Skip to main content
About

Multi-Disciplinary Designer
/ AI Builder

I work across brand, product, and visual design: identity work, digital products, and end-to-end builds, from concept through to production.

More recently, that same design thinking has extended into AI products. When part of an experience is an agent rather than a screen, there's a new layer to design for: how it receives context, uses its tools, and responds. I understand that layer well, from designing agent interaction flows to AI-native products.

Open to work

Looking for a senior or lead product design role, remote, or on-site in Cape Town. Also taking on select client projects.

Open to work

What I'm looking for

Role

Senior or Lead Product Designer, though titles matter less to me than scope. I want ownership of a product area, and room to move across design, build, and AI, not a narrow lane.

Team

A team that ships and iterates, interested in innovation, that values progress and improving its systems.

Location

Remote (any timezone with reasonable overlap), or on-site in Cape Town.

Problems

Products where structure and visual execution matter: design systems, multi-platform journeys, AI-powered tools, anything that has to earn user trust.

Where I'm strongest

The work I'm best suited for

01

AI Products, MVPs, and Agent Experience Design

I take product ideas from framing to working software, combining product design, systems thinking, and implementation. When a product is AI-powered, there's UX and there's AX: how the agents receive context, use their tools, and respond, in service of the person using it. Recent examples include Kota AI, a multi-agent SME platform, and RideNote, a solo-built iOS app live on the App Store.

02

Product Systems and Cross-Platform UX

I have spent 15+ years designing digital products across banking, retail, property, and tech. I am strongest where structure matters: product systems, scalable UI, complex journeys, and work that has to earn user trust.

03

High-Trust Digital Presence

I also design and build brand-led websites for businesses that need to look credible. That includes identity work, web design, and implementation for service businesses, founders, and small teams.

Capabilities

How the work shows up

What I can do
  • End-to-end product design
  • Design systems
  • Brand identity
  • Frontend implementation
  • AI product builds
What I work with
  • React, Astro, Tailwind, TypeScript
  • Figma, Adobe CC, Affinity
  • Claude, Cursor, Claude Code
  • PostgreSQL, WordPress, APIs
  • LangChain, Resend, Supabase, OpenRouter
How I work
  • AI-native design and development workflows
  • Close collaboration with devs
  • Agile, Git-based delivery
  • User research + usability testing
Selected contexts

Industry range

Different sectors, same job underneath: reduce complexity, earn trust, and make the interface carry its weight.

ABSA Bidvest Bank Old Mutual Clicks Musica PEP Shoprite Checkers Sportsman's Warehouse Rabie Property Group Signatûra FindMeACoffee Micro apps Travel Hospitality Events Services
01
ISO/IEC 42001:2023 Lead Auditor
Mastermind Assurance · 2026
02
ISO/IEC 42001 Foundation
UKAS · 2026
03
AI Security & Governance
Securiti · 2025
04
AI Fluency
Anthropic · 2025
05
Introduction to Generative AI
Google Cloud · 2024
Proof

Professional journey

The titles changed over time, but the through-line stayed the same: design that can survive contact with real constraints.

2025 - Present

Product Designer / AI Builder

Independent

Project-based client work across brand identity, web design, and frontend development, managing projects end to end from brief through to delivery. Built custom websites and digital assets for clients across various industries. Also built Kota AI (a multi-agent business operations platform designed and built end-to-end) and RideNote (iOS App Store live, Android in testing), designing for both the people using these products and the AI agents working inside them.

2022 - 2024 | Remote

Lead Designer

Immersion Group

Banking suite development across mobile, web, and dashboard. Led design system creation spanning three product streams. Delivered rapid innovation projects for Old Mutual and ABSA using FlutterFlow and Supabase. Initiated and led internal innovation program with cross-functional team of 6 throughout 2024.

2019 - 2022 | Cape Town

Senior Web Designer

Machete Creative

Brand identity design from concept to completion, WordPress development and customization, responsive web design for multi-property real estate portfolio. Collaborated directly with development teams on website solutions and digital assets.

2014 - 2018

Freelance Designer

Self-employed

Brand identity, digital design, and marketing collateral for clients across travel, hospitality, events, FMCG, and service industries. Built responsive websites and handled end-to-end design projects.

2009 - 2012

Senior Graphic Designer

Musica & Clicks

In-house design for retail marketing materials, promotional campaigns, and brand assets across multiple product lines.

Next step

Let's talk.

If you need someone who can move between product design, systems, and implementation without losing clarity, or you're hiring for a senior product design role, I'd like to hear from you.

~/nasifsalaam / about.md