic, and a full redesign of the public-facing marketing site. I also established a rudimentary but effective design system and style guide, introducing component-based UI patterns and ensuring visual consistency across platforms — all while balancing multiple high-priority initiatives and managing input from a wide range of stakeholders. This role taught me how to thrive as a solo designer within a startup, delivering high-quality design quickly and iteratively, while helping to shape the direction of the product and company brand.

Read more

Contactually logo

Product Designer

Contactually

·

Full-time

Nov 2014

-

Jun 2017

·

2 years 8 months

Washington D.C.

·

Remote

As Contactually’s first in-house designer, I led all aspects of design across the product and marketing experience during a period of rapid growth. Working closely with product managers and engineers in a fast-paced startup environment, I was responsible for UX/UI design, user research, and building a scalable design foundation. I owned the complete redesign of Contactually’s end-to-end experience — from onboarding and web application flows to the design of our mobile app on both iOS and Android. My work focused on helping users (particularly customer agents) get immediate value from the product by guiding them through network setup and surfacing the right tools to strengthen and maintain their client relationships. Notable projects included the Smart Email Template Creator, ScaleMail, the Universal Contact Sidebar, the “Bucket Game” engagement mechanic, and a full redesign of the public-facing marketing site. I also established a rudimentary but effective design system and style guide, introducing component-based UI patterns and ensuring visual consistency across platforms — all while balancing multiple high-priority initiatives and managing input from a wide range of stakeholders. This role taught me how to thrive as a solo designer within a startup, delivering high-quality design quickly and iteratively, while helping to shape the direction of the product and company brand.

Read more

cardExperience

cardExperience

cardExperience

Wildbit logo

Product Designer

Wildbit

·

Contract

Apr 2014

-

Jul 2014

·

4 months

Greater Philadelphia Area

·

Remote

I joined Wildbit on a short-term contract to support the product team during a key development cycle, focusing on interface and experience design for their flagship product, Beanstalk. I co-led the design and development of a major new feature, beginning with low-fidelity wireframes and progressing to a fully interactive HTML/SASS prototype. This included designing new UI components that were both highly usable and tightly aligned with the existing style guide. Beyond feature development, I contributed to refining other areas of the Beanstalk product and marketing site. Highlights included a full redesign of the public landing pages — particularly the homepage, pricing, and feature descriptions — where I worked on layout improvements and new content integration. I was also responsible for producing retina-ready versions of all icons used throughout the app. This role marked several firsts for me: it was my introduction to Git and version control systems, and it’s where I first learned SASS in order to contribute meaningfully to a mature, production-level codebase. My time at Wildbit was short but packed with learning, giving me hands-on experience working within a complex, commercial-grade product environment.

Read more

Wildbit logo

Product Designer

Wildbit

·

Contract

Apr 2014

-

Jul 2014

·

4 months

Greater Philadelphia Area

·

Remote

I joined Wildbit on a short-term contract to support the product team during a key development cycle, focusing on interface and experience design for their flagship product, Beanstalk. I co-led the design and development of a major new feature, beginning with low-fidelity wireframes and progressing to a fully interactive HTML/SASS prototype. This included designing new UI components that were both highly usable and tightly aligned with the existing style guide. Beyond feature development, I contributed to refining other areas of the Beanstalk product and marketing site. Highlights included a full redesign of the public landing pages — particularly the homepage, pricing, and feature descriptions — where I worked on layout improvements and new content integration. I was also responsible for producing retina-ready versions of all icons used throughout the app. This role marked several firsts for me: it was my introduction to Git and version control systems, and it’s where I first learned SASS in order to contribute meaningfully to a mature, production-level codebase. My time at Wildbit was short but packed with learning, giving me hands-on experience working within a complex, commercial-grade product environment.

Read more

Techtopia logo

Product Designer

Techtopia

·

Full-time

May 2012

-

Mar 2014

·

1 year 11 months

London

·

Hybrid

Techtopia is a global platform supporting technology companies and entrepreneurs through project incubation, seed funding, mentorship, and a collaborative co-working environment — all in pursuit of their mission to create a "technology utopia." As a Product Designer, I partnered directly with early-stage startups to turn raw concepts into functional, user-centred digital products. I was responsible for end-to-end design — from early brand identity and interface design to user experience strategy and iOS iconography. My role involved close collaboration with founding teams to define layouts, interactions, and content architecture. I helped shape the full design process, offering guidance on product positioning and go-to-market creative as launch approached. While I designed the majority of assets across all projects myself, I occasionally collaborated with external specialists to ensure a consistently high standard of execution.

