I studied visual communication design and began my career working in branding, visual journalism, animation for film and television, and exhibition design. A desire to work on more complex design challenges led me to digital product design, which has been my focus for the past twelve years. I’ve delivered impact in the areas of healthcare, civic engagement, education and open access to knowledge. More recently, mentoring early-career designers has become an important part of my work – one that keeps me learning as much as teaching.
Roles
Wikimedia Foundation
2025–present (previously 2021–2023)
Lead UX Designer for the non-profit organisation that hosts Wikipedia.
Change.org
2023–2025
Lead Product Designer for the world’s largest online petition platform for social change.
FutureLearn
2019–2021 (previously 2014–2018)
Lead Product Designer for digital education platform that offers online courses and degrees from the world’s top universities and cultural organisations.
Ctrl Group
2019
Design Lead collaborating with researchers, engineers and healthcare experts to build digital health products and conduct innovative digital medical research.
Aidsmap
2008–2014
Design Lead for the HIV information charity, translating complex health concepts into easy to follow patient information.
Early career
Prior to specialising in digital product, my background was in graphic design. I held positions at Esterson Associates (London), Fabio Ongarato Design (Melbourne), ISO Design (Glasgow) and began my career as an intern at MetaDesign (Berlin).
Lecturing
In addition to my professional practice I have served as a visiting lecturer at both Glasgow School of Art and Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, where I delivered lectures on design theory, wrote creative briefs, facilitated workshops, and provided one-to-one critique sessions with students.
Skills
End-to-end product design
User experience design
AI-augmented design
Design strategy
Visual design
Branding
Design Systems
User research
Mentoring
Illustration
Recognition
UXUK Award 2015 (as a member of the FutureLearn design team)
British Medical Association Patient Information Award 2012 & 2009
Mediscript Community Award at the 2010 BHIVA Conference
Augustus Martin Award for The Best Use of Print Media (RCA Show 2006)
Woodhill Park Critical Forum Design Prize (RCA Show 2006)
Helen Hamlyn Research Centre Design For Our Future Selves Award (RCA 2006)
BSI Sustainability Award (RCA 2006)
Varley Memorial Award For Work in the Field of Communications (RCA 2005)
Australian Graphic Design Association Award 2004
What people say about me
I’ve had the rare chance to work with Kieran twice – first as his manager at Wikipedia, and later I was so impressed that I hired him again when I moved to Change.org. Few people earn a repeat hire; Kieran did.
Kieran is one of those rare designers who is genuinely strong across the entire craft – visual design, UX, UI, and research. He doesn’t just execute well in one lane; he moves fluidly between all of them, which makes him invaluable on any team he’s part of.
He’s deeply thoughtful and empathetic toward the people his designs are for, and it shows in the work. He’s the kind of designer who becomes the backbone of a team – reliable, generous, and consistently excellent.
Kieran is a fantastic professional and a genuinely great person. He is super easy to work with, very kind, and incredibly knowledgeable. He consistently delivers outstanding design work that makes the development process smoother for engineers and PMs alike. It was a real pleasure to work with him and I learned a lot from our time together.
Kieran is one of the most talented designers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. He makes design look so easy the way he creates such spectacular visuals and it’s so easy to collaborate and communicate with him while building his designs.