Read more

Techtopia logo

Product Designer

Techtopia

·

Full-time

May 2012

-

Mar 2014

·

1 year 11 months

London

·

Hybrid

Techtopia is a global platform supporting technology companies and entrepreneurs through project incubation, seed funding, mentorship, and a collaborative co-working environment — all in pursuit of their mission to create a "technology utopia." As a Product Designer, I partnered directly with early-stage startups to turn raw concepts into functional, user-centred digital products. I was responsible for end-to-end design — from early brand identity and interface design to user experience strategy and iOS iconography. My role involved close collaboration with founding teams to define layouts, interactions, and content architecture. I helped shape the full design process, offering guidance on product positioning and go-to-market creative as launch approached. While I designed the majority of assets across all projects myself, I occasionally collaborated with external specialists to ensure a consistently high standard of execution.

Read more

Freemax Media logo

Graphic Web Designer

Freemax Media

·

Full-time

Nov 2009

-

Apr 2012

·

2 years 6 months

Wokingham, Berkshire

·

On-site

Freemax Media is a high-volume email marketing agency delivering millions of targeted campaigns daily on behalf of global brands such as Nike, Vodafone, British Airways, BMW, Sky, Napster, and La Senza. In this role, I was responsible for designing bespoke HTML emails, newsletters, and accompanying campaign microsites optimised for both desktop and mobile. Working in a fast-paced, performance-driven environment sharpened my understanding of user experience, particularly in the context of lead generation and conversion-focused design. It was a formative experience that laid a strong foundation for my future in digital and product design — and yes, the Christmas parties were legendary.

Read more

Freemax Media logo

Graphic Web Designer

Freemax Media

·

Full-time

Nov 2009

-

Apr 2012

·

2 years 6 months

Wokingham, Berkshire

·

On-site

Freemax Media is a high-volume email marketing agency delivering millions of targeted campaigns daily on behalf of global brands such as Nike, Vodafone, British Airways, BMW, Sky, Napster, and La Senza. In this role, I was responsible for designing bespoke HTML emails, newsletters, and accompanying campaign microsites optimised for both desktop and mobile. Working in a fast-paced, performance-driven environment sharpened my understanding of user experience, particularly in the context of lead generation and conversion-focused design. It was a formative experience that laid a strong foundation for my future in digital and product design — and yes, the Christmas parties were legendary.

Read more

Wildbit logo

Product Designer

Wildbit

·

Contract

Apr 2014

-

Jul 2014

·

4 months

Greater Philadelphia Area

·

Remote

I joined Wildbit on a short-term contract to support the product team during a key development cycle, focusing on interface and experience design for their flagship product, Beanstalk. I co-led the design and development of a major new feature, beginning with low-fidelity wireframes and progressing to a fully interactive HTML/SASS prototype. This included designing new UI components that were both highly usable and tightly aligned with the existing style guide. Beyond feature development, I contributed to refining other areas of the Beanstalk product and marketing site. Highlights included a full redesign of the public landing pages — particularly the homepage, pricing, and feature descriptions — where I worked on layout improvements and new content integration. I was also responsible for producing retina-ready versions of all icons used throughout the app. This role marked several firsts for me: it was my introduction to Git and version control systems, and it’s where I first learned SASS in order to contribute meaningfully to a mature, production-level codebase. My time at Wildbit was short but packed with learning, giving me hands-on experience working within a complex, commercial-grade product environment.

Read more

Techtopia logo

Product Designer

Techtopia

·

Full-time

May 2012

-

Mar 2014

·

1 year 11 months

London

·

Hybrid

Techtopia is a global platform supporting technology companies and entrepreneurs through project incubation, seed funding, mentorship, and a collaborative co-working environment — all in pursuit of their mission to create a "technology utopia." As a Product Designer, I partnered directly with early-stage startups to turn raw concepts into functional, user-centred digital products. I was responsible for end-to-end design — from early brand identity and interface design to user experience strategy and iOS iconography. My role involved close collaboration with founding teams to define layouts, interactions, and content architecture. I helped shape the full design process, offering guidance on product positioning and go-to-market creative as launch approached. While I designed the majority of assets across all projects myself, I occasionally collaborated with external specialists to ensure a consistently high standard of execution.

Read more

Freemax Media logo

Graphic Web Designer

Freemax Media

·

Full-time

Nov 2009

-

Apr 2012

·

2 years 6 months

Wokingham, Berkshire

·

On-site

Freemax Media is a high-volume email marketing agency delivering millions of targeted campaigns daily on behalf of global brands such as Nike, Vodafone, British Airways, BMW, Sky, Napster, and La Senza. In this role, I was responsible for designing bespoke HTML emails, newsletters, and accompanying campaign microsites optimised for both desktop and mobile. Working in a fast-paced, performance-driven environment sharpened my understanding of user experience, particularly in the context of lead generation and conversion-focused design. It was a formative experience that laid a strong foundation for my future in digital and product design — and yes, the Christmas parties were legendary.

Read more

Collaborate

Collaborate

Collaborate

Got an idea? Let’s chat. Projects, roles, or a nerd‑out on corner radii—I’m all ears.